Teak Deck

[raro3]

My 34ft sailing boat has a teak deck (bonded fortunately, not screwed), which needs replacing. After removing it, I'm thinking of either painting the deck with non-skid paint or (probably) putting Treadmaster down. I'm looking for some advice:
a) What is the teak normally stuck down with, is it Sikaflex or similar material?
b) Rather than remove the stanchions, cleats etc, could I carefully cut / chisel around them, leaving their teak base in place?
c) Assuming the deck was bonded down with sealant, how can I remove the old sealant (i.e. is there a chemical solvent which I can safely use)?
d) With my own time being a bit limited, does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to have someone remove the deck for me (e.g. cost per sq mt)? The side deck and foredecks are teak, and also the cockpit seats.
Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[TQA]

Make and year would be a help?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Could be almost anything. Is the builder or the dealer still around to ask?

Don't expect to lift the teak off and find a pristine deck underneath. You just might get lucky, but it seems most people that have done it (me too) manage to damage the deck to an extent in removal, plus the gloop doesn't just peel off either. You'll be left with lots of sanding and making good to do before you start putting it back together. Incidentally, there are some heart-breaking tales about the removal of Treadmaster too, so if you might want to do it again further down the line, I'd try making good and non-slip paint as the easy alternative.

 

[Tranona]

Depends on who the builder is - it could be either a polyurethane adhesive or epoxy, probably vacuum bagged. Whichever it is, it is not intended to come off cleanly, so be prepared for removing it physically by planing/chiselling/grinding - making a lot of mess and noise. Inevitably you will damage the substrate so be prepared to make good with epoxy/glass/fairing before re-finishing. If fittings are bedded on top of the decorative teak, probably best to remove them completely so that you end up with a flat and fair deck.

Cost to have somebody do it is difficult to estimate - a lot of relatively unskilled labour - the skill is in getting a good finish once it is removed.

Scotty Tradewind may be along soon as he has just stripped his deck, but paid to have it refinished.

 

[wazza]

My 34ft sailing boat has a teak deck (bonded fortunately, not screwed), which needs replacing. After removing it, I'm thinking of either painting the deck with non-skid paint or (probably) putting Treadmaster down. I'm looking for some advice:
a) What is the teak normally stuck down with, is it Sikaflex or similar material?
b) Rather than remove the stanchions, cleats etc, could I carefully cut / chisel around them, leaving their teak base in place?
c) Assuming the deck was bonded down with sealant, how can I remove the old sealant (i.e. is there a chemical solvent which I can safely use)?
d) With my own time being a bit limited, does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to have someone remove the deck for me (e.g. cost per sq mt)? The side deck and foredecks are teak, and also the cockpit seats.
Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

How is this job going, or has it stalled??
I was also wondering what year the boat is as I'm lead to believe that the conceipt of bonding the decks with teak is only a few years old, but I must be wrong, especially if it needs removing already?!?!?
I'm in the midst of playing with the teak on my coachroof.... argg, blaa, errrrr!!

 

[Sybarite]

My 34ft sailing boat has a teak deck (bonded fortunately, not screwed), which needs replacing. After removing it, I'm thinking of either painting the deck with non-skid paint or (probably) putting Treadmaster down. I'm looking for some advice:
a) What is the teak normally stuck down with, is it Sikaflex or similar material?
b) Rather than remove the stanchions, cleats etc, could I carefully cut / chisel around them, leaving their teak base in place?
c) Assuming the deck was bonded down with sealant, how can I remove the old sealant (i.e. is there a chemical solvent which I can safely use)?
d) With my own time being a bit limited, does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to have someone remove the deck for me (e.g. cost per sq mt)? The side deck and foredecks are teak, and also the cockpit seats.
Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

FWIW in this month's "Voiles et Voiliers" there is a comparative test of 10 non-slip deck paints. They analyse cost, ease of application, comfort under foot, etc. Without going into more detail the end result was :

Nautix Grip for its exceptional adherence.
Kiwi Grip for the simplicity of application.
Boero Antiskid : to dose the grip.
International Interdeck - most comfortable.

 

[Tradewinds]

FWIW in this month's "Voiles et Voiliers" there is a comparative test of 10 non-slip deck paints. They analyse cost, ease of application, comfort under foot, etc. Without going into more detail the end result was :

Nautix Grip for its exceptional adherence.
Kiwi Grip for the simplicity of application.
Boero Antiskid : to dose the grip.
International Interdeck - most comfortable.

Surprise!

"Voiles et Voiliers" does it again.

It's a French product at No1.

Just like the Kobra2 was the best anchor.

Not saying there's anying wrong with either product (I have a Kobra2 as a back-up) but I do wonder about their 'impartiality'.

 

[Koeketiene]

Surprise!

"Voiles et Voiliers" does it again.

It's a French product at No1.

Just like the Kobra2 was the best anchor.

Not saying there's anying wrong with either product (I have a Kobra2 as a back-up) but I do wonder about their 'impartiality'.

All these 'tests' are best taken with a pinch of salt.
Look back over the years and try finding a YBW electronics test where Raymarine didn't come out top.

 

[Supertramp]

My 34ft sailing boat has a teak deck (bonded fortunately, not screwed), which needs replacing. After removing it, I'm thinking of either painting the deck with non-skid paint or (probably) putting Treadmaster down. I'm looking for some advice:
a) What is the teak normally stuck down with, is it Sikaflex or similar material?
b) Rather than remove the stanchions, cleats etc, could I carefully cut / chisel around them, leaving their teak base in place?
c) Assuming the deck was bonded down with sealant, how can I remove the old sealant (i.e. is there a chemical solvent which I can safely use)?
d) With my own time being a bit limited, does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to have someone remove the deck for me (e.g. cost per sq mt)? The side deck and foredecks are teak, and also the cockpit seats.
Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

I had my teak deck removed along with all fittings and replaced with paint by a boatyard due to Covid and lack of expertise (mine). Difficult to assess the cost but start thinking £10k. You really have to remove all deck fittings and consider accessibility from inside. The number of fittings will affect the cost The removing of deck and fittings is the easy bit, filling and finishing takes time and skill. If I had no other jobs to do on the boat I might have done it myself. Very glad it's done and happy to keep wood inside for cabins!

 

[Tradewinds]

 

[wazza]

I have now completely renovated my teak deck. I took out all the caulking all the plugs and all the screws. I replaced the screws with thickened and epoxy, & then replace the plugs. Sanded in between the grooves where the caulking was and then replaced the caulking. It was a hell of a job but now I have a fully sealed deck still with the nice teak still on it. My boat is from 1981 it’s a Najad 343️️ and in places the thickness of the teak was 12mm. That’s a lot for a 40 yo boat. So maybe in another 30 to 40 years it’ll need sorting. Not my problem then?

 

[Concerto]

Many yachts have teak decks, but use a 6mm recessed in the deck and fit a plywood panel with 3mm teak fixed to the plywood. A few years ago I talked to an owner of a Bavaria that had previously had teak decks. He ripped the teak and plywood out and filled the recesses, then painted with non-slip deck paint. I know that Dehler also used this method.

It is possible to get teak panels made to template by Howells of Poole. They make 6mm and 9mm thick ones for the same price. When I removed the TreadMaster from my cockpit, I used the 9mm teak and it looks good and has good grip.

 

[pvb]

Many yachts have teak decks, but use a 6mm recessed in the deck and fit a plywood panel with 3mm teak fixed to the plywood. A few years ago I talked to an owner of a Bavaria that had previously had teak decks. He ripped the teak and plywood out and filled the recesses, then painted with non-slip deck paint. I know that Dehler also used this method.

Westerly also used cheap ply panels with teak veneer on top for some of their teak decks - the Westerly Oceanlord springs to mind. As the ply rots, what's left of the teak starts peeling off. I've seen a couple of boats like that. As you say, removing the whole lot and painting with non-slip is a good solution.

 

[Travelling Westerly]

Westerly also used cheap ply panels with teak veneer on top for some of their teak decks - the Westerly Oceanlord springs to mind. As the ply rots, what's left of the teak starts peeling off. I've seen a couple of boats like that. As you say, removing the whole lot and painting with non-slip is a good solution.

I have a very late Oceanlord and can confirm my model is not teak veneer - sold and still going strong, shame the caulking isnt though

 

[pvb]

I have a very late Oceanlord and can confirm my model is not teak veneer - sold and still going strong, same the caulking isnt though

Westerly belatedly discovered their mistake!

 

[Travelling Westerly]

Westerly belatedly discovered their mistake!

Ha - not all of them unfortunately

 

[pvb]

Ha - not all of them unfortunately

I've no idea what you mean...

 

[ashtead]

I guess Flexiteak wasn’t around in the days of Westerly but if removing all that ply etc might be a suitable alternative or a cork version maybe. Bavaria do suffer from the caulking going sticky as well.

 

[Travelling Westerly]

I guess Flexiteak wasn’t around in the days of Westerly but if removing all that ply etc might be a suitable alternative or a cork version maybe. Bavaria do suffer from the caulking going sticky as well.

Flexiteak - now that would have been nice. My caulking was ok-ish until I used Wessex 2 part teak cleaner - after that the blooming caulking went all sticky. Big job ahead for me and one for when the sun starts up again....

 

[pvb]

I guess Flexiteak wasn’t around in the days of Westerly but if removing all that ply etc might be a suitable alternative or a cork version maybe. Bavaria do suffer from the caulking going sticky as well.

Yes, sticky caulking seems to be a problem for some. As with many boats, Westerly Oceanlords cost a fortune to correct, as virtually all of the deck fittings had to be removed, involving huge amounts of labour. After spending what seemed like half my life fixing the teak deck on my old Hallberg-Rassy, I vowed never to have one again, so I specified fake teak for my new-build Bavaria. It still has caulking, but that seems fairly stable so far.