Teak decking - a good or bad idea??

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animamundi

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We are going to spend this coming season in the WI but not sure where we will go after that. We are now in the final stages of the boat buying process. The question: We like the idea of teak decking but we have been told that it is not practical since it gets too hot in the WI. Teddy 2 yrs is part of the crew.. Tks!
 
I have had boats with and without teak decks in the Med. Can't say I noticed that much difference in heat - at least not in the low 30s.

The bigger argument against teak is the cost and long term life. If you can search these fora you will find plenty of threads on the subject. Some of the early boats, now 20-30 years old that had heavy teak screwed onto GRP decks have needed replacements, currently £20-30K for a 40 footer (although cheaper if done in the far east and Turkey) or at least the plugs and seams replaced (£10k). More recent boats have thinner veneers glued to the decks, which overcomes the problems of weight and leaks through screws, but it is too early to say how well they last or how easy they are to repair/replace.

Many of the older boats have the failed teak stripped off and decks refinished in either epoxy or one of the synthetic substitutes.

Personally I would not have a teak deck, although my present boat has teak veneer strips in the cockpit, which have stood up well, but we have the bimini up most of the time, and the strips are mostly straight and flat. The only sign of "wear" is sealer breaking away where there are curves.

On the other hand, if you are buying new and intend selling before problems arise (say 5 years) a teak deck is a good selling point, particularly with a class of boat where it is normal or standard. Most people seem to think they look good as well!

Hope this helps.
 
Teak is nice, and mine was pretty low maintenance only needing a wash off with a bucket or hose to get rid of sand and dust. No bleaching scrubbing or sealing and it was over 10 years old.

Best thing I've seen and walked on in hot climates is this stuff
http://www.marquipt.com/marineDeck.html
Its made of cork granules, has good grip, stays cool, looks great and seems to wear well on the boat I knew.

If I had a choice I'd go for cork.
 
We had a teak deck and took it off three months ago, we also took off the teak capping. In the tropics teak degrades relatively quickly in the heat and is high maintenance replacing the Sikaflex seams. It is also extremely hot to walk on - you can't you have to wear shoes in the middle of the day.

Our new white painted decks are bliss, cool to walk on and the interior of the boat is cooler.

I like teak decks (pretty) and it was a wrench to take them off but I'm now really glad we did.
 
Full decking= bad idea, just-cockpit teak = good idea.

There are cost, heat, maintenance and weight penalties for teak decks. The benefit is purely cosmetic. Under a bimini cover, the cockpit teak is a nicer surface to walk on barefoot, and the boat looks a bit less of a charterboat or bargain-basement special.

To check the heat difference you'll need to be in a hot country, but anywhere in south med or hotter will give you too-hot feet and the heat defitely translates to hotter boat inside.
 
We have a teak deck on an eleven year old boat. Never had to do a thing to it and we have had the boat 5 years now. Just wash it with salt water every couple of weeks. Yes it looks a bit silver and faded but its great under the feet and adds insulation. We will need to do some maintenance this winter, replace a bit of caulking and a few plugs but thats all in five years.
 
We also have teak decking. Not sure aobut life in the tropics; yet. However cleaning is easy. Salt water, soft brush. If really dirt a little fairy liquid. We do need to re-do the odd bit of seam each year, but doesnt take long.

Its a personal thing, I love the look and am willing to put up with hasle of maintenance.

Above said, we bought the boat because the decks had been replaced a few years ago at the time, 5 now. Cost of replacment is hiddious and will only get worse as the teak supplies get more and more depleted and the true envi. issue of the doggie sourcing become revealed.
 
With all due respect, your experience is consistent with the common pattern. Remedial work after 10 years or so - bungs popping out and seams coming loose. Now may be the time to sell as this is likely to continue and in a few years time you will be faced with a bill that is likely to be 15-20% of the boat's value to strip all the teak off and replace it.
 
Thank you all for sharing your experiences! I have to admit that I was quite keen on teak and hoped to hear 'yeah, go for it!' /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I am now leaning towards the more practical solution of teak only in the cockpit...
 
The criticisms of deck life and replacement/repair costs above are correct in my experience: 10 years for overhaul, 20 years for replacement.

Under tropical sun, teak is hotter than grp for bare feet. In cabin, there is no noticeable difference; the fact that the dark colour absorbs more heat seems to be cancelled by the extra insulation effect of the wood.

Not mentioned so far: teak is the greatest antiskid surface available!

And, sure, it looks lovely. It's a display of wealth . . . bit like wearing a Rolex watch?
 
It is a very personal choice. You should not only go by what others think. As you have seen above there are many pros and cons with all deck types. You have to make up your own personal opinion about teak decks. There is no right or wrong here, just different opinions.

My own two cents: I would never consider buying a boat without teak decks. I find they are superior in feel, look and non-slip properties in all weather. But that is just my personal opinion.
 
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I wouldn't have teak decking at all, it looks nice but is high maintenance.

Build into the cost: cleaning, bleaching and sealing every season or two and a total replacement after 10 years as it will have rotted from the condensation underneath.

Still that's just my opinion, many others will love the stuff.

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I agree about the sentiment of teak decks - I would rather not have them - on the basis that I don't want to be the guy who has to replace them.

However, I think you are very wrong IMHO about the maintenance. My boat has teak decks, and I can honestly say that in 2 years I have NEVER scrubbed or cleaned them. All I have done is spray with MMC (Moss and Mould cleaner) at the start of the season, and chuck the odd bucket of seawater over them to remove sand etc. They are as clean as a whistle, with that grey look. If you are looking for the wonderful teak colour - then yes you are right, and you won't have any decks left in 10 years! Fibre glass decks on the other hand need continual scrubbing to keep clean. So I will tell you in 10 years whether they lasted or not!
 
Youre also forgetting that fibreglass degrades in strong sunlight and becomes brittle. Boats that have been in the med for 20 years or so commonly have millions of minute uv induced cracks in their grp decks which require some kind of remedy. Plastic teak could be one of the solutions to the problem, both as preventative and cure. At the moment the cost of materials for a 40 footer would be nearer the £3000 mark....but its quite time and labour intensive
 
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