Teak decking on flybridge in med

[TonyR123]

So for all the flybridge owners with boats in the med/caribbean - do you have teak decking on your flybridge?

Teak decking can get very hot in the sun. But also looks better than a vast expanse of white plastic. Do you go for the cooler white or put up with hot decking and either put up the bimini to shade it more often or wear deck shoes?

 

[Whitelighter]

I thought about putting team on mine but having walked down the pontoon (wood) in bare feet at 2pm I reckon it's a Nono.
I rarely wear shoes on the boat and wouldn't want to just because kid the deck.

I have teak in the cockpit but that is kept shaded by a large FB overhang

 

[Magnum]

We specced it, but only really to reduce glare. As with all teak decking it looks lovely but is a pain to maintain!

 

[Portofino]

TBO if I was looking @Fb ,s it depends
Residuals yes depending on brand ,it's expected .
How ever as stated its a pain ,olive oil , sun cream , etc and at some stage in a used boat -replace = €€€ .
Most today are veneers with our big 3 .
San Lorenzo like the one Pete posted recently will be real --great until replacement cost -even more €€€x4 or more .
It does get hot in the sun -we had to slosh ours down ( sports cruiser cockpit ) in high summer ,with kids n dog on board .

On balance I Preffer none teak except solid 12mm on the bathing platform and Passerelle .
Which is what we have now ,v easy to live with .
How ever you would not want a cloth Jag or manual Merc ---so it really depends what the market expects for each particular boat - sorry no striaght answer .

You don,t wear shoes ,it's all bear feet April to Nov

 

[Nick_H]

Most today are veneers with our big 3

Are you sure about that? I thought Princess/SS/Fairline use solid teak, albeit quite thin.

We have teak on the flybridge and i'd always spec it. I'd say total maintenance time is less with teak than white GRP, if you cumulatively add up all the time you spend cleaning footprints or rain dust off the GRP. Teak also feels nicer underfoot, reduces glare, and gives the flybridge a nicer ambiance, especially in the evenings. It does get hot underfoot in direct sunlight, but 90% of ours is covered by the bimini so it isn't much of a problem.

It may be worth considering an all over flybridge cover to protect the teak when the boat is not in use, and you'll then never need to replace it.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

No we dont have teak on our flybridge and neither would I have it either. The teak in our cockpit gets hot enough when exposed to the sun and thats partly shaded. The other reason not to have teak is that you are eating and drinking outside far more than the UK. I am constantly paranoid about guests staining the teak deck in my cockpit with food, drink or suncream. I think I'd have a mental breakdown if I had to stress over the flybridge as well

 

[Portofino]

Are you sure about that? I thought Princess/SS/Fairline use solid teak, albeit quite thin.

Laminate is probably a better word , but where does veneer end and laminate start ?
Sheets of this

Can be intricately cut from templates and "bordered " for fast fixed in production -whole section glued down

I doubt very much men measure , cut , glue with clamps all night , chauk ,trim smooth ,each individual piece from solid 6 mm of better 12 mm sections .
How ever in small none corperate owned Italian yards producing a hand full of boats reflected in the cost Or say Turkey or Tiawan where labour is cheap --then a more trad approach will be used .

Another mucky trick I ve seen used is the step edging on say steps up to FB they hollow out that last piece so its a inverted L shape ---- make the edge look solid and visually conveys that thickness to your brain ,while the rest is 1mm or 2mm laminate /veneer

 

[CLOUD9]

So for all the flybridge owners with boats in the med/caribbean - do you have teak decking on your flybridge?

Yes we do, and my view is the same as Nick_H's, I couldn't imagine having a boat without it. I'm not keen on GRP decks. Teak makes it look like a finished job. It can get hot but not a problem if the bimini covers most of it as it does on our P58. We are always barefoot on board and haven't had a problem. Maintenance isn't a big issue in my view, although I do swiftly pick up stray crisps dropped by crew or guests as they can leach oil into the grain. (I don't use a sealer). I put on an overall F/B cover if boat left for more than a few weeks.

 

[BartW]

Are you sure about that? I thought Princess/SS/Fairline use solid teak, albeit quite thin.

We have teak on the flybridge and i'd always spec it. I'd say total maintenance time is less with teak than white GRP, if you cumulatively add up all the time you spend cleaning footprints or rain dust off the GRP. Teak also feels nicer underfoot, reduces glare, and gives the flybridge a nicer ambiance, especially in the evenings. It does get hot underfoot in direct sunlight, but 90% of ours is covered by the bimini so it isn't much of a problem.

It may be worth considering an all over flybridge cover to protect the teak when the boat is not in use, and you'll then never need to replace it.

+1

imo its much more nicer to live on, and adds to the real "ship" feel,
especially on our older boat with a wooden superstructure

our teak was originally 12mm thick, but after 25years on average 6mm left, and recaulked a few years ago..
we are considering to replace it all by new solid 10...12mm teak (not sure what is common on new boats ?) and first place a GRP layer underneath (to secure the risc of leaks in the old multiply deck)

we have a winter cover for the flybridge.

 

[kashurst]

never had a problem with real teak being too hot in the med. but it does need cleaning which is a pain.

 

[Magnum]

Maintenance isn't a big issue in my view, although I do swiftly pick up stray crisps dropped by crew or guests as they can leach oil into the grain.

K2R to the rescue.

 

[Medskipper]

So for all the flybridge owners with boats in the med/caribbean - do you have teak decking on your flybridge?

Teak decking can get very hot in the sun. But also looks better than a vast expanse of white plastic. Do you go for the cooler white or put up with hot decking and either put up the bimini to shade it more often or wear deck shoes?

This is a question I am currently dealing with as well. My boat has real teak decks except for the flybrige. My Princess F/B has a GRP floor which gets very hot although the Bimini does help most of the day. I wear Crocs on board and I find they are great, they help to protect your toes as well as stop any burning of soles!
I think I will go with a teak look a like deck in the spring as the hot floor won't bother me!

 

[kashurst]

we had synthetic teak (natural looking flexi teak) on the bathing platform of a previous boat, in the med it was scaldingly hot! it also changed colour over 2 years and went darker. Even with shoes on it got so hot that if you ever had children on board you would be worried about them touching it.

 

[rafiki_]

we had synthetic teak (natural looking flexi teak) on the bathing platform of a previous boat, in the med it was scaldingly hot! it also changed colour over 2 years and went darker. Even with shoes on it got so hot that if you ever had children on board you would be worried about them touching it.

Interesting, as we are considering synth teak on our fly. Don't think we would worry too much about temp in the uk, but discolouration would be a concern.

 

[Whitelighter]

This is a question I am currently dealing with as well. My boat has real teak decks except for the flybrige. My Princess F/B has a GRP floor which gets very hot although the Bimini does help most of the day. I wear Crocs on board and I find they are great, they help to protect your toes as well as stop any burning of soles!
I think I will go with a teak look a like deck in the spring as the hot floor won't bother me!

If you find someone in SCM to do it let me know.
I'd like my swim platrorm done

 

[CLOUD9]

K2R to the rescue.

Ive never tried the K2R... does it work?

 

[Magnum]

Ive never tried the K2R... does it work?

It's amazing. Simply would not be without it on a teak decked boat.

 

[CLOUD9]

It's amazing. Simply would not be without it on a teak decked boat.

Thanks I will give it a try... can now sell the shares in Fairy liquid!

 

[Hurricane]

It's amazing. Simply would not be without it on a teak decked boat.

What is K2R?

Actually I like teak but I dissagree - it takes a huge amount of time to keep it clean and looking new.
For example this year we (2 of us) spent the equivalent of 3 days sanding about half of it and cleaning it.
Great results but loads of messy work.
I would seriously consider replacing it with synthetic - lots of people say that synthetic is even hotter but I'm not sure that is the case with modern materials.

 

[Nick_H]

What is K2R?

It's a stain remover spray that dries to a white powder and absorbs grease. Spray it on grease stains on your teak ASAP, leave it a while to soak up the grease, then brush it off and vacuum up the residue, or wash the area. It's widely available everywhere.

http://www.johnlewis.com/k2r-stain-remover-spray-100ml/p231572721