Teak decking repair or replace
- Thread starter Jamiedh871
- Start date
Ceirwan
Well-Known Member
If you have good thickness then you can restore it.
Re-caulk, sand etc. Lots of videos on youtube on how to do it.
Where is it leaking from?
Normally they leak at the fasteners and ruin the balsa core in the deck, but none of that should end up in the cabin. Its more likely to be leaking from some fittings you have through bolted through the teak.
Its a lot of work, no matter which route you take.
Re-caulk, sand etc. Lots of videos on youtube on how to do it.
Where is it leaking from?
Normally they leak at the fasteners and ruin the balsa core in the deck, but none of that should end up in the cabin. Its more likely to be leaking from some fittings you have through bolted through the teak.
Its a lot of work, no matter which route you take.
Jamiedh871
Member
Thanks there a bit of staining on ceiling to cabin below . The synthetic teak people said it’s beyond repair and needs replacing but I think it can be repaired
lustyd
Well-Known Member
These are quite useful if you do fix what you have. CADOHA on YouTube showed them in use and they cut exactly the right width for teak decks.
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk
KevinV
Well-Known Member
As above, whatever you do is a lot of work, but that's (literally) as straightforward a deck as you could possibly hope for - I'd certainly be repairing that rather than ripping it up. Keep an eye on where it stays wet after rain to start tracing leaks
Ceirwan
Well-Known Member
What thickness do you have? 8-10mm or above & you should be OK to repair.
You need to source the leak, I don't think it would be the teak deck as that is just bonded and screwed to your fibreglass deck, the leak will be coming from something that's bolted all the way through.
Jamiedh871
Member
Thanks Kevin so its repairable rather than replaced with synthetic
Jamiedh871
Member
Thank you it’s well over 10mm left . I just noticed some staining to headlining in cabin below . I was quoted £25k to remove and replace along with side decks with synthetic but thinking it could be repaired and I like real wood
Sticky Fingers
Well-Known Member
Looks from the picture like the planks are screwed down and plugged, rather than this being a bonded panel. This method often results in leaks into the deck core below, which may be balsa or foam. Once water gets into that layer it can run and emerge somewhere remote from the actual leak. This is a sizeable job regardless of what you choose to do.
If the plank thickness is good then you could certainly repair, it’s doable as a DIY job if you have the time. Strip out caulking, remove the teak plugs, remove and re-bed all screws in deeper holes, remove any rotted planks and cut/fit new, cut and fit new plugs, sand, recaulk, clean up.
Worth repairing but will not last forever. Professional repair could cost more than the synthetic option.
If the plank thickness is good then you could certainly repair, it’s doable as a DIY job if you have the time. Strip out caulking, remove the teak plugs, remove and re-bed all screws in deeper holes, remove any rotted planks and cut/fit new, cut and fit new plugs, sand, recaulk, clean up.
Worth repairing but will not last forever. Professional repair could cost more than the synthetic option.
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
First thing is to verify the true thickness you’d be working with.
Teak is heavy and expensive.
10mm would be unusual.
It is unlikely to be more than 5 or 6mm from new.
Perhaps you have a piece that is starting to lift and you could prise an edge up just enough to verify the thickness?
Teak decks: know what you are getting in to, ime!
Is there an owners association?
Teak is heavy and expensive.
10mm would be unusual.
It is unlikely to be more than 5 or 6mm from new.
Perhaps you have a piece that is starting to lift and you could prise an edge up just enough to verify the thickness?
Teak decks: know what you are getting in to, ime!
Is there an owners association?
Jamiedh871
Member
Thanks I’ve been quoted about £25k to remove and replace along with side decks in synthetic is this more cost effective then
Jamiedh871
Member
Sorry what you mean owners association?
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
The boat will be a marque and often there is eg a Sunseeker or Bavaria owners association for it .
Chances are that someone has been through your dilemma already.
Jamiedh871
Member
Ok thanks
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
I (previous boat) was in a similar position 16 years ago.
I must admit, your deck does look pretty bad.
Things to consider:
1. Remaining thickness of the teak. Teak does not wear down at the same rate all over the deck.
When I replaced a couple of missing bungs on my current boat last February and in places the teak was 16mm thick but in other paces only 11mm.
Try to remove a couple of bungs from where your deck looks the most worn and check thickness there.
2. How is the teak secured to the deck? Is it screwed, glued, ... Screwed is more likely to cause leaks, glued is a pain in the backside to remove.
3. Whats underneath the teak? Balsa core, foam, marine ply, ... As you say there are stains on the headlining down below, whatever is underneath the teak the effect of the leakages on it won't have been good. Are there any 'soft' spots when you walk on deck?
There's really no sugarcoating but whatever you decide, it will cost a fair bit.
If I were in your position, I would consider how long I intended to keep the boat.
If I were to keep her for only a few more years I would either do nothing and then sell her on cheap or have the deck repaired, sanded down and clean/replaced the headlining down below. You could then sell her on and hand the ticking time bomb on to someone else.
If I intended to keep the boat for some time yet (10 years plus) I would remove and replace with synthetic teak.
I must admit, your deck does look pretty bad.
Things to consider:
1. Remaining thickness of the teak. Teak does not wear down at the same rate all over the deck.
When I replaced a couple of missing bungs on my current boat last February and in places the teak was 16mm thick but in other paces only 11mm.
Try to remove a couple of bungs from where your deck looks the most worn and check thickness there.
2. How is the teak secured to the deck? Is it screwed, glued, ... Screwed is more likely to cause leaks, glued is a pain in the backside to remove.
3. Whats underneath the teak? Balsa core, foam, marine ply, ... As you say there are stains on the headlining down below, whatever is underneath the teak the effect of the leakages on it won't have been good. Are there any 'soft' spots when you walk on deck?
There's really no sugarcoating but whatever you decide, it will cost a fair bit.
If I were in your position, I would consider how long I intended to keep the boat.
If I were to keep her for only a few more years I would either do nothing and then sell her on cheap or have the deck repaired, sanded down and clean/replaced the headlining down below. You could then sell her on and hand the ticking time bomb on to someone else.
If I intended to keep the boat for some time yet (10 years plus) I would remove and replace with synthetic teak.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Do you own the boat already, or thinking of buying it? If you own it perhaps the decision is different. If you plan to keep the boat it is probably worth investing in repair if there is enough thickness left. However it is very labour intensive and material costs relatively low so if you are in a high labour cost area you may find replacement with fake cheaper. The downside with fake is that it is not good in hot climates as it gets even hotter than teak. You can only really decide when you gat quotes for repair to compare with replacement.
Jamiedh871
Member
Thank you I’ve been quoted about £25 k for this and side decks remove and replace with synthetic is this reasonable
Jamiedh871
Member
Thanks been quoted around £25k remove and replace with side decks synthetic is this reasonable
harvey38
Well-Known Member
What boat I it, where are you based?
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
Depends what kind of fake teak you go for.
If it's entirely synthetic then yes, it will get quite hot.
However there are other alternatives such as cork based teak.
I opted for Marinedeck 2000 and I Summer I could walk on it barefoot - something I can not do on my current real teak deck. (Stazo® marinedeck | Stazo)