Teak decks (again)

[petercrook]

We are in the process of buying a 1910 30’ Itchen Ferry gaff cutter. We believe (?hope) that the only crucial work to be done in the near future is repairing some of the seams in the straight-laid teak deck. There is a long and detailed thread on the WoodenBoat forum about the use of polysulphides and polyurethanes which highlights all of their problems and makes us feel that using Jeffries marine glue or similar would be a lot simpler and cheaper (but then the thread doesn’t mention any problems associated with that approach).

What do people think? I expect mirelle will say “Coelan and deck paint” but how bad can the seams be for that still to work?

 

[Mirelle]

Pretty bad!

Yes, I tried Jeffries, and I know a smack yacht, with painted decks, where it works well and only has to be re-done every ten years or so.

Downside - it won't take much movement.

Upside 1 - the leak over your bunk can be fixed very fast, even in the rain, with a marline spike held in a pair of Mole grips and heated on the Primus.

Upside 2 - it's cheap.

You can get a proper ladle for pouring it from Traditional Marine Supplies in Beccles. It will never look as tidy as the modern gloop, but it is 100% authentic.

 

[petercrook]

Thanks mirelle!

That all sounds promising, especially as we're at the same stage of boating maturity as you were when you re-canvassed your coachroof! And ten years doesn't sound bad.

We'll have to see, if the sale goes through, when we've had a chance to look more closely (and maybe been aboard in the rain!).