Teak decks - good or bad? Lifespan?

Babbers

Babbers

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We're boathunting at the moment.

The current front runner ticks all the right boxes, but... it's got a teak deck.
It's a 1982 boat - deck recaulked in 2004. Teak is said to be 12mm thick and 'in good order'.

Assuming this is true - how long before I should start worrying about replacement?

Anyone any experience of replacing a teak deck?
Cost?
Alternatives?

Are we crazy to even consider a boat with a teak deck?
 
The problem with teak decks on a GRP boat of that era is that the deck is probably screwed down onto the cored fibreglass deck. This means you have thousands of screw holes penetrating the upper skin of the laminated deck and each one a potential leak. I have replaced the teak deck on a boat which had a rotten core as a result of this building practice and it is a major undertaking.
A teak deck is a thing of beauty but also a potential maintenance nightmare. Even if the core has not been compromised you will, sooner or later, encounter the plugs falling out syndrome, caused by the gap between deck surface and screw head being too thin to accomodate the plug.
If the deck has been glued to the substrate then that's a different matter.
Hinckley, the US quality boat builders, once commented when asked why they didn't offer a teak deck option: 'Why would you ruin a perfectly good fibreglass deck by drilling thousands of holes through it?'
 
First measure your piece of string!

If a deck has been sympathetically cared for it can have a very long life. If not, it can be worn out in 10 years or less.

If I were buying an old boat with a teak deck (I did!) first check would just be to run my fingers across it, to feel how 'ridged' it is. Ridging implies wear, the more the wear, the higher the ridging. If it passes that test (not too worn), I'd look next at the caulking. Do all the seams look tight - no gaps between plank and caulk, no caulk lifting, no caulk loose or missing. If the caulking looks OK, look next at the fixings (assuming it has them). You're looking for lifting or missing plugs, either suggests that the deck has been thinned down at that point so that plugs can't grip.

If the deck looks dodgy, walk away, or if it is love at first sight, ask a yard to quote you for making it good or replacing it, and factor that into your offer price.

Warning - replacing a teak deck can seriously affect your sanity.

(edit)
PS - 12mm sounds suspiciously thick for a 26 year old boat - was that the original spec rather than today's measure? I'd find a way of measuring it to check - around a locker edge maybe, or where the teak ends and the GRP begins.
 
Aside from any other consideration, teak decks get very hot underfoot in strong sunshine. You do not want one if you are going to the Med, let alone the tropics.

Sooner or later you will have to replace any teak deck, and the cost can run into many thousands, often a big percentage of the value of an older boat. A teak cockpit is nice, and replacement, though expensive (estimated about €4,000 for my boat) is just about tolerable, but I personally would not want any more teak.
 
I have a teak deck on my boat, its second apparently, courtesy of previous owners, and it is very nice, but they are a pointless expense, 100% aesthetics, nothing practical.

When yours was recaulked, was it also sanded down? Was it 12mm originally, and is the "slot" in which the caulking sits now just a sliver.

If I still own my boat when the deck takes its last breath, I will rip it off, plug the endless drill holes and source of so many leaks.

You're not crazy. I love my boat. Just think of the deck as a future winter project.
 
"Hinckley, the US quality boat builders, once commented when asked why they didn't offer a teak deck option: 'Why would you ruin a perfectly good fibreglass deck by drilling thousands of holes through it?".

My view exactly...even if it doesn't leak, teak gets unbearably hot to walk/ sit on.

Many years ago at a boat show, I asked Halberg Rassy how much discount I'd get if I didn't have the standard teak decks (on a 352).

Much to my surprise, not having teak was an extra £3000. Their explanation was that all through deck bolts, and fixings, etc were standard sizes allowing for the teak, so they'd need to do lots of cutting to fit.

For me, despite the lovely looks, teak decks are definitely not desirable.
 
I like the look of teak decks and some boats just don't look right without one (for ex. Swan). We're in the process of replacing our this winter. We bought the boat 3 years ago knowing that we would have to bite the bullet sooner rather than later and reduced the price accordingly (50% of cost of new). A deck can last very long indeed as long as you don't scrub too hard, use chemicals etc...
Also, how it's laid matters. Our new one is laid in planks on the boat (not pre-fab) so the caulking goes all the way down to the fiberglass deck. This way, we can sand it down in 10 years time and repeat in 20 years. The deck "frame" has some plugs (but no screws) so you can always re-inserts those if needed after sanding.
 
I like teak decks but hate that grey weathered look. Nearly as bad is the look-alike fake teak that shines and blats you in face with that glare of "Teak !".

I like natural stained teak colour where it's kept up and not left to weather. Very few boats do it and then you get this grey everywhere.

My tuppence worth. Teak decks are reckoned 10+ yrs ... beware any small lifting of corner / edge - it's on its way out !
 
The teak has been sanded down - claimed to be 15mm thick originally.
It seems the teak's glued on marine ply.

This is what the deck looks like now

1835355_29.jpg
 
Don't do it - walk away.

Read my blog if you want to know why.
Will update it over X-Mas when I've got new pictures.

The boat may be saved, but at the moment it's one big (financial) horror story.

Hope your pockets are deeper than mine.

PS: what's the boat? Swan?
 
We have teak decks and I love them. They do have a benefit and a big one, they are naturally non-skid.

Yes they are expensive to replace, are a maintenance overhead but like all things in life if you like it...!

Ours were replaced in 2002 and were glued down, the method now used. Old ones are screwed and if replaced all the holes will be filled etc.

12mm does sound odd for a 80s boat, more like new spec. If it is screwed down you will see the plugs. Also the teak will wear down around bits bolten on etc so what is right next to these will give an indication of the original thickness.

As for care, regular buckets of salt water, very solft brushes to clean if required, only ever across the grain, some would argue nothing more than a mop should be used! and if you do need to clean it, a little bit of fairly liquid. Anything more might look sparkly but people who scrub and apply chemicals to their teak are a boat yards wet dream.

If the decks are worn then that is a serious point to haggle on. I have been told for a 44 footer in the UK, don't expect change from £40-50k. Croatia etc a lot cheaper.

But if we were all sane none of us would actaully be stupid enough to buy a boat. We would just charter somebody elses!

Good luck.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Are we crazy to even consider a boat with a teak deck?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I think you are. I have a 1981 boat with a teak deck and only learned what a problem it was until too late. In an earlier posting on this subject I wrote:

"Aging teak decks are an abomination with problems that will keep you awake at nights.

They have little to recommend them other than cosmetically appealing to yachting snobbery and perhaps a good foothold whether wet or dry. They are ponderously heavy at an unsuitably high point to lower stability and the maintenance problems and longevity are well recorded here - I just wish I had read this forum before I bought my HR with the moldering teak deck some three years ago. Only now, after a disappointing Coelan treatment, do I realise that the best solution is to tear it all off for firewood, epoxy the screw holes and lay treadmaster or just paint. Anything but using a diminishing natural resource that would cost almost half what I paid for the entire boat originally with a ticking countdown to the next set of headaches."

Run, don't walk, away from this boat.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

The response seems to be overwhelmingly negative.

Shame - even more so as the number 2 on our list has teak decks too.
Back to the drawing board /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
It seems the teak's glued on marine ply.

[/ QUOTE ]Really?!? Judging from the pic, it definitely seems screwed.
Anyway, my short answer to your question is definitely bad.
Mind, my boat if completely wooden built, with acres of teak decks (also on flybridge).
And overall I like her a lot.
BUT, I'd never even consider a grp boat covered with teak.
That's the best way to get all the cons of wood with almost none of the pros.
And I'm saying "almost" just in case you'd consider the look as a pro.
I don't see ANY added value in teak decks in terms of functionality.
Even the non-slippery thing: there isn't really a big difference, if compared with a properly finished grp surface.
 
Looks like it.

After reading bits of Guapa's blog, she's off our list.
She was a Kalik too.

Like I said - shame - was a great boat otherwise.
 
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