Teak Decks on Older Najads

[kcoffey]

What do you know about the teak deck construction on the 1985 vintage Najads, like my 343? Other owners with whom I have communicated have the same problem that I have--deck caulking standing proud of the teak planks and being torn loose by shoes and feet, in addition to much of it having loosened naturally over ~20 years. Within the next season, I see the need to remove and replace all
of the deck caulking. While doing that, I should also replace all of the bungs because many of those have loosened as the deck has worn thinner and there is less thickness to "grip" the bung. And this leads to my specific questions ...

Were the planks of the deck bedded to the deck in some sort of adhesive, maybe the same black sealant used as the caulking? What is the Najad experience with this construction holding up over the years? If the adhesive is there and likely good (tapping the deck sounds solid and I do not detect any "hollow" spots), can I remove the screws under the bungs and fill the screw holes with epoxy (only the screw holes, not the whole bung holes) without the decking coming up? If so, that would create a bit more depth in the deck to hold new bungs.

Of course, any other related advice or experience in this from Najad or other Najad owners would be very much appreciated. I have talked to several yards about the deck, they all have different approaches (and are all quote expensive for such a project). So I will probably do it myself, and instead spend the money for a rigid boom vang, new sails, and other improvements.

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[pvb]

I had the same problem on the deck of my Hallberg-Rassy, which had been scrubbed rather vigorously by a previous owner. The caulking was standing proud by about 2mm. Not all of the cauking was loose, so I removed the loose bits and then sliced off the remaining proud caulking with a small scalpel-like craft knife (I also tried a chisel, but the knife was easier to use). I replaced missing caulking. Then I gently belt-sanded the whole deck with a lightweight DIY belt sander, and used one of those little triangular detail sanders to do the inaccessible bits. The whole job took days, and was extremely tedious. But the end result looked good and, with very careful washing, my deck should last another 10 years.

I've lost a few teak plugs too. The <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.hr-parts.com/Shop/enter.html>HR Parts & Accessories Online Shop</A> has special low-profile screws and teak plugs which can be used to repair missing plugs in worn decks.

One word of warning - talk to Najad first and find out what sort of caulking they used in production in 1985. After my caulking repairs started to fail, I found out that the original HR caulking is silicone-based and incompatible with the Sikaflex I'd used for repairs!

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[doca]

The caulking is also proud of the burmese teak on the deck of my recently aquired 1979 Dufour 31. The height of the caulking above the teak is unifom throughout (approx. 2-3mm), i.e. no variation in areas subject to most traffic. Is it possible that this is a design detail to improve slip resistance, or am I indulging in wishful thinking that the teak is not wearing down ? Teak decks are beautiful.

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[pvb]

Think it\'s wishful thinking...

The caulking starts life flush with the teak. Your deck's probably been scrubbed, which is one of the things which should never be done to a teak deck (another one is pressure-washing it). However, it may not be beyond restoration. I was despairing about mine, but it's ended up looking pretty good for an elderly boat.

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[Talulah]

I understand that getting the deck reteaked in Sweden with Najad is a lot cheaper than you imagine. This applies to a lot of Najad bespoke parts.

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[geronimo]

I do not know what HR or Najad used for caulking in 1985 but on the HR parts site you can buy what they use today and it is not Sikaflex. It is apparently something that pros use and it is much better and simpler. I have bought it from them but have not tried yet.

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[tcm]

as pvb says, the caulking always starts as flush with the teak. But when it stands proud it shows how much the teak has be worn. A scalpel knifeor razor blade could be used to cut it back, but i wd expect ridgy teak by now.

It is not a najad fault - it's merely a natuyral fault of teak. It a should be repairable by sanding, and a teak deck wd normally have some decent thicknesss to allow for at least one heavy sanding, praps more than one.

To prevent the teak from going ridgy, hide it from the elements as far as poss. Even with minimal scrubbing, merely rainfall can gouge out the softer parts of the wood so it it can be covered whilst not in use so much the better. Indoor natural teak lasts a lot longer, but even with mild ocassionaly washing , it'll still go ridgy and need replacing... eventually.


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