teak decks - would you?

Re: You don\'t really want me to answer that?

I was'nt either I had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I'm the best of the lot really despite our combined ages being 221
 
Re: Another aspect to the matter

You make a good point about cored boats. However, they have been around for many years now and are still being built. Deck fastenings should not penetrate the core as there is nothing to be gained from trying to fasten into it.

With advances in modern adhesives, few teak decks are now fastened with screws.
 
Re: Another aspect to the matter

If there are no screws involved with the more recent decks then objection withdrawn. As for the general point about deck fastenings, it's pretty tricky to attach any fastening (except where possible gluing) without penetrating to the core, as the outer skin has to be thin (the objective is after all weight saving). It's a slight contradiction to this weight saving aim to then glue a teak deck to it!!!

Granted they've been around a while, and are now produced in prodigious quantities, but I guess as large numbers of cored boats start to reach a certain age, problems should start to become more and more in the boat-buyer's consciousness. In effect, cored boats are being built to a design with a shorter design life for the sake of weight saving, which is good (long term) news for those of us with non-cored boats and an eye to the secondhand market! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I did buy a new boat and I didn't specify teak decks for various reasons.
1. Contrary to the emotive stuff below I don't think they are naff or pretentious. They're not pretending to be anything except teak decks and as my boat looks nothing but a plastic boat there's no pretence involved.
2. I didn't specify them purely and simply because of both short term and long term maintenance. Short term involves keeping them clean and either sealed or oiled. My cockpit takes long enough to do already. Long term involves caulking and eventual replacement at an eye watering cost.
3. The only advantage I can think of is that they make an excellent non slip surface but I'm more than happy with my plastic decks.
4. As for naffness ? One man's naffness is another man's something-or-other. We're all entitled to our opinions as to what's naff and what isn't. Let Mirelle have his opinion looking down from the lofty heights of his wooden antique. He's entitled to his opinion but perhaps not from such a great height.
 
That might be difficult...

"Let Mirelle have his opinion looking down from the lofty heights of his wooden antique. He's entitled to his opinion but perhaps not from such a great height."

I should think my mast is shorter than yours!
 
You seem to have very strong feelings on this! I see from your bio that you sail a Contessa 32 which wouldn't be my choice for the sailing we do, just as my boat is probably not yours. Would it help if I posted a picture of a Co32 with teak decks, or shall we simply agree to respect each others opinions?
 
Obviously a very personal matter /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Our own boat was a custom build so anything we wanted we got. Despite that the builder actively discouraged us away from teak and he did not have to work hard to do so.

The issues for us were maintenance, the ultimate cost of replacing it in the future (we intended keeping the boat long term) and weight. The maintenance includes that for the substrate unless the deck is solid glass but issues still may remain around fittings even then. I am sure water always gets under it as the few steel superyachts I have been on (and most of those are old enough to be weathered so to speak, as most are built in aluminium now) have had evidence of rust coloured weeps in way of the planking joints and into the waterways.

We went for one of the more expensive glued on composition sheet materials. Part of the decision was that we thought paint would look "cheap", but it turns out that when the time comes for replacement it will be with a light non skid painted finish.

Many of the new generation custom built light fast cruising boats I see now have painted non skid. I was completely sold on it from the appearance point of view when I visited a friend's new very high quality boat in terms of finishes and fitout and the deck looked very nice. That boat was built with no expense spared, for a very experienced owner, but they did not consider teak.

In my view the important things for paint are colour choice, it must be accurately and cleanly masked out into a pattern and around deck fittings (if it applied over the whole deck it starts looking as if it is concrete or something), the non skid must be fine (the heavy stuff as used on ferries, etc looks bad on a yacht), and it should be an epoxy paint. The epoxy chalks in the sun and wears away so when the recoat time comes there is no sanding to avoid a build up of paint and granules.

Others have mentioned the lack of recovery if resale value is important.

However, I have to concede that teak looks very nice and if the desire for that appearance overwhelms the other considerations in the choice then that is completely fair enough.

John
 
Re: No. (edited)

Think I must be a bit dense but can you explain what is the "fake" in all of this. Are we talking "fake" teak, or "fake" deck or both ?
An earlier poster referred to the old Morris Minor Traveller and hinted that this had "fake" wood yet the wood was perfectly real, didn't look "fake" so wasn't "fake", or was it ?
 
Yes.

Speaking for myself (I will leave Andrew Bebbington to deal with the Morris Traveller, which was his analogy) the "fake" element lies in the illusion that something is structural when it is not.

The "beams" on a "stockbroker Tudor" house are decorative, aping the structural beams in a Tudor house. Likewise a "laid teak deck" consisting of thin strips of wood, glued and/or screwed to a plastic deck, is aping the structural planking in a real laid and swept teak deck. The caulking and paying in the former is of no use other than to make pretty black lines; in the latter it is (sometimes!) keeping the water out.
 
I replaced my teak laid decks in 2002 at a cost of around 15k, which as SimonCr quite correctly points out is a largish percentage of the value of the boat. I am faced with a bit of maintenance now as I have moved the boat from the cold and wet UK to warmer and less wet Melbourne (although this summer it is more like the UK). In a few places the teak has shrunk a tiny bit, which means I need to replace some of the black sikaflex as it has pulled away. It doesn't look like a big problem but will require a day or two's effort on a sunny day. I hate the thought of water getting in down between the teak.

Would I do it again? Probably not.

Whilst the decks look awesome, and they fit the classic look of the yacht, I think for peace of mind I wouldn't repeat the process. After 2 and a half years of heavy use the decks show little sign of wear, so I probably won't have to make that decision for another 15-20 years. I will just have to keep on top of the maintenance.

Also, it might depend upon what you get for your 5k. My decks are 12mm and it looks like they will last a long time. Thinner planking will probably mean that the replacement cost/effort comes sooner.
 
Actually I can't honestly say I have strong feelings on the subject - as I don't have teak decks, the subject is not a personal one for me, just one where I expressed my view, for what it was worth. If my views appear to be strong, that is merely me parrying the rather heated response.

I can understand that people are sensitive about having aspects of their boats criticised. I don't like doing it, but at the same time, it is impossible to discuss the subject without it. The personal attacks on Mirelle for expressing his opinion were over the top, just because he used the word "naff". I think that it should be possible to exchange opinions freely, and I don't think that it was unreasonable of him to use the word (well, after all, I used it too, so did AndrewB). On the other hand, I think that accusing him of looking down from a great height, ie. snobbery, was meaningless and unnecessary, used for no other purpose than to offend and not adding anything constructive to the discussion.

So far as Contessas are concerned, I don't see how they are relevant to the discussion either. I thought we were discussing decks, not choice of boat. I'm very happy that not everyone wants a CO32, I would be quite miserable if they did. Vive la difference!
 
Having read the post below, and being in the market for a 15 to 20 year old boat, I would avoid buying any boat with teak decks

Reason - cost to replace - amount of regular maintenance - where mechanically fixed - prospect of water ingression into cored deck.

If your decks are quoted at a cost of ONLY £5000, I hate to think of the thinness of the teak, and also how hard and durable it will be against the older burma teak (close grained and much harder)

Yes teak does look nice - so can a painted deck

Which is more non slip - probably paint -

So don't waste your money
 
Re: No. (edited)

[ QUOTE ]
An earlier poster referred to the old Morris Minor Traveller and hinted that this had "fake" wood yet the wood was perfectly real, didn't look "fake" so wasn't "fake", or was it ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Many years ago, one of my friends had a Moggy Traveller. The problems that he had with wet rot, I think he would assure you that the wood WAS real!!

As for the Teak deck arguement...well, my way of thinking is, a boat that is made of plastic is made of plastic for a reason...ease of maintenance. Adding teak decks only creates more maintenance problems, so...

WHY DO IT???? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: No. (edited)

Done to death - but the reason you would do it could include that you like the look/feel of teak deck (or artificial alternative) and don't mind spending the money on it.
Don't like it? Don't buy it.
 
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