Teak Replacement

[Hurricane]

Very nice job hurricane. What follows is a bit rain on parade but as you know I say it as I see it and the problem I describe won't much affect you on a bathing platform scenario.

My thoughts on plastic teak- my brother had it fitted on his now sold 52 footer. He had the standard product on one deck then the following year he had the new "stay cool" version put on the other deck.

In the med it got unbelievably hot. Far far far hotter than real teak. (Just to be scientific, it isn't a matter of temperature; it's a matter of heat capacity and conductivity. But you know what I mean). My brother's kids ( then 5-6-7 years old) occasionally walked on it on hot afternoons before their brains had engaged (as kids do when goofing around) and they literally cried/screamed with pain as their feet burned. He had to keep it wet and be very careful with the children. It's fine in N Europe and on an adult only boat, but I wouldn't dream of speccing it on a family/kids boat in the med. I sincerely hope magnum hasn't specced it.

The newer "keeps cool" product is snake oil. We had the perfect comparison of one boat, with one product on one deck and t'other product on t'other deck. The difference wasn't meaningful.

Remember the science - burning your feet is about heat capacity and conductivity more than temp. If I give you a thick steel bar at 100deg it will burn your hands. If you take a dish out of a 200deg oven and touch the tinfoil it doesn't hurt because despite being hot the tinfoil contains insufficient to heat energy to overheat your fingers. Plastic decks have far far more joules of heat energy than teak per kg of material for any temperature, and they conduct the heat to the surface faster. That's their problem.

Yep - I read your previous posts when you explained the above.
And, yes, I expect it to be hotter than wood.
But I balanced all that with the benefits - as one does when doing these things.
Time will tell if it works for us.
My eyes are "wide open" as they say, but thanks for reiterating your thoughts.

 

[MapisM]

My guess (/wish) is that you'll never regret the compromise, M.
In fact, my own experience - based on comparisons made mostly under S Sardinia sun, which as you know can be pretty hot in the peak of the summer - is somewhat different from what jfm is reporting.
I mean, of course the heat retention of PVC and the likes is higher than teak - or any wood, for that matter.
But we aren't talking of black vs. white.
if we should make a ranking of what types of decks are better under hot sun, my personal one would be as follow (from best to worse):
1) white painted wooden decks
2) white gelcoat
3) structural teak on wooden decks
4) cork-based materials
5) non-structural teak
6) synthetic materials
Bottom line, just to put the comparison in perspective, we are not talking of the best vs. the worst alternative, as far as heat goes: the worst vs the second to last is more like it.
For anyone with a GRP boat who is concerned about hot decks, sticking to bare gelcoat is indeed a no brainer...

 

[petem]

I note that on newer cruise ships, they have vast areas (including side decks, around pools, etc) of synthetic teak type material. Whilst being hot underfoot, I wouldn't say it is unbearable and not so hot to make a child cry. See http://wetravel2ucruise.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/bolidt-celebrates-ten-years-of-bolideck.html.

 

[jrudge]

I would buy it but when I looked the cost for each ( watsonns and another) was the same. So I suppose I felt the real thing was better. Throw in a price difference and it is a no brainer.

 

[markc]

I note that on newer cruise ships, they have vast areas (including side decks, around pools, etc) of synthetic teak type material. Whilst being hot underfoot, I wouldn't say it is unbearable and not so hot to make a child cry. See http://wetravel2ucruise.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/bolidt-celebrates-ten-years-of-bolideck.html.

I have to disagree Pete - we've been on a cruise for the past 3 years and the synthetic deck has not only made my kids cry, but nearly me as well!

 

[petem]

I have to disagree Pete - we've been on a cruise for the past 3 years and the synthetic deck has not only made my kids cry, but nearly me as well!

You're obviously not as sprightly as me Mark!

 

[markc]

You're obviously not as sprightly as me Mark!

You can picture the scene, walking 3 paces across the scalding surface with my 3 year old when we both realise that it's hotter than the sun....do I pick her up or just run and save myself?

 

[petem]

You can picture the scene, walking 3 paces across the scalding surface with my 3 year old when we both realise that it's hotter than the sun....do I pick her up or just run and save myself?

Save yourself every time Mark (a bit like the oxygen asks on the plane) .

 

[petem]

You can picture the scene, walking 3 paces across the scalding surface with my 3 year old when we both realise that it's hotter than the sun....do I pick her up or just run and save myself?

2 paces and you'd be clear of my bathing platform!

But I guess there's another factor here, and that is what you use your BP for. If it's just a platform to get on and off the boat then a hot platform is no big deal. If your kids (or adults) spend a lot of time playing on it then I guess the temperature is more critical.

 

[benjenbav]

You're obviously not as sprightly as me Mark!

Rythym is a dancer, eh, Pete?

Not to mention Hurric-blaine, the master of disambiguation. ?

 

[Cheery]

Forgive my naivety but what difference would white caulking make to the temperature absorbtion compared to black? Negligible or enough to make a difference?

 

[pan]

We have the synthetic teak on our rib... in July/Aug Balearics we have to wet it before touching, unbelievably hot:grumpy:

 

[Hurricane]

Forgive my naivety but what difference would white caulking make to the temperature absorbtion compared to black? Negligible or enough to make a difference?

I suspect that a white caulk would make a small difference but not enough to notice.

We have the synthetic teak on our rib... in July/Aug Balearics we have to wet it before touching, unbelievably hot:grumpy:

Teak in the Med in Jul/Aug gets hot anyway.
Even with wood, we end up sloshing a bucket of water over it.
Those boats without teak (bare GRP) don't seem to have a problem - probably because the deck is white.
I'm keeping a really open mind on this one.
It could be a hype that the traditional market is putting on this subject.
I KNOW that it is going to get hot.
I just want to find out how much hotter it will really be than the original wood.
Because Flexiteak should be far far far easier to keep clean - as I say, where possible, I like to keep my teak looking new.
Flexiteak ticks that box and looks like the real thing as well.

 

[Hurricane]

We have the synthetic teak on our rib... in July/Aug Balearics we have to wet it before touching, unbelievably hot:grumpy:

Our RIB has "Marine Deck 2000" fitted - an American cork based product which never gets too hot.
But IMO it isn't robust enough to use on the mother ship.

 

[MapisM]

Those boats without teak (bare GRP) don't seem to have a problem - probably because the deck is white.
I'm keeping a really open mind on this one.

M, just FYI, since the teak on your deck and f/b might sooner or (hopefully!) later need to be redone:
You might remember that the (OEM standard) teak on my DP main deck was too neglected to be recovered, when I bought her.
I decided to strip it completely, epoxy resin the whole surface, paint it, and use KiwiGrip as antiskid finishing on top.
Final result: night and day doesn't even begin to describe the difference.
My personal suggestion to anyone considering to fit teak or anything else above a GRP deck is very simple: don't.
Maybe one day someone will invent a material that works better than bare GRP for a boat deck, but one thing I'm sure of is that so far nobody did!

 

[NGM]

My personal suggestion to anyone considering to fit teak or anything else above a GRP deck is very simple: don't.

I guess that's the right advice if one only wants to prioritise function over form.

 

[Hurricane]

M, just FYI, since the teak on your deck and f/b might sooner or (hopefully!) later need to be redone:
You might remember that the (OEM standard) teak on my DP main deck was too neglected to be recovered, when I bought her.
I decided to strip it completely, epoxy resin the whole surface, paint it, and use KiwiGrip as antiskid finishing on top.
Final result: night and day doesn't even begin to describe the difference.
My personal suggestion to anyone considering to fit teak or anything else above a GRP deck is very simple: don't.
Maybe one day someone will invent a material that works better than bare GRP for a boat deck, but one thing I'm sure of is that so far nobody did!

Yea - agreed 100%
But
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.
.
.
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Teak does look good!!

 

[TonyR123]

And that is the main reason I have teak - "it looks good" . Was debating weather to have teak on the flybridge but saw one boat with and one boat without - def the right choice with.!

 

[MapisM]

Teak does look good!!

Well M, I sincerely don't know.
Have a look at the comparison pic below, which you might remember to have already seen.
What can surely be said is that the teak version looks more "classic", and the plastic one more "modern", so to speak.
But imho, it would be quite a stretch to call the teak appearance "good" and the plastic "bad" in absolute terms.
Though of course, as with any aesthetic matter, it's an each to their own thing, at the end of the day.
I'd just be curious to check if there's any consensus on what alternative looks better... maybe I should make a poll!

 

[NGM]

Have a look at the comparison pic below, which you might remember to have already seen.

I'd just be curious to check if there's any consensus on what alternative looks better... maybe I should make a poll!

Your example is very specific and wouldn't reflect a true teak v GRP comparison. Into the poll you should throw in boats like the new Riva Rivale, I wonder how that would look with GRP decks !