The Best Deck?

[Guest]

I just decided not to buy a secondhand boat because of problems with the teak deck. It needed redoing, and there was a chance that water had got into the balsa sandwich, which would have been a costly affair.

The boat I chose has a deck painted with glass-ball non-slip paint, and my old boat had Treadmaster, which I like.

But what is the best deck? Teak has its problems, moulded "non-slip" gelcoat patterns are not that good at all - what to choose?

Lost in Denmark - a yachtsmans paradise!

 

[vyv_cox]

Two relatively recent products, Tek-Dek and Marinedeck 2000, receive favourable write-ups. Tek-Dek was covered here quite extensively in the past month, postings include the site of the man laying decks at the time, with many photos and tips. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark it, but you will find it in the archives.

I have had Marinedeck 2000 on my cockpit seats for the past four years or so, no maintenance at all, robust, warm to sit on and non-slip. It is cork strips that look something like teak.

Laying tek-dek looks easier as the product is in its finished state when laid. Marinedeck needs to be sanded, sealed and coated before use.

 

[AndrewB]

Deck Paint.

Agree with you about teak 'decking' laid on GRP - it's just a liability, designed to shorten the yacht's life if screwed into composite. It is not really even that good a non-slip surface, though better than moulded GRP.

I've gone for deck paint. It's cheap, easy to apply, and gives an extremely effective grip in all conditions, even icing. I painted it over an epoxy undercoat. First time I tried conventional paint with a little fine sand added. This was effective but the sand didn't go on evenly and looked a bit streaky. Then I switched to 'proper' deckpaint (International) which is slightly more expensive but looks much nicer.

It has a slightly rough feel but is not uncomfortable to sit on. It is a bit soft and wears away rather easily, so can need touching up. I've used patches of Trackmark on heavy wear areas such as where the anchor runs.

 

[gunnarsilins]

I agree with all...

...postings.
Paint: looks good, simple and cheap
Tek-Dek, Marinedeck 2000: if looks are more important and you can allow the cost, they are not exactly cheap.
Treadmaster: best nonslip, but rough on you knees. Looks? Well can be argued....
Real teak: Looks good, when well-kept (rarely seen) but a time bomb of problems.

I have Treadmaster on mine, very worn, but I´ll go for again.

 

[Guest]

Thanks a lot for confirming my suspicions.

But, as luck would have it, the "love at first sight" boat that I really wanted all along came on the market at the last minute (he'd advertised it, then backed out when I asked him), and could he (the local boatbuilder's apprentice) please take my present boat in part exchange? Could he ever! It's a Laurin 32 (you know the type, Gunnarsilins?), built like the proverbial brickie's khazi, and very nice too...

The deck is new, moulded GRP, though, and could double as a warm-weather ice rink when wet.

Any tips about how to get Treadmaster to stick to it? The chandler will let me have some of his old stock at a good price. It will need to be filled or sanded, right?

Lost in Denmark - a yachtsmans paradise!

 

[Guest]

Its best to use treadmasters own glue. Also don't just key the surface but heavily score the deck as this increaces surface area of adhesion

 

[vyv_cox]

Agree

Don't think of using anything other than the correct stuff. It's not cheap, but cheaper than getting the whole lot off and laying it again. A previous boat had the whole deck in Treadmaster, stuck down with impact adhesive, I had to get the whole lot off, a massive job that took most of a winter.

I didn't score the deck when laying mine, just dewaxed and light sanded. It has been down for about ten years now, still in good condition and no lifting edges.