What is happening to my teak decks?

[Puggy]

Hi there,

Does anyone know why my teak decks are doing this? All the teak on my boat sheds a sort of fibrous stuff, especially if it is wet. After researching previous posts, I am thinking some sort of mould treatment would be a help as I think my decks are mouldy, but does anyone have any other ideas?

Best wishes piers

 

[Tranona]

Needs a good clean. Number of cleaners on the market. Boracol often recommended. I use Polycell mould cleaner but only good for small areas.

 

[Robert Wilson]

Scrubbing WITH the grain can cause serious damage/wear, but this looks like it's been correctly scrubbed ACROSS the grain. Good luck, keep us UTD plz.

 

[Portofino]

It's because it's, not real Burmese teak .
Looks from pic like a board routed out.
What type of boat is it on?

 

[sailorman]

It's because it's, not real Burmese teak .
Looks from pic like a board routed out.
What type of boat is it on?

the only place to get "Real Burmese Teak" these days is from the store in my garage roof
Psssst wana buy some

 

[Puggy]

It's because it's, not real Burmese teak .
Looks from pic like a board routed out.
What type of boat is it on?

Dunno about the Burmese bit, but is proper planking as had it all expensively recaulked. AFAIK the deck is original on my Nauticat 43.

 

[johnalison]

It is not uncommon to get some fluff on scuffed wet wood. Your teak could do with some mould killer as suggested, Boracol probably being the best, Hugh Patio Magic also works. The best wood on my decks is on the areas most walked on.

 

[Puggy]

It is not uncommon to get some fluff on scuffed wet wood. Your teak could do with some mould killer as suggested, Boracol probably being the best, Hugh Patio Magic also works. The best wood on my decks is on the areas most walked on.

Thanks for this. I will try the Boracol as there is plenty of mould about and I suspect this isn't helping things. The only place I don't have this scuffing is in the cockpit where there is a lot of footfall...

 

[garvellachs]

teak fluff

Our teak deck went "fluffy" last year when we got caught with no cover on in the cold/snow last November. I put it down to frost damage on the surface. It seemed to wear off in the Spring as soon as the boat was back in use.

 

[FWB]

This all you need to keep teak clean

Just mix with water, spray on and go home.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Sorry to say, but I disagree with all the previous posts.

We had the exact same thing happens to us on almost brand new teak. It is simply the very soft fibers of the wood itself that sit between the harder grain. It happens after a long period of soaking and any abrasion.

Scrubbing it, or chemicals will remove it. That's a bad idea. Best to can do is leave it alone. If it dries it might stay attached or gently abrade away. No point doing any work to remove it prematurely.

 

[auditdata]

Sorry to say, but I disagree with all the previous posts.

We had the exact same thing happens to us on almost brand new teak. It is simply the very soft fibers of the wood itself that sit between the harder grain. It happens after a long period of soaking and any abrasion.

Scrubbing it, or chemicals will remove it. That's a bad idea. Best to can do is leave it alone. If it dries it might stay attached or gently abrade away. No point doing any work to remove it prematurely.

+1 We had the same thing on 2 week old teak deck. It is soft fibres and not mould.

 

[pvb]

The best thing you can do with a teak deck is treat it with Boracol several times a year, and try not to touch it the rest of the time.

 

[FWB]

The best thing you can do with a teak deck is treat it with Boracol several times a year, and try not to touch it the rest of the time.

Better to treat it with Brintons once a year. It's just a biocide.

 

[pvb]

Better to treat it with Brintons once a year. It's just a biocide.

Boracol has a fungicide and an algaecide.

 

[FWB]

Ok but Brintons Patio Magic or Deck And Fence Magic will keep your decks and ropes clean all year.

 

[Steve_N]

Sorry to say, but I disagree with all the previous posts.

We had the exact same thing happens to us on almost brand new teak. It is simply the very soft fibers of the wood itself that sit between the harder grain. It happens after a long period of soaking and any abrasion.

Scrubbing it, or chemicals will remove it. That's a bad idea. Best to can do is leave it alone. If it dries it might stay attached or gently abrade away. No point doing any work to remove it prematurely.

We get exactly this all the time on our deck in the wet climate of Argyll. In fact it gets so bad that in winter the run-off from the rain down the sides of the boat is full of this stuff leaving trails of it down the sides of hull.

However the deck is coming up to 30 years old and looks good for another 30 years so I'm not convinced that it is degradation of the teak but rather a build-up something or other. It can be easily sponged off and teak below is as hard and smooth as ever.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Ok but Brintons Patio Magic or Deck And Fence Magic will keep your decks and ropes clean all year.

Hijack!

How do you use it for ropes? Does its stop them going green?

 

[Puggy]

Hijack!

How do you use it for ropes? Does its stop them going green?

To he horror of my wife, I always stuff my ropes in the washing machine. She will go into orbit if I am caught tipping "patio magic" into the detergent tray of the washing machine!

 

[FWB]

Hijack!

How do you use it for ropes? Does its stop them going green?

Just spray the ropes as well as the deck, or if you take the ropes off then put them in a large bucket with the Brintons mix.
Last year I had the mast down for revarnishing so all the ropes were off. I put them in a large drum with the Brintons then emptied the whole lot over one of the patios. Voila ! Clean ropes and clean patio !
The Brintons will clean the ropes and teak and keep them from going green again for a year. The patio will last two years !