Teak... Surely not the first time

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by daddle

Use a crowbar on the exterior teak. Replace with plastic, metal or FRP. Or maybe paint it. You never get those wasted hours of maintenance back.

Which hours of maintenance? Fiberglass decks have to be washed and polished -- they show every speck of dust. Teak decks just need buckets of seawater once in a while -- at most. If you're sailing and getting seawater on deck, they need -- nothing at all.

To each his own, of course, but to my eye teak decks are gorgeous, they feel wonderful underfoot, and I would never want a boat without them.

They are costly, and they do have a certain lifetime, so there's a price -- you have to amortize them over 12 or 20 years or however long you think you will get out of them. To me, it's well worth it. To others maybe not.


If Daddle is talking about teak brightwork -- then I sort of agree with him. My father has a varnished teak caprail on his boat and it is a tremendous PITA to keep in shape. But I don't think a crowbar is the answer -- stripping it and leaving it bare is. Bare unvarnished teak caprails look great.

[Craggles]

Yep. Clean the teak, rub in with soft cloth and after 5 minutes polish with a clean cloth. Done! I was worried about stains on the cockpit table, floor and seats. So far, so good in the areas i have treated. Due to the rain we have had it appears its keeping the black mould out of the teak as well

[AllezCat]

I wonder if the op was talking about teak deck or rails/table-tops and such. Would imagine different advice.

I agree the teak deck is great on the feet - NON slippery when wet. more slippery when dry.
I had the 3 step oil stuff on board and used it once - such a waist of elbow grease...
Good advise i.e.
Makes sense not to use just epoxy - requires varnish for UV. And would be slippery.
My boat only has it in the cockpit and transom stairs. Is far more degraded at the bottom stairs etc. And may only last a few more years.
I will get the sander onto it to try and remove stains etc... then leave as is.
Next project is to refinish cockpit table. Have used Sikkens in interior sections - not happy with results. SO will use regular varnish - but maybe use the epoxy trick for the first 2 coats..

[Southcoasting]

When I first got my old boat this past fall, I researched this topic quite a bit...I found each person has their own preference basically because it's their own taste for how they want the teak to look like...Each way of treating teak has their own minuses and pluses...and depending on how each person wants the teak to look like will determine how much they're willing to put up with as far as maintaining it...

For me dealing with an older boat, I have quite a bit of it around the cockpit (coamings, hatches, grab rails, instrument panels, rails) so it's quite a bit to deal with and maintain. Don't have teak decks so not quite that much...

I love the look of teak details like this on an old boat but also despise having to maintain it so as a personal reason, I looked for a solution that would allow me to maintain it the easiest way possible but look somewhat presentable...I did not like the idea of having to remove my teak everytime I needed to sand, varnish, etc...

When I first got my boat, the PO believed in little maintenance on teak so he left it as is unvarnished thus it was gray/green and dull...I wasn't a big fan as I at least want it to look like wood...

So in my research, I found a solution that makes sense...I first needed a product that makes it easy to clean teak so I went with Starbright Gel Teak Cleaner...Used it and loved the results...I then found Starbright also makes a product called Tropical Teak...I researched it a bit and found it leaves teak looking great for a season or two and you will just have to re-apply a little here and there prior to next season or whenever you feel it needs it...I wanted something "natural" looking and what I found was that people who used it, loved the appearance of the teak and found that it actually protected the teak for quite a while without having to sand then varnish...Of course it does not look perfect and shiny like stain & varnishing but I'm a fan of the natural wood look...

So that was what I went with and about halfway done with my teak (taking it real slow). But I love the results since it is what I was looking for in making my teak look natural but also not having to sand/varnish and love the idea of just re-applying when needed without much else to do...We'll see how it holds up in my first season as a boater in New England but I would imagine it would last me the whole season considering it's only about 6-7 months and not year round...

[Geoduck]

My entire boat - all 48' of it is made out of teak (masts & spars mahogany) IT'S NOT MY FAULT! The last owners were not savvy about caring for teak decks and wore them down an 1/8''. They are rough and I have replaced 100's of bungs but I LOVE WOOD!! I dont care what you say - I'd rather be aboard a wood boat any day than a plastic one! Thats all I see!!! PLASTIC, PLASTIC, PLASTIC!!! THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!!! A BUNCH OF CLONES ALL PARKED IN A ROW!!! NOBODY STOPS TO TALK TO THEM!
They all come talk to me and tell me what a beautiful boat I have and they all say the same thing - "Sure is alot of work!" SO WHAT?? Elbow grease is good for the soul! Of course you get some of that with plastic boats too - "wax on, wax off"
All I do is gently wash the deck w/salt water & tsp or Bar Keeper.

[onestepcsy37]

southcoasting - you will LOVE starbright tropical teak oil. i cleaned my teak and put on 2 coats 8 years ago. four years ago i put on another coat. it's ready for another coat now.

and this is in the florida sun. can't believe everyone isn't using this stuff. it's easy to apply with just a brush (be sure to cover everything nearby while applying it as this stuff can be tough to get off anything else it touches). it is truly the lazy man's (me) teak coating.

caveat - i don't have teak decks so i don't know how it would stand up to being walked on...

[Blue Stocking]

Geo,

you gotta be the guy wearing the "If God wanted fiberglass boats, He would have planted fiberglass trees", teeshirt.

[zeehag]

i sail a lot. i clean my teak with sea water, green 3m pad....then i oil it , if i feel like it. teak loves sea water and hates fresh water, as fresh water makes it rot. it is NOT a blonde wood , but is a redheaded wood.
if the wood turns black with oil, then it hasnt been cleaned well .
i spend 6 hours annually on my 110 feet of teak wood.

[Cheechako]

Best exterior teak I ever saw, at least unvarnished, was on a Hans Christian... it was loaded with teak and it looked light tan and perfect. I asked the owner how long it took him to get it that way and he commented that it was always that way..... the only thing he put on it was sea water on a regular basis..
Saw teak decks in Mexico that looked the same way... same answer, sea water daily...

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Geoduck

My entire boat - all 48' of it is made out of teak (masts & spars mahogany) IT'S NOT MY FAULT! The last owners were not savvy about caring for teak decks and wore them down an 1/8''. They are rough and I have replaced 100's of bungs but I LOVE WOOD!! I dont care what you say - I'd rather be aboard a wood boat any day than a plastic one! Thats all I see!!! PLASTIC, PLASTIC, PLASTIC!!! THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!!! A BUNCH OF CLONES ALL PARKED IN A ROW!!! NOBODY STOPS TO TALK TO THEM!
They all come talk to me and tell me what a beautiful boat I have and they all say the same thing - "Sure is alot of work!" SO WHAT?? Elbow grease is good for the soul! Of course you get some of that with plastic boats too - "wax on, wax off"
All I do is gently wash the deck w/salt water & tsp or Bar Keeper.

They always come and talk with you because you're always on your boat working on the teak... everyone else is out having fun! Hah! :>)

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Best exterior teak I ever saw, at least unvarnished, was on a Hans Christian... it was loaded with teak and it looked light tan and perfect. I asked the owner how long it took him to get it that way and he commented that it was always that way..... the only thing he put on it was sea water on a regular basis..
Saw teak decks in Mexico that looked the same way... same answer, sea water daily...

"yachties" dont know how to do teak--should be done old fashioned way--as was described--sea water and mebbe oil. is awesome gorgeous. slip-proof, also.

[JardiTancat]

"teak loves sea water and hates fresh water, as fresh water makes it rot". So what am I to do to keep my teak decks clean and attractive in the great lakes? What about adding a bunch of salt to a bucket of water? And I'm told that SEMCO teak sealer is somewhat easy to apply (although darned pricey) and does a good job. Any other thoughts?

[panfiltp]

I've varnished teak, cetoled teal, and oiled teak. It is all allot of work. Now I let it go naturally gray from the sun. It matches my hair!
Tom

[DSDman]

All this talk about sea water makes me think. I'm gonna take a bag of pool salt and add a little water in a bucket and make a paste out of it. then take a long bristle brush and dip it in there and go to town, scrub all the exterior teak I can and see what happens. I'll take before and after pictures.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by JardiTancat

"teak loves sea water and hates fresh water, as fresh water makes it rot". So what am I to do to keep my teak decks clean and attractive in the great lakes? What about adding a bunch of salt to a bucket of water? And I'm told that SEMCO teak sealer is somewhat easy to apply (although darned pricey) and does a good job. Any other thoughts?

Yeah... it's a problem on boats that sit in the marina up here in the PNW where it rains alot. Turns the teak and ugly grey or even blackish sometimes. I've never thought fresh water makes it rot ... but maybe so.... would take some time though. Plain old untreated cedar fence posts have been known to last 50 years up here....