Weird Stuff Done to Teak Decks

[Johnathon123]

I have never seen this before.

A boat I am looking at had a teak deck, I say had but it is still there. The PO covered it with a waterproof finish and painted it, you can still see the texture and sealant grooves.

The current owner says the paint wears really quickly about every 6 months.

My ignorant view was to run away, what do you think?

[MarkJ]

Hi James,
one would think the only reason why he's put a waterproof finish on it is that its not water proof.

Teak decks are often layed by screwing the lengths of teak to the deck. The screws go right through the outer surface of the deck. In between the outer surfaces of the deck is a core - a space thats filled often with balsa wood.

As you could imagine from the childhood days of model building balsa wood and salt water are going to really screw up if they touch!

They screws are then capped off with those neat little circular bits of teak and you never see them again.

Some boats teak decks may have 2,000 of these screws going through the deck.

Now, just imagine ONE of those screws was put in after lunchtime on a Friday afternoon of a long weekend 20 years ago. Every wave, every rain shower for 20 years has let one small drip in through the bad screw into that balsa.

After it has rotted the balsa away it will have found some way to penetrate below - maybe around the dorade hole 10 feet from the screw. Stains the ceiling of the yacht.

Now, just think, theres no way to work out which is your errant little screw. So do you rebed the whole 2,000? Nup, you splatter the deck with a sealant and paint over the whole miserable lot.

So if you buy the boat you have a teak covering a fibreglass shell over rotted balsa.

Dat, mah friend, is a real 'runner' for someone like me. Someone who is getting the boat very cheaply and wants to put a year and $10,000 into it may well be getting the deal of his lifetime.


Mark
PS The tech details of teak decks are far beyond me, others here know more.

[marc2012]

i would not buy a boat with pristine teak let alone one patched.Totally agree with other mark.marc

[biltong]

Hi J123
I have worked on many teak decks, and there is little to recomend decks where the teak strips have been screwed down. All that Markj says is true. It is time to start running. Teak decks need to be bedded down with one of many available bedding compounds. Everybody has their favourite type of bedding compound, but that in itself is another story altogether.

[captainKJ]

Years ago doing daywork on a 90 foot private yacht,,, the owners had me PAINT the teak decks,,, they could not afford to redo the decks properly so they decided to paint them white. the boat took over 2 years to sell because of that,, when you went outside you had to have sunglasses because of the glare,,, semi-gloss high sheen paint on the decks,, it was fun to walk on when it got wet

[GordMay]

Ignorant, or not (I suspect) James, your instincts are good.
What Marc, Marc, Biltong, and KJ said.

[newlazydays]

People refer to teak decks......but they are not really teak decks but a veneer of teak....sometimes about 3/8 inch thick......attached to the underlying fiberglass deck with screws or glue. Some teak can be "secret fastened", which is a lot better than having screws going through the deck..... and if the screws do go through the deck what do they go into? If it is balsa give it a big miss!

[phantomracer]

Kind of defeats the purpose of having a teak deck painting or varnishing it! Lose the reduced maintenance properties and removes the natural anti skid properties.

But if the maintenance is not kept up on a traditional teck deck...

This is what may happen:




But there is nothing like it when its repaired (deck made by Teak Decking Systems and glued down to a plywood and dynel deck)

[lorenzo b]

Putting teak on top of fiberglass is pretty weird in itself. If you want a wooden boat, get one.

[captainKJ]

there is nothing like teak decks for the looks and feel, friend redid his 44 foot boat,,, decks were 25 years old,, replaced all the teak,,, including the plywood underneath,,, the screws had started leaking many years ago, the new style teak comes epoxied to marine plywood,,,,NO screws,,, most of the teak was cut at the shop using patterns made from cardboard,,, then epoxied to the deck,, weights put on top for 24 hours,,, no screw holes to leak,,,, he spent 3 months doing this but the result was worth it,,, personally i would not want teak on my next sailboat only because i want a mostly maintenance free sailboat,, but i do love the look and feel of teak on a deck

[Johnathon123]

Thanks everyone, when I looked at it yesterday I felt my stomach sink in preparation for a run, now I know

Running

Ps, phantom, Awsome boat.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by captainKJ

there is nothing like teak decks for the looks and feel . . .

Aint' that the truth! It's wunnerful. It is absolutely worth all the trouble and expense.

[jackiepitts]

I have seen old wooden classics (1930's and 40s) with painted teak decks. It seems according to there owners a pretty common thing to do on these old boats. I am not sure if you are looking at a classic boat like one of these but if so you would really have to love these old girls to take on a project like that.
Personally I love the classics but would be unwilling to take one of them on in this point of my life.

[captainKJ]

I think the best one is the 3rd world dive boat i worked on many years ago,,, they put teak oil on the woodwork that was on the INSIDE of the boat and varnished the teak decks OUTSIDE,,, made for a fun time walking outside on the decks when they were wet

[zeehag]

the hardest part of maintaining teakwood decks is the pouring of SALT water over them EVERY DAY other than that-- low maintenance.--replace the polysulfide every 5 yrs. LOL--but the placement of the decking is a b&^%%#-- tongue and grove is good , epoxy and no screws--im glad mine had plywood decking with layer of glass over-- is better than nowadays use of balsa as far as structural integriy on foredeck. i got lucky--my deck is intact and solid. dry inside!!