teak decks again

[laissezfaire]

I live on my 35 year old Beneteau Idylle for six months of the year. always in warm tropical climates. the boat is in pretty good condition and properly maintained.
she has the original teak decks that still look "ok" with no delamination or splitting. zero leaks. they are however getting thin. in a couple of spots it'd be easier to paint the seams with a black felt pen than try and get any more caulk between them. many if not most of the screws have been removed and the holes epoxied and replugged over the years.

so now we get to the question... all the posts that I have seen recommend one of two options;
1 replace the teak decks or
2 rip it up and fibreglass then paint

because of the age of the boat and despite the good condition it has a finite value. replacing with new teak would be optimum but quite honestly I don't think the 'cake is worth the candle" .
but I'm loathe to rip out decks that are still sound and watertight.

has anyone out there considered a third option ?
which would be to remove the seams, sand the decks to a flat stage.. and then refinish over the teak ?
I know teak is an oily wood and requires 'stabilising' before paint can be applied . But we do this all the time with other teak brightwork.. rails , tables, trim, etc.
and we now have products far superior to the old varnishes of days gone by that will penetrate and seal the teak before applying finish coats.
in the case of the decks , after removing the existing seams and any suspect screws, I would sand then seal them with a two part polyester product.
over this I would apply a slow curing caulk like material.. say 3m 5200 or a similar sikaflex product. using a 12' flat trowel I think one could achieve a fairly level surface that can be sanded to remove irregularities. and maybe even a thin second coat to smooth out the areas where the seams may still be visible.
over this of course we would apply a good quality non skid paint that could be touched up and repainted every 3 or 4 years.

so .. am I thinking 'outside the box' or am I nuts ?

any thoughts .. positive or negative would be appreciated.. and if anyone has taken this route I would really like to hear about it.
thanks

[Davo1404]

Option 2 is the only way to fix the issue. I persevered with a worn out teak deck for years. Finally saw the light when an old time ship right walked past as I was recaulking an area. His comment was "you are in denial son". Outcome was that we removed the teak completely & repainted them with white non-skid. The boat is lighter & a lot cooler below. This was in 2002, haven't touched them since. A ship broker also made a comment that I had added value to the yacht by removing them.

[laissezfaire]

thanks for the input Dave. that seems to be the consensus. did you fibreglass over the subdeck before repainting with the non-skid ?

[Davo1404]

Originally Posted by laissezfaire

thanks for the input Dave. that seems to be the consensus. did you fibreglass over the subdeck before repainting with the non-skid ?

Hi. The teak decks were glued & screwed to 6mm of plywood. This was the way they did them in the 1970s. When we removed the teak, the ply underneath had areas of rot. This became a major issue. Ended up replacing all the deck with 2 6mm layers of plywood and glassing over. Your deck being fiberglass will be easier, with only having to fill the screw holes (hopefully not a balsa core). Then fairing up before applying the non-skid. I have had a friend in New Zealand who did exactly this with his teak over fiberglass decks. I have also seen a late model Bavaria with the teak decks being removed. They were sikaflexed straight on top of the original moulded non skid deck, unbelievable!

[Cheechako]

If they are well stuck, wear 'em down to the 'glass! Is it aesthetics that bother you?

I guess option 4 would be:
Sand and fill the decks and seams.
Buy Treadmaster and glue it to the teak decks leaving the outside crown of teak exposed around the perimeter? Less work than removing, glassing (I didn't) and painting the decks and much of the surrounding area that often has to be painted also?
I wonder if you could 5200 the Treadmaster in place?

Ok, it's a bit of a wild idea.

[laissezfaire]

to ;
Dave.. the photo of your deck (assume it's yours ?) looks really good. certainly doesn't look like an afterthought.. I'd be happy with decks that look like that. I'm just really reluctant to rip out a solid deck that's ok ..just very thin.
Cheekakoo... yes. it's mostly aesthetics. haven't considered Treadmaster but will do a little research. might take a lot of sanding ?

thanks to you both for the input

[chowdan]

If it's only aesthetic that your trying to solve, just let them be and wear them to the glass

I wouldnt do your third option. Sounds like a ton of work for something that is not the right way to tackle it. Your better off just pulling, filling, fairing and painting.

I've got a ton of teak on my boat. Screwed down to a foam core. I dread the day I have to pull it but we all have the eventual task of pulling.

As for laying glass down, you wouldnt need to do that since your teak is non-structural. The only time you need to add more glass is when they are structural.

[Bill O]

Option 2, you'll be much happier in the long run and your boat will be cooler especially in the tropics.

Biggest downside will be painting. Once you go down the paint route, you are committed. Pick a paint that you can touch up/blend in.

How is your gelcoat? If it still in good shape, try to remove the teak decking and not paint the gelcoat. We glassed our decks and went through the whole process of priming/sealer before putting down nonskid. You can save yourself a lot of time effort and material cost if you don't need to prime the nonskid area. We are now using Kiwigrip after a steep learning curve. Phoenix's Flight: Interdeck v. KiwiGrip: A Tale of Two Nonskids

It is easy to apply w/a good nonskid texture and also keeps the boat much cooler.


Bill O.

[chowdan]

I did kiwis grip In my cockpit - what was your learning curve? I found that schmearing it all over the area and using the loopy goopy wasnt too much of a learning curve

Originally Posted by Bill O

Option 2, you'll be much happier in the long run and your boat will be cooler especially in the tropics.

Biggest downside will be painting. Once you go down the paint route, you are committed. Pick a paint that you can touch up/blend in.

How is your gelcoat? If it still in good shape, try to remove the teak decking and not paint the gelcoat. We glassed our decks and went through the whole process of priming/sealer before putting down nonskid. You can save yourself a lot of time effort and material cost if you don't need to prime the nonskid area. We are now using Kiwigrip after a steep learning curve. Phoenix's Flight: Interdeck v. KiwiGrip: A Tale of Two Nonskids

It is easy to apply w/a good nonskid texture and also keeps the boat much cooler.


Bill O.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by chowdan

I did kiwis grip In my cockpit - what was your learning curve? I found that schmearing it all over the area and using the loopy goopy wasnt too much of a learning curve

The steep learning curve was really on which nonskid to use, type of prep needed under them, etc.. Kiwigrip simplified it.
Other than follow Kiwigrip instructions, would reemphasize not to try to roll it out in direct very hot sun.



Bill O.

[chowdan]

Ahh gotcha. Yeah I rolled mine out in shaded sun and had no issue.

Originally Posted by Bill O

The steep learning curve was really on which nonskid to use, type of prep needed under them, etc.. Kiwigrip simplified it.
Other than follow Kiwigrip instructions, would reemphasize not to try to roll it out in direct very hot sun.



Bill O.