buying a 50' Alden Teak Deck. Crazy or insanely crazy?

[blunderbuss]

I'm considering a 60s Alden, blue fiberglass hull with teak decks.
It was re-caulked well a few years back, but the deck has a large midship soft spot, maybe 12'. On the other hand its Alden-ness is glorious.

so I'm curious if there's anyone here that doesn't think I'm insane?

[JPA Cate]

'Course you're not insane. A beautiful boat is eye candy, a joy to the spirit. I'm really sorry, but I'm going to rain fairly hard on this parade.

A 12 foot long "soft spot" in the deck is probably bigger than that by the time you get back to solid timber. If she's plywood under the teak and above the deck beams, the water that has penetrated the decks shall have wicked between the layers of plywood,and migrated goodness knows where. It can even get into wiring. Someone like boatpoker here on CF, who does surveys, might be able to give you a ballpark figure on how much it would cost to have it professionally repaired. Send him a PM (personal message).

It is a huge effort to do it oneself. It involves months of groveling, and you will be involved with some intense chemicals. This is time you are not spending at other activities and with people you enjoy. And, it is still expensive. If you want to do it right, you may find yourself paying for consultations with among others, a marine architect, a timber specialist, a fiberglass repairer, all of the best reputation you can find.

You'll have to remove the teak decks carefully in order to assess the damaged area(s). Hard to do without breakage.

Me, I'd probably shed a tear and move on, I don't have the energy or time for that kind of project, but you, if you're young and haven't got something better to do with your time and money, it is a good thing to do in the world, to restore a beautiful boat.

Ann

[S/V Illusion]

Are you sure it is “glued and screwed”? I guess it doesn’t matter if the deck structure is soft but you didn’t mention what year she is. Alden stopped using screws some time ago.

[model 10]

Ann is being like a shrink, right?

[blunderbuss]

Thanks for the replies. You all are giving me a nice dose of reason.

she is early 60s, so I would definitely imagine screwed(much like me if I buy it).

JPA Cate- No apologies necessary for parade raining, it's better than raining on my galley

[blunderbuss]

Although I do have some time and energy. A big part of me really wants this boat to be beautiful again. She has immense amounts of character.

[Sand crab]

If you can get it for the right price then you might not be insane but you may still need some therapy. I'd scrap all the teak and just have fg with non skid though.

[blunderbuss]

haha, I definitely need some therapy.
I think I would get around 4 years out of the deck as it is and then it would definitely get converted to fg.
I know this is an impossible question to answer, but what does your gut think the right price is. The other large expenditures I see are re-bedding all the windows & hatches, a hull paint job, and new mainsail.
The interior is looking great, minus rotting around the windows. The engine is also in great shape.

[redhead]

I don't know about pricing, sorry. The reason is we bought this boat 5 years ago that "needed some work". We got it for a song. We figured 6 months refit and some boat dollars and we're off.

My friend it took 4 years. F.O.U.R. years of our lives. We've invested about 3 times what we paid for her. And we haven't addressed any cosmetic issues yet. Just got her sea worthy and took off for a long shakedown cruise last year.

I'm just like you. In love with the beautiful lines of older boats - and they do deserve to be saved. But ask yourself one question: do you want to work on a boat or do you want to sail a boat? I want to sail and knowing what I know now I would have bought a less beautiful, less worn out, more expensive boat and gone sailing immediately.

I'm sorry to say all this, I hear how much you want it. Whatever you do, good luck!

[Scubaseas]

I looked into deck core repairs in the Chesapeake area about 4 years ago. $400 to $500/ft.sq. was about the going rate. Wet core probably extends well beyond the soft area.

[Ken Z]

A 12’ soft spot is probably a lot larger, you can have dry rot and still not feel the soft spot, esp. covered with teak. Rot around the windows could trevel down to the deck, and to feather wood in around windows that have rot and have secure windows duting adverse weather could be a challange. I would wonder how much areas have water intrusion and are not being “soft” yet in the cabin and deck. Can you do the work yourself? and a future rebuild of decks$$$. with out seeing the boat its hard to est. a lower cost but 20-25 lower mim. would be a starting point.

[dakno]

You haven't said what size boat is, what condition its in otherwise, age of rig, sails, cushions, electronics, electral, mechanical, interior cabinetry ? Do you have access to the underside of soft spot from the cabin? Can you poke around with a pick looking for hard spots/softspots?Last haul out, bottom condition?

[dakno]

Sorry, just saw the title, 50'. All other questions apply.

[David M]

It depends on if you are buying the teak deck to look at and to impress others or you would rather not risk all the potential problems. There is no practical reason that I can think of to have a teak deck that can't be solved by having a fiberglass/gelcoat deck with excellent traction. I don't think I would accept the risks.

[wesevans]

You can count on having to remove the teak deck, skin the top of the sub deck, replace the core, reglass the sub deck and or re teak. This happens with most old boats with teak decks. Doable but expensive.