Is Teak Decks a deal breaker for you

[Mike OReilly]

It wasn't for me. We have an old screwed down teak deck. So far it is fine. In fact, I adore our deck. As Zee says, it's the absolute best non-skid to have. It is warm and soft on the feet. It is forgiving for all manner of spills, drops and general living wear. It adds strength, and lets face it, makes a boat look properly shippy.

Yes, a poorly built or maintained teak deck is going to be a problem ... just like a lot of things on a boat. Any deck fitting is suspect, and all older boats have issues. So instead of simply writing off all teak decks, why not add this to the list of items that need to be seriously examined before buying a new (old) boat.

[SoundOfSilence]

Not a deal breaker, even if it is screwed down. You just have to include the cost of replacing it. The sooner the better. It all depends on your plan and your budget. After replacing the teak, windows and painting of topsides, the boat will look like new again

[Juho]

- depends also on if the deck is cored or not

- also lack of teak could be a deal breaker :-)

[Panope]

Teak deck on steel boat aftermath (picture found on internet).

[islandfeverJim]

I will never understand why they took a perfectly good waterproof deck and put a couple of thousand screw holes in it. I glassed over mine, and it was the best thing I have done to the boat. Even if they didn't leak, they are too hot to walk on barefooted in the summer here in Florida.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by SKG56

I would prefer no teak decks, I've passed on boats that I like that have them, but lets say there are no soft spots, no apparent water intrusion, teak appears to be in good shape or pretty good shape, would teak decks still be a deal breaker for you

We bought our Liberty 458 with teak decks. The foredeck teak was near end of life. The aft deck was fine. Caulking was hard, brittle and in some areas missing.

Last year we removed the teak and replaced it with Dek King, a pvc based teak replacement. The dek king is bonded not screwed, maintains a consistent color and is a better non slip than the original teak.

The original teak deck was probably 3/8" thick. Anything less than 3/4" teak will eventually require replacement. These aesthetic teak decks are not a good engineering design IMHO. Especially when they are screwed.

We also covered some awl grip coach roof sections with dek king. We consider awl grip and a fibreglass deck to be a poor non slip option. We also dont like the glare from a light colored deck.

We removed 1536 screws with the old deck. All screws were in the top deck layer. No penetrations to the deck core. We found no deck soft spots. This is where some teak decks are problematic. Screws that penetrate to the core spell big trouble.

We epoxy filled all original screw holes, 9 times, removed any loose gel coat and sealed the deck with gluvit. We rebedded all prisms and then spot faced all deck penetrations to ensure a good flange seal to the Dek King.

We purchased with a plan to replace the teak. This is key in your purchase decision.

The deck replacement process was nearly a 5 month exercise. It's not cheap but will last the life of the boat.

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[donradcliffe]

I was going to remove the teak deck from my boat until I went to the boat show and saw two identical models side by side, one with teak and one without. The teak model was a proper yacht in my eye. In addition to the beauty of a teak deck, I agree with all Z says--its the best non-skid surface and adds insulation in the tropics.

In my experience a teak deck should last about 20 years with the proper care, or about 5 years if the owner uses a stiff brush with the grain and/or teak 'cleaners'.

I replaced the screwed and glued deck with a glued one on my 45 ft Bene in Phuket for $5k in 2001. At a 20 year life, that's $250 per year for beauty and performance underfoot. A bargain at twice the price.

[Colin A]

I like teak decks even with the maintenance just because of the excellent non skid properties. It really is one of the best deck coverings from that stand point. And this is from a guy who gets annoyed with any varnish at all on a boat even if it's one grab rail. None of my boats had teak deck but I have taken care of them when I worked at a boatyard if you maintain them their not too bad but the thin ones can be a real pain when they wear out. I love the idea of fake teak glued on decking but so far every one I've experienced gets very hot in the sun much worse then teak. If they fix that problem count me in.

[Yong SC]

Hi, I got a new boat with 'synthetic teak'. Do advice what is the difference with 'real teak'? And what is the best way to care and clean (what cleaning agents to use) with what I have for the foreseeable futurr? Any views or advice will be much aporeciated!

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by Yong SC

Hi, I got a new boat with 'synthetic teak'. Do advice what is the difference with 'real teak'? And what is the best way to care and clean (what cleaning agents to use) with what I have for the foreseeable futurr? Any views or advice will be much aporeciated!

I believe the Pardey's had teak decks on both of their boats, they recommended using dish washing soap, a soft brush and a salt water rinse. They even specified a certain brand of dish soap but I've forgotten what it was ... possibly 'Dove'? but don't quote me on that.
I'll have to find out because I have teak decks on my little coastal cruiser which I launched last August. Installed by professionals, they used the vacu-bag method ... no fasteners. teak thickness is 7/16" ... guaranteed for 10 years, suggested lifespan 20 years ... when properly cared for. Suggested I use no teak cleaners.

FWIW dept: The teak decking is still visible on the 'Graf Spee' after how many years? Don't know about the 'Titanic'.

[reed1v]

We prefer teak decks. Have had three boats with teak decks. Best non skid around, best looking decks, and easy to maintain as long as you do not apply any oils nor deck products to them. Just salt water rinse and every three or four years redo the caulking. Never sand, never apply TSP, and do not brush.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

I believe the Pardey's had teak decks on both of their boats, they recommended using dish washing soap, a soft brush and a salt water rinse. They even specified a certain brand of dish soap but I've forgotten what it was ... possibly 'Dove'? but don't quote me on that.
I'll have to find out because I have teak decks on my little coastal cruiser which I launched last August. Installed by professionals, they used the vacu-bag method ... no fasteners. teak thickness is 7/16" ... guaranteed for 10 years, suggested lifespan 20 years ... when properly cared for. Suggested I use no teak cleaners.

FWIW dept: The teak decking is still visible on the 'Graf Spee' after how many years? Don't know about the 'Titanic'.

The USS Missouri has teak decks. Pardeys' recommended Dawn since it works with salt water(also for washing other stuff).

[Sailorbob8599]

Aha! Dawn it was. I knew it started with 'D' ... thanks for this Reed

[Cheechako]

They pretty much are for me. There are too many things to maintain on a boat anyway.
On a screwed on teak deck, I really don't know any way of knowing if there is water in the core or not... tapping the deck wont tell you. The only way I know would be to drill random small holes on the inside of the boat and test the balsa off the drill bit to see if it's moist.
A glued on Teak deck will at least save you that... but recaulking and sanding is an eventual requirement still I imagine.
In the Tropics the teak decks were too hot for me to walk on.
OTOH, Screwed on decks with some water in the core may not be a problem for just continuing to use the boat left that way. I would imagine those decks are a lot more rigid even in that condition than a regular glass deck. Most I've seen the glass is thick under the teak and the teak is very thick 5/8" or more. So wet or not it's rigid.
The Pardey's boats were wood boats, so they were going to be some sort of wood anyway!

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by leftbrainstuff

We bought our Liberty 458 with teak decks. The foredeck teak was near end of life. The aft deck was fine. Caulking was hard, brittle and in some areas missing.
.........................

We removed 1536 screws with the old deck. All screws were in the top deck layer. No penetrations to the deck core. We found no deck soft spots. This is where some teak decks are problematic. Screws that penetrate to the core spell big trouble.


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How in the world did they do that? and how thick was that outer layer of glass? The ones I've had were maybe 1/4" glass. How do you drill/screw only less than 1/4", get a screw to grip etc without going thru? With point on a typical screw, that would be holding with at best one thread...On my Hans Christian every hole was into the core when I removed the teak decks.