Caulk for Teak

[sww914]

We've had good luck with Teak Deck Systems. We tried Lifecaulk. Don't.

[salient]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

Wrong!

Bond breaker tape makes no sense at all if the teak has been epoxy bonded to the substrate and is thin ie 90% of modern applications. Bond breaker stops the caulk from sticking at the bottom of the rebate - the very place where the teak is immovably bonded to the deck and has zero lateral movement.

[jongleur]

Has anybody used this product?

Products – Flexiteek boat flooring

[HansSolo]

Originally Posted by jongleur

Has anybody used this product?

Products – Flexiteek boat flooring

Not that one exactly, but a similar product called Plasteak was on our decks when we bought our boat. It had failed/shrunken in the sun in less than 5 years We pulled it all up, cleaned off all of the nasty black goo that was used to glue it down, then epoxied down new teak on the cabin tops (can't beat the real thing) and awl grip/kiwi grip on the side decks.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by salient

Bond breaker tape makes no sense at all if the teak has been epoxy bonded to the substrate and is thin ie 90% of modern applications. Bond breaker stops the caulk from sticking at the bottom of the rebate - the very place where the teak is immovably bonded to the deck and has zero lateral movement.

Sorry, but you are mistaken. It greatly depends on the substrate. But to say that teak has zero lateral movement is just wrong.

[sestina]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

So then why did you decide to remove the teak with the teak being nearly maintenance free and the paint on the deck needing work every couple years? Plus teak is by far the best no-skid on the planet.

I replaced a split plank near the cockpit and then I thought I ought to replace its brother alongside. Then I made a pig's ear of cutting the curve of the new plank and thought, "by the time I've sanded it down, the new planks will be just as thin as the old ones". So an executive decision was made to pull the whole lot off.

In areas of heavy traffic it came up nice 'n easy. Other places, like the foredeck and stern it was a bastard. OK I could have replaced with new teak, but I've got better things to spend my money on, like a new mainsail. As far as that plastic stuff is concerned, I'm inclined to agree with an old boat builder I met recently who stated "That plastic teak sticks out like a whore in church!"

Here's a couple of photos of the process.







I decided to cut round the cleats, fillers, etc. With a Fein Multimaster and tackle the rebedding at a later date. Otherwise, I'd have a gazillion holes through to the core and I could not have done the job outside. When I'm really bored I'll lift the jib track...

[salient]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

Sorry, but you are mistaken. It greatly depends on the substrate. But to say that teak has zero lateral movement is just wrong.

In the case I am referring to, the substrate as far as the bonding tape is concerned is epoxy.

If the teak is bonded to epoxy it cant move laterally at the plane of contact - which is where the breaker tape is. Unless you think the epoxy expands/ contracts enough to interfere with the bond in which case I cant help you. The substrate might or might not want to move but unless the epoxy cracks it can't - at least not to any appreciable degree.

Of course the teak wants to expand/contract and it will do so where it is not locked down by epoxy but the elasticity in modern caulking is easily enough to cope. Adding breaker tape is a waste of time and money. Of course if you have used it and invested all that time and effort, you may have a vested interest in believing it was required. Or maybe you sell the tape!

All this does not apply if the teak is simply mechanically fastened with screws or nails. In that case use breaker tape.

[Glenn.Brooks]

What is that stuff I will never use again? Oh yeah - life caulk. Horrible, second the other comments to stay away from this for calking teak decks- or anything for that matter! Better to pull the teak while you are young and strong, fix the fiberglass and core rot underneath and enjoy the rest of your life walking around on kiwi deck paint or similar. You won't regret it.

[Glenn.Brooks]

Originally Posted by salient

In the case I am referring to, the substrate as far as the bonding tape is concerned is epoxy.

If the teak is bonded to epoxy it cant move laterally at the plane of contact - which is where the breaker

Actually teak can and does move, even when bedded in epoxy, through shrinkage and expansion. Can't be helped. The moisture content of the wood may change by up to 15%, which is why teak planked hulls and other woods, swell tight in the water after calking. What happened to me was the teak planks on a cockpit locker split when they were glued down and couldn't change shape. Didn't move at the joints, but split into two parts down the middle because of mid summer shrinkage. The very idea of locking them in place to control expansion and shrinkage caused the failure. So same problem, just different location. There are no ideal fixes for calking teak strips. just several reasonably good methods to deal with the problems.