epoxy on teak decks

[fish1860]

Has anyone cleaned then applied epoxy resin on the teak decks, without sanding down the grain so you still had some non skid. Just wondering if it would be a fix for leaks or just a huge nightmare down the road?

[imagine2frolic]

I had teak veneer in my cockpit. I stripped the rubber, and sanded with 40grit. I then applied a cool application, and let it soak. Then ontop of that applied a normal batch. 3 years later no problems so far. I did paint, and shake in some non sklid.

[sylinnea]

Sounds like a bad idea. If you don't stop the teak from shrinking and swelling, from example temperature differences, it will crack the epoxy. Maybe if it is really really thin.
/matti

[Pblais]

Just wondering if it would be a fix for leaks or just a huge nightmare down the road?

Doubt it would prevent leaks. You can use epoxy to fix a split board or to reset a bung. I think the shrink and swell of the wood eventually will come back to get you. I doubt the epoxy will stick well to the joint compound so you still get leakage there.
A daily regiment of salt water and a soft brush is the best there is for keeping a teak deck healthy if it isn't leaking now.

What I have seen is a member of the club has an Albin 36 trawler with teak decks. It's now 25 years old and he says the decks leaked a year after it was new and have since and he is had enough. He got a large bucket of truck bed liner material and treated over the whole thing. It sure does not look as nice, but it quit leaking and has a nice gray nonskid feel. The material is very elastic and you need something like that because you can't get a dimensionally stable surface from a teak deck for a hard finish. Epoxy would probably be the absolute worst finish unless you remove all the boards first and then it would be great.

[stevensc]

You may want to look at this website charlesculotta.com he did the decks of his trawler years ago. Removing the teak then filling the screw holes and applying truck bed liner. After about 15-20 years it is still fine. If you go to his website and click on "Boat Repairs" then "teak Deck leaks" there is a copy of and article on his project that was published in Passagemaker Magazines Charles is very helpful and I am sure will be glad to answer any questions you might have, you can contact him throught the website.
Good luck
Steve

[Roy M]

Epoxy doesn't hold up well to ultraviolet light from the sun. If you live and sail in cloudy places, it will hold up longer than the 6 months to 1 year max before it yellows, and peels like varnish. If you cover it with an opaque paint it will last much longer. Still, the issue of expansion and contraction will probably cause some cracks and infiltration of water, loosening the epoxy bond over time. If you are having lots of leaks, that same water is passing through the teak to the substrate. If that is fiberglass, then you just have leaks over your bunk, etc. If it's plywood, you have eventual dryrot and a horrific repair job ahead. If the leaking is recent, and you have plywood as a deck backer, consider removal of the teak, completely, then glassing and nonskidding the deck. My condolences.

[fish1860]

Thanks for the geat advise, I think I knew the answer before I posted, however I needed to hear it from some experts. I guess being a bit on the lazy side and teak decks don't mix.