Teak Deck Fungus

[Dockhead]

Everyone who overwinters in the UK gets green fungus, and sometimes some black fungus, on their teak decks by spring. It's a function of cold rain water on the decks, and not being at sea enough. Once you start to get sea water on them, followed by sunshine, it disappears. A good scrub accelerates the process.

Well, this year it didn't work for me. The problem I think was that I didn't go to sea AT ALL because my boat was being repaired for months after my collision in October. The green has formed a kind of hard green-black coating which comes off with your fingernail, but otherwise is remarkably persistent. I have used Boracol (which previously worked miracles), we have scrubbed them twice (gently and across the grain with a soft sponge, of course), and since I'm in the brackish Baltic, in lieu of seawater we have dumped buckets of fresh water with sea salt dissolved in it. Nothing works.

I'm starting to think I need ScotchBrite pads -- carefully and across the grain. Will this destroy the teak? Or what can I do? I've got to get this carp off somehow; it really looks awful.

[Kenomac]

Our deck was a mess when we moved the boat out of the UK. It took me over 400 hours to refinish all of it. Now it doesn't require any care at all here in the Med climate.

The problem is now solved and the annual wear on the teak has diminished significantly.

Not sure how to solve your issue, is the teak heavily grooved?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Our deck was a mess when we moved the boat out of the UK. It took me over 400 hours to refinish all of it. Now it doesn't require any care at all here in the Med climate.

The problem is now solved and the annual wear on the teak has diminished significantly.

Not sure how to solve your issue, is the teak heavily grooved?

I remember your deck ordeal, and kudos to you for sorting it out on your own. That's how you got such a good deal on your boat, because doing it professionally would have cost megabucks


No, my deck is not grooved at all, and there are no problems with the caulking. It's got a lot of life left in it, which is why I don't want to sand it or molest it. I just need to get this surface residue off somehow.

[Kenomac]

Can we see some pictures, preferrably close ups of the problem?

Have you tried a 1:10 bleach to water solution? Mild enough not to hurt the teak, but should certainly kill mold and spores. When I was a house painter, we used to use the bleach solution to kill black mold. It works fantastic.

[mike66]

When we were on a cruise ship last year, the crew told me they use scotch bright pads on a floor buffer.

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