Teak Deck - My Mistakes and Lessons

[langdonpierce]

Looks like a proper job well done. Can't wait to get started on our decks!!!! Thanks for the post, every bit of info sure does help to confidence when attacking such a large project.

[LakeSuperior]

Did you put release tape in the bottom of the groove so that you do not end up with 3 dimensional stresses on the caulking. Otherwise your joint will prematurely separate from sides of the joint.

[SabreKai]

Alright I'll bite, what do you mean about release tape? Thats a new one on me. Are you talking about something that keeps the caulk from bonding to the bottom of the channel while adhering to the sides only?


Sabre

[langdonpierce]

Yes. Bond breaker tape, i believe 3m 218 is the brand most commonly used. Purpose being to only have the caulking stressed on one plane, allowing it to retain integrity longer.

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I've done a fair bit of teak work. I'd caulking before sanding and then sand the whole lot. There's really no need to lay down masking tape then ( which in my experience is too tedious and awkward on the main deck)

Dave

I agree with you that's how I would do it as well - there is no need to do the masking & it will save you heaps of time.

[lawdawg]

I haven't done any teak work on boats, but I have done a good bit of wood work over the years and I applaud you on the patience and attention to detail and think you ended up with a great result! You certainly have a serious project ahead, but down the road, if you have the patience for it, you are going to step back and look at a gorgeous boat you have the pride of knowing you brought back to life.
Drew

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by langdonpierce

Yes. Bond breaker tape, i believe 3m 218 is the brand most commonly used. Purpose being to only have the caulking stressed on one plane, allowing it to retain integrity longer.

Correct! This is an important step in the process.

[1947wardstewart]

Hi
I found this a great article, answered my queries about renovating teak decking and removed any doubts I had about attempting this task. Many thanks.
Cheers Ward.

[jcapo]

I'm just finishing up refastening and recaulking a Tayana V42. I used SIS440
from teak deck systems, teakdecking.com. I redid a few short seams over
7 years ago and and the TDS caulk in those seams is still soft and rubbery in
the hot South Florida sun.

I have also used Lifecaulk, and 3M 101 when it was available, and neither
stand up like the TDS. Al the pros down here are using TDS.

Just my $.02.

John

[lancelot9898]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I've done a fair bit of teak work. I'd caulking before sanding and then sand the whole lot. There's really no need to lay down masking tape then ( which in my experience is too tedious and awkward on the main deck)

Dave

That's the way that I did my cockpit a couple of years ago. Did not have the patience for the tape. The most time consumeing thing was cleaning the caulk out of the grooves. A bent screwdriver was used mainly, then a sanding of the grove and finally rags soaked in acetone for the final cleaning.

[ReMetau]

Looks great.

Agree about the tape. I found the tape messier than without, because the caulk likes to jump around; especially all over me.

We used the Fein Multimaster with their caulk removing blade. Expensive, but it works great with all the teak that we have.

[lancelot9898]

The other thing to add is that I did not use breaker tape and haven't noticed any adverse parting of the seams. I also recommend the TDS caulk.

[boatsmith]

We routinely refurbishes teak decks. We remove the old caulk with a small circular saw with doubled up blades. There is a pin the same width as the blades mounted in the saw base behind the blades. There are marks indicating the edges of the blades on the front edge of the saw shoe.

Most boats with teak decks that are ready for re-caulking were made of planks with a rabbet cut into one edge. This allowed the planks to simply be butted up tight to one another and the rabbet formed the caulk groove. These decks were typically screwed down to the subdeck with screws and bungs.Unfortunately, when the deck wears down the bungs start failing and the caulk grooves disappear. Now the screws must be lowered and the caulk grooves cut deeper. If the deck is still thick enough and still bonded well to the subdeck then this is a viable option. Many times the deck will not be well attached and the remaining teak will have areas that are too thin for adequate repairs. Our saw setup cuts the groove all the way to the subdeck or a little less due to the varying deck thickness and is just a little bit wider than the old caulk seam. This meansthat we are dealing with a fresh teak surface and not some maybe poorly adhering old caulk.

We use a laminate trimmer router and some small sleds to areas where the saw won't fit and finish up with knifes and chisels. Then we will sand the seams with a piece of sticky back paper wrapped around a piece of door-skin. The sandpaper will only last a few feet and must be changed frequently. Then we wipe the seams with a cloth rag saturated with denatured alcohol and then proceed to caulk. We pinch the end of the caulk tube to allow better entry into the groove and usually pull the gun. Then we mash the caulk into the seam with a flexible putty knife to ensure the seam is entirely full. We caulk a tube or sausage worth and then trowel it in, the caulk skins rapidly. We don't use bond breaking tape. We have never had any issues with this.

We use TDS caulk and caulk from Maritime Wood Products. They are very similar products and we have had no problems with either. We never tape the seams before caulking. We caulk and allow to cure for a couple of days and then sand the deck with 8" sanders fitted with vacuum hoods. We usually start off with 40 or 60 grit and this flattens the grain and removes excess caulk. We sand with the coarse paper until about 60-70% of the grey teak and excess caulk is gone, then we switch over to 80g, followed by 120-150g. Sanding a deck finer than this will only be apparent for a few days.

One thing to keep in mind when doing a refurbishment is to only open up the amount of deck you can fill today. If it rains while the seams are open water will find its way down into the grooves and sometimes will find voids under planks and they can be very tough to dry out. Caulk will not stick to wet teak.

We also install a lot of new teak decking and we epoxy the teak down to the subdeck with no fasteners used at all. Some people will use screws as spacers and clamps, I think this is not a good idea. We also use

pneumatic caulking guns.

[Stillraining]

Excellent work Dave!

So whats your personal opinion of teak decks...... and also buying a 30 year old boat with original decks in need of repair....and if we can lets presume a sail boat on this one.

[boatsmith]

My son's college fund really likes teak decks. Our personal boats have always been racer k decks certainly require more maintenance than a painted nonskid, they cost more, they deplete the worlds forests. They are very beautiful when well maintained. In The old days the decks were maintained with holy stones. These were pumice blocks that were used to sand the decks to keep them clean and smooth.
There are many sailboats and trawlers around now that have teak decks that are 15-25 years old that were installed with screws and bungs and the bedding runs the gamut from tar to bedding compound to polyurethanes and epoxies. These decks have served their useful life. Once the bungs start leaking and the caulk starts to deteriorate water will begin to intrude. Most of these boats have cored decks and water intrusion can cause very expensive repairs.
We also remove many teak decks that are in bad shape and replace them with painted nonskid. This is considerably less expensive than a new teak deck.
One factor to keep in mind about replacing a teak deck with either new teak or paint is that many sailboats have a lot of hardware bolted down through the deck. Removing this hardware and reinstalling it can involve removing headliner panels as well as dis-assembling interior cabinetry. Then all of this hardware must be cleaned and reinstalled. This will add considerably to the cost of the job.
All of this means if you are considering a boat with an older worn out teak deck that replacing or repairing them is a pricey affair.
Newer decks that are glued down with epoxy without fasteners are much better. Routine maintenance consists of washing with a solution of Simple Green and bleach and water (1-1-2) and sanding to keep the grain flat. As the soft grain wears away the grain will hold moisture and dirt which amounts to an abrasive slurry and when walked on will wear away the soft grain which will hold water and dirt....... On the best maintained yachts we sand the decks every 1-3 years depending upon what level of perfection is desired.