Teak.

[DMF Sailing]

I've never owned, or sailed, a boat with lots of teak.

When I shop, I run into these new production cruisers in my wheelhouse or older gems I might consider that are covered in teak.

Why?

Isn't it a hassle to take care of?

Do serious cruisers replace it?

What's the upside to all that teak?

[sailorboy1]

After dealing with the teak handrails and toerails on my first boat I knew I loved exterior teak



On other peoples boats!

[JPK]

I may be in the extreme minority here, but I hate real teak on boats. To me, it looks great for a bit and then starts to look terrible. It sounds like it's a royal PITA to maintain too. When I do buy my boat it will be Flexiteek for me.

[WoodenKetch]

If the teak decks are fastened down to a wood core deck with screws, run away! If the teak is glued down with no fasteners over a glassed deck it is beautiful and relatively low maintenance.

I get a bit queasy spending long weeks staring at a bunch of plastic between me and the scenery , YMMV!

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

After dealing with the teak handrails and toerails on my first boat I knew I loved exterior teak



On other peoples boats!

This is my opinion!!

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by WoodenKetch

If the teak decks are fastened down to a wood core deck with screws, run away! If the teak is glued down with no fasteners over a glassed deck it is beautiful and relatively low maintenance.

I get a bit queasy spending long weeks staring at a bunch of plastic between me and the scenery , YMMV!

I mean... all due respect, but you are a wooden ketch. of course you don't want a molded non-skid deck...G-d bless you

[WoodenKetch]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

I mean... all due respect, but you are a wooden ketch. of course you don't want a molded non-skid deck...G-d bless you

Yep! I'm aware of my own biases, and I'm fond of sharing them with anyone who will listen!


But seriously, the main reason for teak is aesthetics and tradition. If that isn't worth it to you, then you have your answer.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by WoodenKetch

Yep! I'm aware of my own biases, and I'm fond of sharing them with anyone who will listen!


But seriously, the main reason for teak is aesthetics and tradition. If that isn't worth it to you, then you have your answer.

In Gloucester, Massachusetts, last summer, I was anchored not far from a beautiful wooden ketch. I rowed over and struck up a conversation with the skipper. He told me that the work of maintaining her is nothing compared to the joy of having such a beautiful boat.

Older gentleman. He and his wife. I tip my hat....

[dkenny64]

deck decks.. as much as I love teak.. not on my boat... glued down maybe..
teak trim.. yes.. have lots.. just replace about $2000 in trim on our boat..ok it was damaged
in a hurricane...its not hard to maintain..maintenance just has to be done..or let it go grey.


-dkenny64

[ohdrinkboy]

Love the look. When I buy my cruising boat it will have NO teak on the exterior. I just don't want the maintenance.

[rslifkin]

Well finished teak looks great, but keeping it looking good definitely takes some work. But I want nothing to do with maintaining teak decks. My (power) boat has teak toe rails across the aft deck, some teak trim on the upper deck, a teak step, teak ladder steps down to the swim platform, and teak boards laid into the bow pulpit. That's plenty to maintain and I've got no desire for more. Interior teak is low maintenance, however.

[siamese]

No teak on my boat, except for the cabin. Oh...I take that back. My hatchboards are teak. I painted them gray.

I don't have any teak on my car, or my motorcycle. Why would I want it on my boat? I don't have enough maintenance to do on my boat already?

[George_SD]

I have a little bit of teak - glued in the seating area in the cockpit, some grab rails.

Does it look good when properly taken care of? Yes!

Do i want the hassle of caring for it properly? No.

I think a textured gelcoat or roll-on nonskid paint is a better way to go due to lower maintenance.

[chrisr]

if god had wanted us to use timber on boats, he wouldn't have given us fiberglass (although i suppose carbon is a form of wood ?)

we have zero timber outside, but some timber trim inside for appearance sake

cheers,

[Sailmonkey]

Teak decks are great on bare feet when wet.....other than that fuggataboutit