Teak Deck or not

[vasariah]

In two days my boat is comeing with a new teak deck. I have a grey colour hull and also the deck. The deck wasn't very hot during the summer but I decided to cover the seats and cockpit. From my previous experience only the flexi teak doesn't work well.

[Spapkey]

Teak decks, when properly maintained, are beautiful. The problem is that they requiremalot of maintenance and evert screw hole is a possible path for water leakage into the deck core. We have a friend who purchased a 36' Hans Christian with a teak deck. He ended up stripping off the teak, cutting off the top layer of fiberglass, cutting out the water soaked core, replacing the core and replacing the fiberglass deck. He painted on nonskid and did not replace the teak.

[Scaramanga F25]

If it is to be screwed down why have a thousand screw holes that will eventually be letting water into the cored deck.
Thiokol caulking repairs...the black death.

No more teak! Love it! But NO!

[GafferMate]

We used Port Orford cedar on our deck when we built PILAR, but even though lighter in color, by the time we reached Australia we reluctantly had to paint them white because of the heat. The product we used is called TREAD GRIP, it has bits of rubber in it for nonskid, and has been WONDERFUL for not only practical reasons but aesthetic, too--the lines of the planks and caulking are still visible, particularly during changes in seasons when even with a thick coat of paint the wood still swells or drys out a bit, so it isn't like a great slab of Formica.

[witoog]

I have been a boat builder/shipwright and sailor for over 40 years and would strongly advise against a teak deck. Maybe in the cockpit but nowhere else.
I have been paid many $$ over the years to repair them and am currently looking to buy a boat here in New England and won't even finish reading an ad if I see that the boat has a teak deck. Modern finishes are almost as good as teak from a non-skid view and cost a fraction of the teak. Also a teak deck adds hundreds of pounds of weight exactly where you don't want it - high up!
It's bad in the Tropics where it gets very hot, and it's bad in high latitudes where water penetrates tiny cracks and freezes and starts "fracking" the deck apart.
Please don't do it!

[woodenboats]

As I haven't seen a plastic boat older than 70 years yet I happily stay with my wooden boat built in 1938. Proven materials, proven construction, will outlast me. Maintenance? Let a plastic boat reach that age and then compare, I bet I'll be better of. ☺

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[gonesail]

NO to the teak deck!!

[leftbrainstuff]

We recently replaced our 31 year old teak deck with ameriteak on our Liberty 458.

I've posted before on this topic. Just search CF.

We found our old teak deck moved around a lot more in norcal compared to seattle. The aft deck was fine but some parts of the foredeck were worn to the bottom of the groove.

Shrinkage along the grain can be quite marked on old teak especially when you move from a cool damp to a warm dry climate.

Thickness of 3/8 or less seems to shrink and dry out quite markedly anywhere the caulking fails.

We chose ameriteak (UK sourced Dek King) for several reasons:

1) no screws. Fully bonded
2) much better chemical resistance
3) looks like new teak forever (its pvc based.
4) its an engineered plastic with much better joints and dimensional stability than thin teak. It expands and contracts with the fiberglass unlike teak.
5) better grip, wet or dry, than teak with any treatment.
6) water beads and doesnt soak in
7) through deck penetrations are an interference fit. No leaks.

We love the look of new teak. Cant stand that silver look.

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[TomLewis]

Good posts. I'm not sure buying a used boat, if teak or non-skid would drive the deal. If I loved the boat and the price, I can maintain the teak, it would outlast me!

[wesevans]

In the tropics and southern waters teak is not the preferred decking. Yes in the summer teak is hot to walk on and tends to increase interior boat tems.
Yes after a year or two teak will require more maintenance than glass decks. Depending on the construction teak decks with many screws will cause problems in the sub deck as water will migrate down the screws into the sub deck. Constant attention to the caulking seams to prevent water from getting under the decking will be required. I have had boats with teak decks and without. Given the choice for southern and tropic waters no teak decks.

[David B]

When we bought our yacht, our aim was no teak. We liked the look of it, but not the thought of the maintenance and the cost of eventual replacement (modern teak decks being only a 10mm veneer in effect). However due to circumstances beyond our control, the boat came with teak decks, so we researched various ways of looking after it.
Now - five years later, we are still very glad we have teak decks (our boat is in the Mediterranean by the way), and the maintenance is minimal. Here goes with our views and experience:


1. Far better to have a warmer deck (wear deck shoes if it is too hot for you) than that dreadful glare off a white deck, that needs washing often to stay white.


2. If we did end up with a white deck as planned, then we would have looked at painting (two-pack deck paint) in grey or cream - done well, with delineation, that can also look smart, but not as smart as well-cared for teak.


3. Most teak decks we see look the worse for wear - at least grey, and often with cupping, 'tram-lines' and sometimes, caulking coming away.


4. Our decks look effectively new - we like the new teak look, and we like to keep the timber as new. Think about it - no timber is going to stand up indefinitely to the harsh weathering of sun, water, heat, UV. Teak is good, (and don't assume they are still using teak these days - many are not), but it is still timber. We cleaned our decks and applied a product that seals the timber from the elements, but still looks close to that natural, fresh-sanded appearance (we often get people asking if the boat is new).


5. Maintenance for us is a wash at the beginning of the season, a touch up here or there where a line has been rubbing the toe-rail etc, then a full coat of the sealer. On a 15 metre yacht this takes two people in their sixties, about an hour and a half. From then on the deck is washed when we need to wash the cabin top etc and that is it.
At the end of the season, we put the Winter cover on and walk away.


That's us, but everyone has their own ideas.

[watevaworx]

Yes it is a personal choice, But I for one would prefer good non skid GRP . My teak decks leave streaks down the hull after rain and on a hot summers day you cannot stand on them. And the chances are they will deteriorate faster than GRP .

[Prairie Chicken]

A further thought about teak decks is that in the past the teak was much thicker than the very thin, almost veneer, applied on newer boats. You can care for the older, thicker teak but I suspect the newer decks are much harder to keep looking well.


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[Prairie Chicken]

Another issue is the method the teak is applied to the teak. As mentioned earlier, screwing it down leaves a lot of opportunities for water egress. Our teak is bonded to the deck and has very few screws.


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[Kenomac]

Get teak you'll love it. When it wears out in 20 years and if you still have the boat, replace it with a look a like plastic product. But in the meantime, enjoy the teak deck. We hated our diamond patterned plastic decks on our previous boat. Go teak!