Teak Plugs in deck leaking

[conj]

Hi people,
Up here in the Whitsundays, currently experiencing a deluge thanks to the wet season. This has now presented several leaks in our boat, one of which is some Teak plugs.
From under a few of the plugs you can see water dripping off the screws.
I assume the screws need to be reset and sealed and new plugs fitted but I want to seal all the plugs without having to replace them as there are a few.
Any ideas on the best way to do this....was thinking of using some wood glue on each plug so it soaks in as the glue is waterproof once dry.
Any thoughts on the subject..?
Thanks

Conj

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by conj

Hi people,
Up here in the Whitsundays, currently experiencing a deluge thanks to the wet season. This has now presented several leaks in our boat, one of which is some Teak plugs.
From under a few of the plugs you can see water dripping off the screws.
I assume the screws need to be reset and sealed and new plugs fitted but I want to seal all the plugs without having to replace them as there are a few.
Any ideas on the best way to do this....was thinking of using some wood glue on each plug so it soaks in as the glue is waterproof once dry.
Any thoughts on the subject..?
Thanks

Conj

You could use thinned everdure, an epoxy product and sand and refinish afterwards, but it would require dry timber to start. IMHO a better option than water based glue.

[conj]

Thanks UB,
I haven't heard of the product but will check it out.

[Searles]

Teak deck plugs and fastenings if left long enough and dry ,will often leak as the timber movement ,minute shrinking and swelling ,bite the bullet ,remove the plugs that are leaking and reset the fastening with epoxy ,dry out the hole with acetone ,fit new dry plug with epoxy ,a well done teak deck should last at least 25 yrs but must be maintained .⚓️⛵️

[conj]

I do actually agree but don't want to pull out plugs that look ok......but maybe the best way Forward.

[lifeofreilly57]

Do what i did, remove the teak decks and fill the screw holes with thickened epoxy. Then a layer of glass, paint and non-skid. Solves the leaking issues long term.
The teak decks were nice to look at but a royal pain to maintain.

[Locquatious]

Keep in mind that the teak is a nice surface for walking and for appearance. But the teak deck is not like shingles on a roof. The fiberglass deck, usually cored, is your water tight covering.

Usually you will see a black stain surrounding the plugs. That means the stainless screws are corroding. Usually that means that the screws have come loose from the first layer of fiberglass core and water is getting into the core. The water travels within the core, rotting it, and eventually finding a hole in the lower layer of fiberglass. The screw where the water comes in is not necessarily where the the leak occurs.

1. Use a small flat blade screwdriver and split the teak plug in half along the grain. Then dig out the plug pieces.
2. Unscrew the screw and drill out the hole with an oversize drill, just through the upper fiberglass layer.
3. Fill the hole with epoxy and allow to cure.
4. Pre-drill the screw hole and put in new screws that are just enough to only penetrate the upper fiberglass layer.
5. Put in new teak plugs.

When you have a flat section of deck, the best solution is to remove the entire board section. Then epoxy fill all the screw holes, drilled oversize, with epoxy. Next spread out a layer of 4200, UV 4000, or Sika 251. Put the board back without any screws. Put weights (buckets of water or sand) on the board to squeeze it down while the caulk cures. Put new plugs in the holes.

The repair will take care of that section, but a teak deck is a lifetime of fixing in other spots.

[Lemsteraak]

On traditional old wood decks, the bungs will start to get loose when the wood has worn down so the bung doesn't get a good "grip" anymore. You want a good 1/4 inch of bung in the wood. It is a bit of work as when one starts to pop out, you usually have others that need work too.

I will pop the bung out with a wood awl, push it in a couple times along the grain and it will usually break, then pop the two halves out. I like to check the screw so with a fitted screwdriver bit on a brace (an old brace and bit), take out the screw. The screws are traditional slotted so you can clean the slot easily. I like the brace rather than a power driver because you can feel what is happening. If the screw is corroded, replace with a new screw. I use a special shaped drill and countersink to dill down a little to clean up the hole and give the bung something to hold onto. I like to use lanolin, (Lanocote) to butter the screw, it keeps water from penetrating. I will then set a new bung with shellac, the original plastic. This is old school, where you have solid deck planks.

If your boat has a decorative teak deck, one that is thin, then it is a bit more tricky. You don't have the wood thickness to work with so you still need a drill and countersink. The bungs don't have the wood thickness so they don't have the grip. In this case, set with clear epoxy and hope for the best.

I have a steel boat with teak decks and have learned the hard way that you still want to make sure the teak deck doesn't leak. She is 50 years old now with the original deck but I'm getting a bit of corrosion under so I'll have to replace the steel eventually.

[PUDDLE JUMPER II]

Originally Posted by Locquatious

Keep in mind that the teak is a nice surface for walking and for appearance. But the teak deck is not like shingles on a roof. The fiberglass deck, usually cored, is your water tight covering.



Usually you will see a black stain surrounding the plugs. That means the stainless screws are corroding. Usually that means that the screws have come loose from the first layer of fiberglass core and water is getting into the core. The water travels within the core, rotting it, and eventually finding a hole in the lower layer of fiberglass. The screw where the water comes in is not necessarily where the the leak occurs.



1. Use a small flat blade screwdriver and split the teak plug in half along the grain. Then dig out the plug pieces.

2. Unscrew the screw and drill out the hole with an oversize drill, just through the upper fiberglass layer.

3. Fill the hole with epoxy and allow to cure.

4. Pre-drill the screw hole and put in new screws that are just enough to only penetrate the upper fiberglass layer.

5. Put in new teak plugs.



When you have a flat section of deck, the best solution is to remove the entire board section. Then epoxy fill all the screw holes, drilled oversize, with epoxy. Next spread out a layer of 4200, UV 4000, or Sika 251. Put the board back without any screws. Put weights (buckets of water or sand) on the board to squeeze it down while the caulk cures. Put new plugs in the holes.



The repair will take care of that section, but a teak deck is a lifetime of fixing in other spots.

Hhhhmmm... I would have thought that you would have said spread a thin coat of G-Flex epoxy and glue the batten down. Why 4200 over traditional epoxy lay down?

[PUDDLE JUMPER II]

Originally Posted by Lemsteraak

On traditional old wood decks, the bungs will start to get loose when the wood has worn down so the bung doesn't get a good "grip" anymore. You want a good 1/4 inch of bung in the wood. It is a bit of work as when one starts to pop out, you usually have others that need work too.

I will pop the bung out with a wood awl, push it in a couple times along the grain and it will usually break, then pop the two halves out. I like to check the screw so with a fitted screwdriver bit on a brace (an old brace and bit), take out the screw. The screws are traditional slotted so you can clean the slot easily. I like the brace rather than a power driver because you can feel what is happening. If the screw is corroded, replace with a new screw. I use a special shaped drill and countersink to dill down a little to clean up the hole and give the bung something to hold onto. I like to use lanolin, (Lanocote) to butter the screw, it keeps water from penetrating. I will then set a new bung with shellac, the original plastic. This is old school, where you have solid deck planks.

If your boat has a decorative teak deck, one that is thin, then it is a bit more tricky. You don't have the wood thickness to work with so you still need a drill and countersink. The bungs don't have the wood thickness so they don't have the grip. In this case, set with clear epoxy and hope for the best.

I have a steel boat with teak decks and have learned the hard way that you still want to make sure the teak deck doesn't leak. She is 50 years old now with the original deck but I'm getting a bit of corrosion under so I'll have to replace the steel eventually.

Shellac over epoxy securing the bungs... Hhhmm... I know very little about shellac-- I do know that epoxy is not UV friendly... I am guessing Shellac is more resilient to the UV? GREAT post BTW... I also have traditional teak decks...

[conj]

Thanks guys...yes very good information.
I should have elaborated.....the teak deck was replaced a while ago with Fibreglass...thankfully.
The old girl has Teak on-top of the Bulwarks which is quite thick and there are quite a few teak plugs with some that I noticed are leaking from the bottom of the screws.....mind you we have had over 800mm rain here.
So no quick fix here I guess. I liked the idea of soaking in some epoxy on the bung to seal it but doesn't help if the screw is corroded.

[Lemsteraak]

Conj - when you pull the bungs, see if you can extract the screws. Stainless screws are crap in wood, might as well use steel, they both corrode the same. The black you see is called iron sickness. In extreme cases it turns the wood into charcoal. Extract the screw and go old school, replace with bronze and it is there for a lifetime. I could go on about stainless in a marine environment but .....

[conj]

I have noticed under some of the screws that hold down the teak and even the ones that screw down the sail tracks are black underneath....originally thought it was mould but maybe this iron sickness.
For bronze screws are we talking about Silicon Bronze....seems to be the one mentioned online.

[Lemsteraak]

Yes, Silicon Bronze is the gold standard, plays well with wood. Make sure you don't get brass, turns to swiss cheese in salt water.

[Fortytwo]

How do you see water leaking from the bottom of the screws? Do the screws go through into the cabin?