And so it Begins: The Teak Deck Removal Project

[SV THIRD DAY]

When we bought our Hudson Force 50 the teak decks were covered with fiberglass, paint and walnut shell nonskid. We knew it was not done "right" because we could see the old teak strip pattern through the glass and paint, but we just looked the other way, knowing it was more of a project than we wanted to deal with. Now 5yrs later it's time.

We have already ripped off the fiberglass skin that was laid down right over the teak planks and caulking. In some places it pulled up with ease once we got under it, but in other places it took a little love and persuasion with a belt sander to get it off. (Thank goodness for a 17yr old son) The deck hardware and stanchions are about all removed and the next step is the fun one...popping out bungs, unscrewing the damn flat head screws that can be turned and then removing the teak.

There were only a few leaks, but who knows what I will find when the teak is removed. I'm sure there will be a little core cutout/redo...but who knows. The plan is to then recover the fiberglass core with marine plywood and epoxy/glass mat. Then the standard epoxy primer and paint with Kiwi Grip as the new nonskid. If I'm lucky I will be done by the end of summer...if not I will sell the boat and run for land.

I'll make some updates of the project along with photos. But here is the start. I know I know...the teak is in very good condition after being hidden and protected by the fiberglass for the last 20yrs, but I'm not going to play the Teak Deck game...so off it comes. Besides, there is a leak above my wife's pillow. So now you know the real reason I have to jump in on this project!


Before we started ripping up the Fiberglass. You can see the caulking lines between the teak planks as the classic reason why you don't glass over teak decks and leave the caulking in place.






If anyone had any advice other than, sell the boat now before you do this...I'm happy to take it!

[Brob2]

You could have save yourself an awful lot of work by switching berth sides with your wife. Just sayin'.

On the other hand, this will be a fun project to follow. Thanks for posting it!

[Boatguy30]

Friends of mine had the same design and had a totally rotten deck core under the teak. Maybe the glass helped preserve yours.

But I'm thinking with the planet getting so cold the next coupla years you might want that extra insulation.

[Jim Cate]

Rich, looking a long way down the road, before you splurge on Kiwi Grip, lookinto some of the industrial equivalents. We ended up using an Aussie product called "Colourmeric Sporte Coat'. Nasty name, but a very good product, similar end result to KG, but at a much lower price (180 AUD for 15 litres). Ours has now been on for 6 years and has had no issues other than the generic problem with keeping it clean... true for KG as well. nd it iis the best non-skid we have ever encountered, wet or dry.

Cheers,

Jim

[Shoalcove]

Having removed some teak decking from my CheoyLee I would suggest you try a more efficient method of removal than removing bangs and unscrewing old fasteners. I used a wide "wonder bar" wrecking bar and a hammer and just pried it up in sections. Most of the screws came up with it. It's a big job, I just wanted it done. It was pretty but it worked great. Good luck!

[a64pilot]

Sounds like tearing off a roof

[nhschneider]

From the Not-So-Helpful Post Department:

Some friends of ours are having the exact same project done on their Liberty 458 here in Trinidad. Their quote from the yard that's doing the project including removal, glassing, painting, etc and with the guarantee that if they don't like the result, they don't have to pay for it = less than US$5,000.

Perhaps this post should have been titled "Posts People Hate".

Good luck, fair winds and calm seas.

[Boatguy30]

That's cheap put a much smaller project on the liberty. Probably 1/3 the work not counting the glass he's already removed.

On my friends Formosa it was basically a plywood deck built over deck beams with a thin layer or so of glass on the bottom of the ply then a ton of glass as much as 1/2" of mat and roving over the ply. (Teak had been over all that) This was all junk and I'm honestly not sure he really ever got back to oem ish thickness. Handy if you every pitch pole.

[minaret]

DIY finish by the end of summer? Not if you want a good quality job. You may want to rethink your scheduling.


Don't remove bungs and screws to pull teak. Just set a circ saw blade with depth of cut almost all the way through the teak and cut around each row of fasteners. Then use flat bar and framing hammer to remove the large areas with no fasteners. Then the strips of teak with fasteners in them will come up easy with flat bar, leaving you with a glass deck with a few thousand screws sticking out. Pull em and you are ready for the real nightmare to begin. I did mine (52' on deck) in two days, teak fully stripped. The rest took 8 months. And I had no core to replace.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by nhschneider

From the Not-So-Helpful Post Department:

Some friends of ours are having the exact same project done on their Liberty 458 here in Trinidad. Their quote from the yard that's doing the project including removal, glassing, painting, etc and with the guarantee that if they don't like the result, they don't have to pay for it = less than US$5,000.

Perhaps this post should have been titled "Posts People Hate".

Good luck, fair winds and calm seas.

You get what you pay for.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by nhschneider

From the Not-So-Helpful Post Department:

Some friends of ours are having the exact same project done on their Liberty 458 here in Trinidad. Their quote from the yard that's doing the project including removal, glassing, painting, etc and with the guarantee that if they don't like the result, they don't have to pay for it = less than US$5,000.

Perhaps this post should have been titled "Posts People Hate".

Good luck, fair winds and calm seas.

$5k??? Either a fantastic price or its a come on. Something fishy.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by reed1v

$5k??? Either a fantastic price or its a come on. Something fishy.

Stinky dead fishy. My materials bill for this job would exceed 5k.

[Scout 30]

I'd salvage any teak that you can. This stuff is priced like gold these days.

[carlheintz]

$ 5K? That will be the bait to get you there, then half-way through the job, the demands for more money will start. Extra $ 500, then another $ 1000, then another $2500. By the time you are done, they will get you for $ 15,000. Remember, this is not the US. Possession is .9 of the law, oh, yea, there ain't any law there.... be VERY cautious. You better be close to the boat, too, otherwise you will be replacing all your electronics, sails and winches too... Oh, and did I mention the quality of the workmanship?

Good luck... you will need it.

P.S. been (almost) there and (almost) done that. Years ago I was in the Philippines and we had a need for some repair work done in a yard near Manilla. The final negotiations after the job was supposedly done involved waiving a loaded pistol and swearing some nasties in Tagalog. just say'in

[kelbylinn]

I'm facing an estimate of around $25K on a 42' GB Trawler deck. I've asked them to revisit it with more details to make sure I'm ok. Alwgrip non-slip surface stuff.