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Old 17-06-2013, 09:21   #1
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Are These Teak Decks not Worth Fixing?

I recently acquired a 1986 Beneteau that has teak decking in the cockpit and bridge deck and am looking for -experienced- opinions. For those not familiar with these boats, the decks are cored fiberglass and the teak is roughly 1/4" strips that were screwed into the fiberglass, plugged and bedded in some sort of caulking. A lot of plugs and caulking is missing and I'm not sure there's enough wood left to do a proper re-plugging job. I'm attaching a photo of the bridge deck to give you an idea of how bad they look. I'm inclined to rip them up and replace with something other than wood (foam non-skid or faux teak are at the top of my list). I'm not a big fan of teak decks or the maintenance required to maintain them, but I won't rip them off if they could be restored with a minimum amount of work and money. Before I give them the ol' heave-ho, thought I'd get a second opinion.

Thanks.
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Old 17-06-2013, 09:30   #2
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

we rebuilt last year all the teak in a beneteau 50. and the result is very good, your teak looks good, what we do is to remove the screws , fill the holes with epoxy , clean and sand the teak , remove old caulking in the cockpit and stern areas , we wet out a couple of West epoxy coating in both sides , the teak and the deck, mix some west with silica and glue the teak in the surface , no screws, later recaulking again the gaps and done, i will say is a 3 or 4 days job, Some epoxy, caulking tube,
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Old 17-06-2013, 09:40   #3
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

Anything rather than plastic teak. As I overheard in a traditional boatyard, "That plastic teak, it sticks out like a whore in church".
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Old 17-06-2013, 09:43   #4
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

Giving them the big "heave ho" will be expensive, deck repair and painting etc. you can remove the screws that are too close to the surface and redrill,rescrew and replug them. Sand the whole thing (most of it with a belt sander) if the bedding is holding the wood well, you dont even need all the screws. After sanding it will look like new.
I cant tell from the pic, but if you need to recaulk that's not the end of the world, but some work too... if it's just the cockpit area and not the whole deck, it's doable though without taking forever.
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Old 17-06-2013, 09:59   #5
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

Quote:
Originally Posted by neilpride View Post
we rebuilt last year all the teak in a beneteau 50. and the result is very good, your teak looks good, what we do is to remove the screws , fill the holes with epoxy , clean and sand the teak , remove old caulking in the cockpit and stern areas , we wet out a couple of West epoxy coating in both sides , the teak and the deck, mix some west with silica and glue the teak in the surface , no screws, later recaulking again the gaps and done, i will say is a 3 or 4 days job, Some epoxy, caulking tube,
Not sure I'm following you. You're using WEST on the entire teak plank or just to fill the holes? If on the whole plank, what about UV damage/yellowing to the epoxy?
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:03   #6
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

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Anything rather than plastic teak. As I overheard in a traditional boatyard, "That plastic teak, it sticks out like a whore in church".
Haven't been to church in a long while, so I probably wouldn't even notice (unless she's cute, that is).

I've seen a couple of faux teak decks on different vintage Hunters. One looked like crap but the other had me fooled, even the surface looked convincing. I really hate doing woodwork, so replacing with more wood is just not an option. My choice would be to replace with that EVA foam pad decking, but my wife likes the look of teak.
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:07   #7
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

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Giving them the big "heave ho" will be expensive, deck repair and painting etc. you can remove the screws that are too close to the surface and redrill,rescrew and replug them. Sand the whole thing (most of it with a belt sander) if the bedding is holding the wood well, you dont even need all the screws. After sanding it will look like new.
I cant tell from the pic, but if you need to recaulk that's not the end of the world, but some work too... if it's just the cockpit area and not the whole deck, it's doable though without taking forever.
Fortunately it is just the cockpit area, so I'm thankful for that. The remaining wood is too thin in some places for screws and the caulking seams are pretty rough in some places.
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:12   #8
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

[ QUOTE=prof_mariner;1262801]Not sure I'm following you. You're using WEST on the entire teak plank or just to fill the holes? If on the whole plank, what about UV damage/yellowing to the epoxy?[/QUOTE]

No, im talking about gluing the teak to the deck with west, not in the top, after you have a teak glued strong , you just need to recaulk in the top and voila, dont use screws anymore,
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:14   #9
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

@neilpride - No screws, gotcha. Thanks!
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:14   #10
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

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Fortunately it is just the cockpit area, so I'm thankful for that. The remaining wood is too thin in some places for screws and the caulking seams are pretty rough in some places.
If it's adhered well... and just in the cockpit... maybe you dont need those screws? When I removed the teak decks on my Hans Christian, I discoved the the damn thing didnt need screws at all.... had to break and chisel off the planks in about 1 foot long pieces!
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:20   #11
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

@Cheechako - The planks seem to be bedded pretty well so I think I'll forget about screws and, as suggested, just epoxy some new plugs in.

Couple more questions:

- What tool should I use to remove the old, black caulking between the planks? I've read where people use dremmel tools but I'm thinking a v-shaped chisel might work better (while making it easier to keep the gap even and straight).

- Any other tricks to getting the caulking line straight and even?
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:21   #12
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

Yep, Cheechako.. could be the plank tough to remove without destroying , in that case new planks need to be fited or just forget the teak and a gelcoat or paint job do the trick, i use a long chisel and lots of patience to dismantle the short planks without break it , and later clean lots of old caulking from the planks...not funy at all...
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Old 17-06-2013, 10:26   #13
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

To glue with epoxy you need to take off the whole plank without break it, maybe luck play in your side and the caulk is very weak , later remove all the traces of old caulk from the bottom of the plank and deck, and glue in place , if not and the plank break easy at first pull, you have 2 choices , or3, clean old caulking where the plank is pulling up and fill it with caulking and putting some weights in the plank and let it like that for 24 hours at least, or remove the whole teak and paint it , or fitt new planks... is posible to pull the plank without break it, but take patience .... good luck.
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Old 18-06-2013, 04:06   #14
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Re: Are these teak decks not worth fixing?

The v shaped thing is the correct tool for it... like a V end to a right angle screwdriver.., if you are on the cheap, an old used up #1 Philips can bent to suit.. stick it in one of the bare spots and drag it along. it will pull the majority out. You don't need to completely clean it all out.. just make a channel

you don't need to be perfect at caulking.. I was handed a tip to mask off the wood to prevent overflow, then you can always sand down after the caulk has cured.

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Couple more questions:

- What tool should I use to remove the old, black caulking between the planks? I've read where people use dremmel tools but I'm thinking a v-shaped chisel might work better (while making it easier to keep the gap even and straight).

- Any other tricks to getting the caulking line straight and even?
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Old 18-06-2013, 04:27   #15
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Re: Are These teak Decks not Worth Fixing?

Well-installed and unmolested teak is one of the lowest maintenace surfaces on a boat. You hardly have to do anything to it but pour seawater over it on a regular basis. The trouble starts when people start to intefere with its natural existence -- oiling it, scrubbing it along the grain, putting chemicals on it, etc. If it's really well-installed it will go even a couple of decades without leaking or needing to be caulked.

You can't tell from the photo, but if there is enough wood left, your teak should be usable. Good advice above about getting rid of the screws. Glue it down really well, sand it flat, then caulk it properly with the correct polysulfide and you should be good to go for another 10-15 years.

Whether or not you can stand the look of artificial teak, I think everyone will agree that it is ghastly to the touch.
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