Encapsulating/ covering teak deck

[Tetepare]

As part of the never-ending saga of leaking teak decks on older boats, I found a yacht for sale with an "interesting" solution:


original Teak Deck - covered and sealed with 4 coats of Epoxy and 4 coats of Polyurethane





Forgetting for a moment that this darned thing won't let me change the font back, I found this to be a novel solution...but how effective might it be?



Theoretically, a dry, encapsulated teak deck should be OK. Of course, there is undoubtedly the existing rot in the sandwich deck, but if it's not too bad one could live with it and not have increased damage.


But in reality? Oh, font just returned by itself. OK...in reality, wouldn't there be flexing and additional water intrusion? Might it though decrease water egress to the point the boat is usable for "my" lifetime?


We looked at a different, gorgeous boat w/ teak decks. Unfortunately it had leaked, the decks proper were saturated, dark water drips down the interior, and the floor totally destroyed- gone. This boat is a $40k job just to repair, and is off the list.


But what about the above mentioned "repaired" boat? I'm sure the answer will be walk away, but I'm inquisitive.

[Tetepare]

No comments? Can't believe it.


Would anyone knowledgeable buy a boat like that, with caveats?

[sailor_ed]

Wood and epoxy expand and contract differently. I would expect cracking and delamination shortly. I would not even remotely consider this a "repair".

[Cheechako]

It's a terrible "solution".

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

No comments? Can't believe it.


Would anyone knowledgeable buy a boat like that, with caveats?

All your concerns are valid. I would not consider buying such a boat.

The only real reason to have a teak deck is for it's unmatched nonskid properties. That boat will have an ice skating rink when the deck is wet. You have ALL the problems of a teak deck, plus the huge ongoing maintenance of a varnished surface with constant sun exposure, and NONE of the advantages.

Last but not least... teak decks get really hot in the tropical sun... I wonder what the temperature rating of the epoxy that was used? Some are low enough to be of concern...

Lastly, when you see a boat where somebody does something like this, you have to wonder what other uninformed, dumb things they have done that you haven't found--yet.

[denverd0n]

You are right that a dry, encapsulated teak deck would be okay. But it has to be DRY! If it is not (and if it is leaking then it absolutely is NOT!), then encapsulating it does not stop the rot. It will continue to spread, and get worse. When teak decks start to leak, encapsulating them is a short-term, half-assed way to deal with it. It is nothing more than a way to pass the problem along to the next owner.


The right way to do it is to pull up all the teak, remove all the wet substrate, and then either replace the deck with new teak, or reinforce the deck -- usually with plywood -- and encapsulate it at that time.

[Shrew]

The Teak decks were 'fixed'. What was temporarily stopped were the leaks.

[Cheechako]

A resin coated deck will leak soon if it wasn't done with glass. As noted teak decks get so hot you cant walk on them, they expand and contract.
If you like the boat well enough at a great price, ask the owner if you can drill a few holes from the inside in the overhead under the deck in places that wont show. Remove the wood debris from the drill twist with your fingernail and squeeze it between your thumb and fore finger. Water will come out if it's wet.. You can check the core that way. If the core's still good you can remove the teak decks and make it a good boat. But it better be cheap and you better have a lot of time!

[Tetepare]

For clarification, the decks are epoxied white, so it looks like any other deck. Woe be to the buyer who doesn't know the "repair".


I thought of a second issue, that being in a cold climate the deck (not teak, the actual cored deck) is going to freeze and expand and probably lift the teak/ reface and crack.


I wish there were an easier way. So many gorgous boats, so many saturated decks, so many ruined interiors.

[James S]

Bad idea... and i'm surprised they would be willing to go to that much work and expense and not remove the teak..

[chris95040]

Did they use fiberglass, or did the just do resin?

How did they prevent water from entering at the edges of the repair?

Obviously having wood under fiberglass isn't inherently a bad thing, pretty much all of us have cored decks, but the devil is in the details.

[mikeod]

I met someone who covered them with Rino Liner. The stuff they do truck beds with, it was an off white and looked like it held up good. It was on for years when I saw it.

[James S]

Originally Posted by mikeod

I met someone who covered them with Rino Liner. The stuff they do truck beds with, it was an off white and looked like it held up good. It was on for years when I saw it.

Interesting... I would have thought it would be very susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction...

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by James S

Interesting... I would have thought it would be very susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction...

Rhino Liner is a flexible material, so it would flex with the expansion and contraction. Still just covering up the problem, instead of fixing it, of course.

[Lepke]

If the wood is wet the rot will continue. There's probably enough moisture inside (from cooking, showers) to keep the rot going. The rot has to be treated to stop it. Otherwise the support under the deck gradually goes away and the covering will crack. You can try borate, a legal wood preservative. But it mixes with water so you still have to dry the wood. There were wood preservatives that worked really good, before the EPA.