Need Leaky Teaky Savvy

[Windblown]

I am the slightly crazy owner of a Formosa 41 that I live aboard with a very understanding wife. Last winter we were subjected to regular drips whenever it rained, coming from the joint between the teakwood deck house and the deck, which I know these boats are notorious for. I plan to remove the teak trim around the outside and seal the joint up before the rainy season hits again, then re-install the teak.
Has anybody done this who can give me any words of wisdom as far as products or techniques? Or better yet, tell me what to avoid doing?

Other than not buying a Taiwan Turkey in the first place

[anjou]

There but for the grace of god, I almost went the same way.

Im still a sucker for Leaky Teakies., but now I know the difference between dreams and reality.

Be prepared for nasty shocks. Cans of worms await you.

[rebel heart]

You might want to check out my blog, I've been refitting our Hans Christian for a few years, working primarily on the wooden cabin top and teak decks (over plywood). Honestly I like them a lot. There are problems, but they are fixable. And with a plastic-fantastic boat it's never going to look any more beautiful than day one, versus with a wood boat you can make them look gorgeous. Also, there are several >100 year old wooden ships still slugging it out. I highly doubt any of the current fiberglass models will see a life expectancy like that.

Another thing I love working with wood is that it's a great skill and transfers well. You can fabricate almost anything out of wood with basic tools (and skill), both on the water and on land.

Specifically to answer your question, here's how I yank the caulking from the cabintop/deck joint:

Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Eric's Blog - Using the Fein MultiMaster for removing*caulking

This guy generally has everything explaining how to take care of teak decks. Dumping a bucket of seawater on them every day/week in the evening, especially after rain, is an excellent idea:

How to maintain and caulk teak decks on boats.

I have a scraping tool from Marshalltown that is the bees knees. Also, a Fein Multimaster although expensive is pretty much worth its weight in gold. Here are some pictures of the tools I roll with (the red handed marshalltown is amazing):

Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Pictures - Tools & Repair*Items

[rebel heart]

Also, for brightwork, no book even comes close:

Amazon.com: The Brightwork Companion : Tried-and-True Methods and Strongly Held Opinions in Thirteen and One-Half Chapters (0639785802969): Rebecca Wittman: Books

And over on thekeel.com there is a user named Mac who was a shipwright in the Hans Christian / Union Polaris boat yards. Beyond that, he has an HC that is amazingly beautiful and can answer nearly any question about construction or refit.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Windblown

I am the slightly crazy owner of a Formosa 41 that I live aboard with a very understanding wife. Last winter we were subjected to regular drips whenever it rained, coming from the joint between the teakwood deck house and the deck, which I know these boats are notorious for. I plan to remove the teak trim around the outside and seal the joint up before the rainy season hits again, then re-install the teak.
Has anybody done this who can give me any words of wisdom as far as products or techniques? Or better yet, tell me what to avoid doing?

Other than not buying a Taiwan Turkey in the first place

You might want to change your name to 'Budgetblown'.

If you're not already a member you should join the Force50/Formosa51 owners group. Even though you don't have their particular boat/s, they are enormously experienced and helpful, and they have gone through exactly the kinds of things you are confronting. There is a mine of information on their sites and in their archives.
Likewise the Leaky Teaky yacht club. Very helpful. I just happen to like the ease of use of the F50/F51 site.

I'm probably going to end up with something like a Vagabond 47, for my sins, which must be many...

LeakyTeakyYachtClub : LeakyTeakyYachtClub

Force 50 and Formosa 51 Owners Group

Good luck,
Vic

[Windblown]

For those of you trying to scare me, it won't work.

Ok, guess I wasn't clear in my first post. The boat has painted glass decks with non-skid. If it had teak decks I probably would have passed, but maybe not, because I got it for 5K. It does have teak decks in the cockpit, but those will be torn off eventually and replaced with synthetic. They are glass underneath the teak.

The first thing I did when I bought it last year was have it hauled and bottom painted (not a single blister!) and replaced every single seacock. Since then I've replaced the engine and tranny, and my rigger has 2 used aluminum masts waiting for me to replace the termite eaten spruce ones. I've totally rewired the 110 AC, and have new DC panels waiting to go in. I've also replaced all the plumbing and water heater with an awesome SS Italian job that we love. The new propane stove for the galley is waiting for installation as well, as soon as I get a tank locker and install it under the helm seat.

So, at this point, after living and working on it for a year, I'm pretty sure I can finish the job. Most of the expensive stuff is behind me.

To the job at hand, all I want to do is seal the single joint between the deck and the cabin top. The sides and top of the cabin are solid teak, with no rot that I have found, but water leaks in when it rains and drips onto the settee and bed. I plan to pry off the teak trim around the bottom, clean out whatever old sealant is in there, apply new sealant (3M 4200?) and then replace the teak trim.

Kevin

[Nibiruwayne]

Originally Posted by Windblown

For those of you trying to scare me, it won't work.

Ok, guess I wasn't clear in my first post. The boat has painted glass decks with non-skid. If it had teak decks I probably would have passed, but maybe not, because I got it for 5K. It does have teak decks in the cockpit, but those will be torn off eventually and replaced with synthetic. They are glass underneath the teak.

The first thing I did when I bought it last year was have it hauled and bottom painted (not a single blister!) and replaced every single seacock. Since then I've replaced the engine and tranny, and my rigger has 2 used aluminum masts waiting for me to replace the termite eaten spruce ones. I've totally rewired the 110 AC, and have new DC panels waiting to go in. I've also replaced all the plumbing and water heater with an awesome SS Italian job that we love. The new propane stove for the galley is waiting for installation as well, as soon as I get a tank locker and install it under the helm seat.

So, at this point, after living and working on it for a year, I'm pretty sure I can finish the job. Most of the expensive stuff is behind me.

To the job at hand, all I want to do is seal the single joint between the deck and the cabin top. The sides and top of the cabin are solid teak, with no rot that I have found, but water leaks in when it rains and drips onto the settee and bed. I plan to pry off the teak trim around the bottom, clean out whatever old sealant is in there, apply new sealant (3M 4200?) and then replace the teak trim.

Kevin

We have a steel yacht which had teak sole in the cockpit which was leaking and spongy. We pulled up the teak and repainted the sole with white awlgrip. We built a removable teak grid with bullet latches to both secure and allow for easy removal. This allowed the sole to always drain dry to the scuppers and be hosed down even with the grid in place. Attractive, functional, and practical.
As for the house/deck leak. Once you find it, consider bedding a stainless steel angle strip to act as 'flashing'. sooner or later the M52 or whatever, will leak again.

good sailing: Cappy

[Mike Vogdes]

Originally Posted by Windblown

For those of you trying to scare me, it won't work.

Ok, guess I wasn't clear in my first post. The boat has painted glass decks with non-skid. If it had teak decks I probably would have passed, but maybe not, because I got it for 5K.

To the job at hand, all I want to do is seal the single joint between the deck and the cabin top. The sides and top of the cabin are solid teak, with no rot that I have found, but water leaks in when it rains and drips onto the settee and bed. I plan to pry off the teak trim around the bottom, clean out whatever old sealant is in there, apply new sealant (3M 4200?) and then replace the teak trim.

Kevin

Is it feasible to remove the trim around the bottom, clean, sand and prep the surfaces and use 6" biaxle tape, lapped 2" up the cabin side and 4" on deck. You could fair, paint, and nonskid the deck and use a piece of 2.5"or 3" trim on the cabin side.

[slowshoes]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Specifically to answer your question, here's how I yank the caulking from the cabintop/deck joint:

Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Eric's Blog - Using the Fein MultiMaster for removing*caulking



I have a scraping tool from Marshalltown that is the bees knees. Also, a Fein Multimaster although expensive is pretty much worth its weight in gold. Here are some pictures of the tools I roll with (the red handed marshalltown is amazing):

Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Pictures - Tools & Repair*Items

Rebelheart,

Have you tried using your Fein with the caulk removal blades - they're pricey but work great. I don't know if I would trust my hand to be steady enough to try removing the caulk with the saw blade like your doing in the video.

[zeehag]

windblown--please read my pm to you--i have known that particular boat since 1990, when she was a neighbor in lost angeles, ca, before she came to fiddlers cove, sin diego , kali.....before she got the hull to deck connection damage from the breakaway formosa 51..on the moorings at fid cove..long ago--mebbe 6 yrs or so--mebbe 4--i forget--i own a formosa 41 1976 yankee clipper. lol i wish i had windblown--her ports are unique--only a few had those....if there is anything i can do --please let me know--also--ask paul, in fiddlers cove, owner of aventura, also.he is smart with his--doing a good job...lol i tried to buy that one ..is a small world...windblown was in the very next slip over from me in the lost angeles harbor marina.......yours is solid teak cabin house--mine is ply with glass overlay, so the repair will be different--
your teak decking was removed after the formosa 1 rubbed the beejeeziz outta the hull and deck connection and let a few years of rain inside unrelentingly. check your galley and dinette area for dry rot now--is about the right length of time. not trying to scare you --you have a jewel of a formosa--they only made a few like yours.donot ever sell her unless you give her to me lol....but check the lower poarts of the bulkheads and under stove and showers and such for bad wood...the repair is also in the leaky teaky tavern group.

there is a yahoo group of us crazy souls--leaky teaky yacht club or leaky teaky tavern. whichever isnt the yahoo one is the facebook one-- both are same folks--there are all kinds of particulars for our boats there--i want to use fiberglass tape on the joint and epoxy the mess so i dont have any more galley leakage--my bed is a dry one now i fixed niagara falls..lol....
there are step-by -step with pix of projects folks have done and the folks are cool....

you are not alone in your total insanity ....there are many of us garden ketch owners out here trying to keep a dry pillow..lol

these particular boats re ones that are either loved forever or hated ..lol --have to have a passion for them....
are the dragons still intact in the main saloon?? there should be one on each side of the saloon--they should be able to see each other for good luck.

[Windblown]

Wow, thanks for all the interesting info! We need to get together, I answered your pm too. The dragons were gone when we bought her, but you could see the outline where they were. My wife was obsessed about them, and we looked everywhere, but alas, we never found them. We did find a peacock that we put there, but she just found a mermaid carving that we are going to put up instead.

We do really love the boat, and are so happy we could save her from further deterioation. It's been a labor of love all the way.

Kevin

[zeehag]

dang the in between person a=somewhere along the way snatched them..gotta find more...there are some boats in teejass--we can find dragons..LOL.... now ye got the team working on this...LOL