Newbie, curious about the mystique of teak.

[oleman]

Teak is one of the most durable woods out there. In my opinion, even without maintenance it is has much more appeal than shiny plastic or painted material. But being poor, lazy and cheap I only have painted surfaces.
I did use teak from an old deck chair to make a handle for a custom counter knife for the galley. Even after multiple passes through the dishwasher it is still good. Most durable wood I have found for that use. Normally I pressure soak wood in epoxy for handles. The teak I just soaked in polyurethane.

[ZULU40]

It is good non skid and comfortable for bare feet, and it holds the A1 for traditional appearance of boats. But its a royal pita for time effort and money.

If Mads on Sail Life got rid of his teak deck it just shows you what the real practical options are for a dilapidated teak deck. Either start again, or get the whole lot off. In doing so the boats deck will be a whole lot lighter.

The infamous leaky teaky's are another case in point. As the decks fail the plywood decks below also fail and if unattended too it quickly turns the boat into a wreck.

All that said, Zaya has quite a bit of teak trim about her, which Im thinking at least some of it should go.

[MartinR]

Teak decks as anti slip are head and shoulders about anything else. Wet or dry. So there is a real reason for teak decks. But, if you oil them, a lot of the anti slip functionality is lost. Untreated decks will age to a beautiful silver colour. If you oil them and then stop treating them they will look more of an ugly grey. Keeping them oiled requires a lot of effort. Untreated decks require probably less maintenance than gelcoat.

A problem with teak decks is in the tropics. They get HOT. You need to hose them down to be able to walk barefoot. Even here, though, the silver coloured untreated teak is much better than the oiled.

Also, very important, always scrub teak decks against the grain, then they will last a LONG time.

[taxwizz]

The reason that teak lasts a long time without surface treatment is, I believe, because of its high content of natural oil that prevents rot.

And...Over time, you will learn to love that natural unmaintained grey that it will soon adopt. As you sit back and enjoy a beer, that grey color will look better and better.

[Greg Mason]

So, my 2 experiences with this topic are as follows. My Pedrick Cheoy Lee 41 interior was either counter top, headliner or teak, including floors. The original owner did 3 upgrades, aluminum toe rail, 5/8" teak decks, screwed, and 2 extra coats of varnish below. Loved it, never leaked, never went barefoot on deck in 14 years. Form. So I swear by it, others swear at it. Raced to Maui on a 65' MacGregor. Got to Maui, pulled out the cushions and went below with a hose and scrub brush. Function. Your choice.

[Gordo1]

Originally Posted by WingRyder

Hello all, I have yet another question, this time about teak decks. I used the search function but was unable to find what I was looking for... though I learned a lot about teak, synthetics, and COST!!!

I am looking to purchase a liveaboard monohull sailboat (between 36-39') next fall. I have been using YW to keep an eye on boats, in my price range, and keep my expectations in check, lol. What is the deal with teak decks? The price range I'm looking for, are boats around 10 - 20 years old. Many of these boats have teak deck and most of them are grayed and look like crap! (JMHO). I wouldn't want that on my boat. Sure it looks amazing when it is new, but after 10-15 years it starts to look haggard.

What is the reason for teak decking? There must be some advantage to it, because it adds a substantial cost to new boats, and it seems to go the hell pretty quickly.

In trying to compromise and not outright exclude teaked boats, I am curious about the annual maintenance cost and hassle of teak. Is it better, easier to maintain than a fiberglass deck with a textured coating?

After watching SailLife on YouTube, he ripped his teak deck off and resurfaced the entire deck of his boat (an 80's Warrior 38) with fiberglass and texture. That seemed like an incredibly labor intensive process and took most of the summer for him to complete. Not something I would want to tackle, and would rather use that $$$ and effort for other improvements on a boat.

I guess, in summary, What is the advantage of teak? Why would I want teak? Is it mainly cosmetic? Traditional? What is the deal with teak? Should I just write off teak boats, as I would never want the cost of replacing a teak deck. I can't understand why someone would want to spend so much money on a wood surface that is battered relentlessly by sun and sea conditions... unless they have plenty of money to burn.

ON AN UNRELATED NOTE:

Why the hell are there so many boats for sale in Croatia!!! It seems half the boats in my search criteria are from Croatia! My assumtion is that they are mostly charter boats... but many of them look to be in excellent condition. Is this some sort of buyers scam?

Thanks to all in advance. I'm still in the early stages of planning and learning, and you all have been a tremendous help to me thus far.

~Harrison.

I would not worrying about the look of teak deck on a boat. There is a new product on the market this year caled No-Scrub teal renovator which is a two part brush on product which is amazing. It bring silver weathered teak back to as new in one hour and it is reasonabley cheap about $60 for the average 40 foot boat. I have just done my 55 ft trawler yacht and the look is amazing . It as the product says has no scrubbing or sanding so does not remove any heartwood inthe teak leading to ridging and vastly lengthening the life of your deck. To keep it looking as new cover it with Semco once a year.. contact me if you want more details

[navysurfer]

Call me crazy,,, and I am , I love my teak decks, the teak below decks, the teak above decks. Something about the non plastic wizardry, the old school feel on the bottom of my feet. The beauty of wood had always enchanted me.

I love the feel of teak in the morning, it feels comfortable, soothing and just downright nice.

Redheads and 2 stroke outboards, is God's way of keep in touch.

Cheer's Pop's

[earthmover]

Get fake teak I say!

[Gordo1]

for. I have had my boat in Croatia for seven years now . Cfroatia has very few honest and dependable service people Also the cost of living and marinas has gone up 100 % in the last four years. They seem to be suffering the old days of spanish boating thirty years ago where locals are killing the golden goose. It is a beautiful country to boat in but very very frustrating to et anything done properly unless you do it yourself..I have found from experience they will lie to your face that they have done a job when if you cant see it has been done until it goes wrong again you strip your self and you have things like impellers never changed outboards serviced. dont get me wrong there are some good trades men in Croatia but they are few and far between and you will find they wont deal with you until you are considered a local. Official are unbelievable as well . I tried to register my boat in Croatia for two years before before I gave up and registered it on the SSR within four days with the same paperwork. I think they will find this exedous from their country will continue unless they change the way they treast newcomers as floating wallets.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by Gordo1

for. I have had my boat in Croatia for seven years now . Cfroatia has very few honest and dependable service people Also the cost of living and marinas has gone up 100 % in the last four years. They seem to be suffering the old days of spanish boating thirty years ago where locals are killing the golden goose. It is a beautiful country to boat in but very very frustrating to et anything done properly unless you do it yourself..I have found from experience they will lie to your face that they have done a job when if you cant see it has been done until it goes wrong again you strip your self and you have things like impellers never changed outboards serviced. dont get me wrong there are some good trades men in Croatia but they are few and far between and you will find they wont deal with you until you are considered a local. Official are unbelievable as well . I tried to register my boat in Croatia for two years before before I gave up and registered it on the SSR within four days with the same paperwork. I think they will find this exedous from their country will continue unless they change the way they treast newcomers as floating wallets.

Hi;
Are you in the wrong thread?
Just wondering....

[kilmaine]

Interesting thread. I have a 1965 Dutch Van Lent TSMY 51ft with teak decks which I bought 14 years ago. After a few years it became clear that the original teak decks required replacement. They were 1 inch thick and and screwed from below. To replace the decking required removal of all the interior ceilings, cleaning and rust proofing the steel stringers upon which the teak was fixed and then fixing 1/2 inch marine ply and 1/2 inch teak decking on top. We used single lengths of teak with no unsightly joints and the whole process took two men a year and cost over €100,000. However I have the satisfaction of knowing it’s a proper job that should last another 40 years minimum. You get what you pay for!

[waterman46]

Its very sexy and very HOT. You don't want teak decks in a hot climate, and you are in Florida. A normal off-white fiberglass deck is low maintenance and can be walked on, even on the hottest days.

[navysurfer]

Very true, I set up canvas and shade 80% of the deck which helps greatly, teak or no teak. I grew up here and know how hot it can be, I also frequently wet the deck with seawater, it helps a bit also.

Its personal taste for the most part, nothing wrong with nonskid decks, easy to clean, cooler, I get it. I just prefer teak, it fits the boat well, Tayana 37 PH.

I think we will see more and more synthetic teak, just because the price of seasoned teak is, very very expensive, if not impossible to get, and for good reason, Teak belongs in the jungle, IMHO, if I were to order a new boat I would not have teak decks for that reason.

Cheers

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by taxwizz

Hi;
Are you in the wrong thread?
Just wondering....

No, the OP posed a two part question, teak decks and why so many boats for sale in Croatia. Not withstanding local tradesmen, government, and marinas, Croatia has a ton of charter boats. The myriad islands along the coast are ideal cruising grounds in season. We were just there and saw newish Beneteau's sailing between islands, anchored out or crowded into Med Tie marinas everywhere we went. Saw a good sized paper back book that was nothing but charter boat company listings. Usually these boats are bought by individuals to put in Charter and they want to sell for whatever reason so lots of boats for sale. My only question about these charter boats is do the charterers know how to put up sails. Unless the wind was kicking up past 10 knots it was motor time and a lot of them never seemed to sail.

[savoir]

The huge number of boats for sale in Croatia is purely because of the charter industry located there. As to the quality boats, not every charter boat is a proper charter boat in use with someone like Moorings. Some are more tax fiddle than boat and don't see too much charter work.