Possible to Glass a Teak Deck?

[ttuzecan]

Hello,

The deck of my boat started to leak despite the fact that I recently renewed the filler between the planks.

Now instead of trying to figure out the reasons of leaking, I am considering glassing and painting deck with non-skid paint. One layer of 2 biaxial cloth and proper application of epoxy on deck, intersection points of the house to deck and deck body joint, I feel my problems will be solved forever.

Am I right or shall I be expensively wrong?

Thanks and regards.

Temucin - Istanbul

[CharlieCobra]

What's under the teak? If it's marine plywood, you could seal it with epoxy and then either glass or epoxy over that followed with non skid paint. You would definitely have to use an epoxy barrier coat such as Interlux 2000E under the non skid.

[ttuzecan]

Thanks for the quick reply.

What if I glass the deck without removing the existing iroko planks?

What if I do all the right things regarding epoxy application?

It seems the plywood underneath is sound.

[btrayfors]

Glass over teak is almost always a BAD idea. It will come back to haunt you.

IMHO, there are but two options:

1. fix the teak and the leaks; or
2. remove the teak decks, lay down SEVERAL layers of fiberglass cloth, and be done with the teak forever.

I chose option #2 on a Cheoy Lee 42' sloop about 10 years ago, after putting up with grief after grief in the tropics. Never looked back :-)

We used two layers of cloth over the existing plywood sub-deck. Then, a total of eight coats of Awlgrip, including the last non-skid coat.

BTW, I did put down new teak in the cockpit. Properly done by a master shipwright. No screws...all epoxy. Still looks like new!

Bill

[CharlieCobra]

That's the way I'd go too. Get rid of the teak, sell it maybe..

[perchance]

Glassing in the teak makes a perfect incubator for rot. Hot sun on encapsulated moist wood is a recipe for disaster.

[CharlieCobra]

That's why ya get rid of the teak and glass or epoxy over the ply...

[ttuzecan]

After checking more thoroughly, I found out that, the deck is at least 6 centimeters thick adding about a ton of weight. Apparenty the previous owner had built numerous decks.

The stripping will start tomorrow and I shall see where we shall stop until we find a sound base to glass.