Teak Deck Glued Over Foam Cored Deck

[jfalsone]

I am considering the purchase of an older custom yacht of very high quality. However, the 30+ year old teak deck has issues. The deck was epoxied in place under vacuum bag over a foam cored laminate. No screws, although there are some bungs in place that allowed epoxy to escape during application. Unfortunately, some planks have started to delaminate. Others that were likely coming loose were screwed down by the owner while others were nailed down (yikes). So, there were some holes put into the deck where water could've gotten in. So, I'm trying to figure out what to look for to decide whether to go forward with the purchase. The boat is stored indoors so is dry. I will need to instruct the surveyor to try to make the best assessment of the deck, using a moisture meter from below as best as he can. There seems to be enough thickness to refinish the decking. The caulking is in bad shape and likely original. The builder told me that in the absence of penetrations, the deck laminate should be fine. I'm looking for advice from those who have experience with teak decks and assessing condition so I can determine whether I can likely rehab this deck instead of replacing.

[Weatherbird]

Originally Posted by jfalsone

Others that were likely coming loose were screwed down by the owner while others were nailed down (yikes).

I hope this person is selling because they've realized that boats are not for them–because boats are not for them.

[jfalsone]

Originally Posted by Weatherbird

I hope this person is selling because they've realized that boats are not for them–because boats are not for them.

The owner had the boat for many years but grew ill and subsequently passed away. Clearly, the boat fell into disrepair which is what happens when someone has an emotional tie with the boat and therefore keeps it, but does not have the disposition to maintain it. The boat is worth being completely refit but the price has to be right.

[Wandering1]

My deck is cored with Airex. It is 44 years old. We removed the screwed down teak deck 7 years ago. The core was perfect. Thr deck is not glass and paint. Airex core doesn't absorb moisture. Worth checking what the core is

[jfalsone]

Originally Posted by Wandering1

My deck is cored with Airex. It is 44 years old. We removed the screwed down teak deck 7 years ago. The core was perfect. Thr deck is not glass and paint. Airex core doesn't absorb moisture. Worth checking what the core is

The hull and deck are Corecell foam.

[Cheechako]

The buckling up of teak bothers me as much as anything. A few screw nail holes are likely not an issue into the core. Could be though. I removed screwed on teak on a Hans Christian and found no wet core. But man, it was VERY hard to get the teak off. We had to break it off in 18"-2ft chunks.They had floated the teak on that black caulking mix and really, it didn't need screws!

If your thin teak is buckling up, I'm not sure of the solution other than taking it all off. It's a mess when you do that and really requires a complete deck and cabin repaint. You simply cant get all that black goo off everywhere without making a mess of the gel coat. However, if it is coming loose, maybe that's a plus as it will come off easier!

Also, getting the teak off requires removing all that deck hardware and tracks etc. Can you get at the screws/nuts? or are they glassed over?
SO plan accordingly. I dont have a lot of faith in epoxy holding things like that.

I guess if there are a limited number of warped lifting teak strips, you could remove the bad ones, replace by caulking and screwing, sand flush, then strip all the black caulk out and recaulking the entire deck. Basically, that's where the situation is right now.

[Weatherbird]

Originally Posted by jfalsone

The owner had the boat for many years but grew ill and subsequently passed away. Clearly, the boat fell into disrepair which is what happens when someone has an emotional tie with the boat and therefore keeps it, but does not have the disposition to maintain it. The boat is worth being completely refit but the price has to be right.

It happens all the time. It happened to my last boat, it happened to my current boat, it's happening to the boat in the slip next to me. None of those owners drove nails into the deck core. Most bad repairs are done with good intentions but this one takes the cake for me.

My current boat was stored inside for years before I bought her and the surveyor led me to believe that the moisture meter wasn't going to be all that reliable.

The deck doesn't look bad. If it was balsa I would get permission to pull a few of those screws and poke around in the hole to see what the core is like. But I wouldn't know what to look for with foam coring. It doesn't look like the teak is thicker under the fittings so either the deck hasn't been refinished repeatedly or someone took the time to do it right.

Honestly I wouldn't be too worried. If I was happy with the price I'd pull all the screws and nails, drill the holes a little bigger, seal the core with epoxy, bung the holes, glue the boards back down, and then redo the caulking. Eventually it will need to be replaced but you already know that.

[Bowdrie]

To the OP, how thick is the teak?
Teak decking can be successfully laid using only epoxy, but it needs to be thin.
As the Gougeon brothers stated in their book from many years ago, you can't use thick stock.
They wanted stock that was ~1/4>5/16.
Success in repair methods will in part be determined by the thickness of the teak.

[jfalsone]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

To the OP, how thick is the teak?
Teak decking can be successfully laid using only epoxy, but it needs to be thin.
As the Gougeon brothers stated in their book from many years ago, you can't use thick stock.
They wanted stock that was ~1/4>5/16.
Success in repair methods will in part be determined by the thickness of the teak.

So, the builder told me that the teak was laid thinner on this deck than it was originally. He didn't recall that thickness. The original hulls were build by a different builder and they were glued and screwed. Those decks were 1/2" thick. So, the deck on this boat is thinner than that. How much I'm not sure. It's certainly thinner now than it was in 1993!

[jfalsone]

Originally Posted by Weatherbird

The deck doesn't look bad. If it was balsa I would get permission to pull a few of those screws and poke around in the hole to see what the core is like. But I wouldn't know what to look for with foam coring. It doesn't look like the teak is thicker under the fittings so either the deck hasn't been refinished repeatedly or someone took the time to do it right.

Honestly I wouldn't be too worried. If I was happy with the price I'd pull all the screws and nails, drill the holes a little bigger, seal the core with epoxy, bung the holes, glue the boards back down, and then redo the caulking. Eventually it will need to be replaced but you already know that.

This was what I was hoping would be the case but I'm nervous about pinning my purchase on that hope. Do you have experience doing what you've suggested?

[Fore and Aft]

JFalsone I think you're clutching at straws. Without even seeing the deck I would say it's reached the end of its economical life. The decks 31 years old, obviously had issues and was thin to begin with. It sounds like you love the teak so just keep fixing it and don't be surprised if you're regularly gluing down another plank.
I have been paid to tidy up teak decks and then a year later you see the boat and realise what a waste of money that was.
Cheers

[jfalsone]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

JFalsone I think you're clutching at straws. Without even seeing the deck I would say it's reached the end of its economical life. The decks 31 years old, obviously had issues and was thin to begin with. It sounds like you love the teak so just keep fixing it and don't be surprised if you're regularly gluing down another plank.
I have been paid to tidy up teak decks and then a year later you see the boat and realise what a waste of money that was.
Cheers

I am not really in love with the teak. I'm agnostic on it, and only favor teak if it's in very good condition. Otherwise, I'd rather have nonskid. The question is how long can this deck go with relatively minor repairs and is it thick enough to be rehabilitated by recaulking / sanding? If these things cannot be done, how big an effort will it be to remove the teak and prep/paint? I'm guessing that other than some minor repairs, a deck rehab or the strip are significant efforts. I'm trying to assess how difficult it will be to strip the decking given that it was applied with epoxy.

[Kijit]

I fell in love with a 1994 boat that had a teak deck. It was pretty worn as it had been in the Caribbean and Florida and the surveyor said we had maybe 10 years left on the deck. We wound up buying the boat anyway. We have now had the boat 17 years and the teak deck is still in serviceable condition, but I baby the deck. I still get comments on how good the deck looks (but I don't let them get too close!) Cleaning is done rarely and then with a sponge by hand. I seal it with Semco and it continues to look good, but it does need some screws pulled and holes filled and I have some caulking to do. I hope to get at least another 5 or 6 years out of it, but that will depend on me getting to the work!

I guess what I am saying is that if the surveyor says all is OK, then if you really like the boat, the price is right, and you are willing to give the deck some TLC, I don't see the deck as a show stopper. Just realize that at some point in the future, you may have some major work to do.