Whether to teak or not. That is the question.

[AusCan]

30 year old teak decks scare me, but I certainly would consider a boat with a new teak deck, especially if it was layed without using 1000 screws.

 

[O C Diver]

Had teak cap rail and aft deck. Now have bare foot friendly non skid fiberglass deck and hand friendly epoxy encapsulated cap rail with Awlgrip finish. For me, the finished products far exceeded the expectation. From a bling stand point I understand the wood. From a user stand point (walk on and hold), there is no comparison.





Ted

 

[bayview]

I like seeing well maintained teak






on somebody else's boat.

 

[ranger58sb]

Wifey: Darn, I should have noted exterior....that's where the maintenance is. Honestly, we don't find it's that much to maintain though.

Figured that's what you meant.

Would have been good to have a choice about teak on someone else's boat... where it can look nice and be essentially maintenance free (for me).



Every year I watch our dock neighbors sand and re-stain/re-varnish (oil, whatever) their brightwork. It appears to be light touchup one year, more serious work then next. Either way, what a chore.

Looks nice -- on their boat, once they do the work -- but it sometimes looks like crap in between those work sessions... and anyway, I'm not doin' that.

Luckily they don't have teak decks...

-Chris

 

[psneeld]

I have never had the luxury of having such a perfect boat that all was left to do was keep teak nice.

 

[refugio]

But here in Washington w covered moorage I like it.
But not decks. It's too yachty anyway.

I don't think there is anyone on the planet who would not prefer to have exterior wood if it cost the same and were zero maintenance.

Wood - varnished, oiled, whatever - is very low maintenance if the boat is predominantly stored under cover.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: I'm reading all about oiling, varnishing, all these things. We simply clean with TDS products and the color remains/is restored. Not multi step or multi products. Now, we do have the advantage of doing this from the day it was new. But TDS's cleaners do what others seem to be working much harder to do. It's pretty much like a good mopping but just using a special cleaner. It takes a little longer than mopping a deck because you want to be sure to go against the grain and you use a smaller brush, plus you're more careful to keep the area wet while working and to rinse it very well as soon as done.

Here is a video of how we care for our teak.

 

[O C Diver]

Wifey B: I'm reading all about oiling, varnishing, all these things. We simply clean with TDS products and the color remains/is restored. Not multi step or multi products. Now, we do have the advantage of doing this from the day it was new. But TDS's cleaners do what others seem to be working much harder to do. It's pretty much like a good mopping but just using a special cleaner. It takes a little longer than mopping a deck because you want to be sure to go against the grain and you use a smaller brush, plus you're more careful to keep the area wet while working and to rinse it very well as soon as done.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhd7Y7v6us&feature=feedlik

Looked like he was doing a fair amount of scrubbing.

Simple question: What percentage of all the maintenance are you doing to all of the teak decks on your boat?

Ted

 

[BandB]

Looked like he was doing a fair amount of scrubbing.

Simple question: What percentage of all the maintenance are you doing to all of the teak decks on your boat?

Ted

Wifey B: What percentage am I doing? 5.12778346%. At one time I did 50% on a boat we owned but it was small and limited teak. I have done 50% though more recently to learn and to really understand. Hubby and I did it. He sure has lousy control of the hose. Everytime he went to rinse I got soaked, especially from the waist up.

Yes, the video had some scrubbing. So does fiberglass deck. Do does tile. So does carpet. I'm not saying it's work free, but I'm not saying any deck is. I'm simply saying that properly maintained teak doesn't require the effort that many are having to put in on teak that hasn't apparently been maintained as well. There are also many other things that are as much or more effort to maintain. All the deck furniture. Canvas and strataglass. Carpet when someone spills pink champagne.

I'd say our teak is 10-20% incrementally more work to maintain than fiberglass decks.

 

[O C Diver]

Wifey B: What percentage am I doing? 5.12778346%. At one time I did 50% on a boat we owned but it was small and limited teak. I have done 50% though more recently to learn and to really understand. Hubby and I did it. He sure has lousy control of the hose. Everytime he went to rinse I got soaked, especially from the waist up.

Yes, the video had some scrubbing. So does fiberglass deck. Do does tile. So does carpet. I'm not saying it's work free, but I'm not saying any deck is. I'm simply saying that properly maintained teak doesn't require the effort that many are having to put in on teak that hasn't apparently been maintained as well. There are also many other things that are as much or more effort to maintain. All the deck furniture. Canvas and strataglass. Carpet when someone spills pink champagne.

I'd say our teak is 10-20% incrementally more work to maintain than fiberglass decks.

Fair enough.

Not sure how old the boat is that you are maintaining, but clearly the work required increases as the teak deck ages. Most here aren't starting with a new teak deck and their experience is with 10 to 30 year old teak and possibly poorly done applications. Failure of the application may take more than a decade to materialize.

Ted

 

[ranger58sb]

And periodic cleaning of teak decking, for example, isn't the same as dealing with brightwork...


-Chris

 

[BandB]

Fair enough.

Not sure how old the boat is that you are maintaining, but clearly the work required increases as the teak deck ages. Most here aren't starting with a new teak deck and their experience is with 10 to 30 year old teak and possibly poorly done applications. Failure of the application may take more than a decade to materialize.

Ted

Wifey B: Our oldest are only 3.5 years old. However, I've been on the same boat that was 12-14 years old and the teak looked great and wasn't requiring a lot of extra maintenance. We did talk to those maintaining the charters before we bought. I'm thinking there are many factors including original application, how cared for over the years, and how treated. If buying used, I would very much judge on an individual basis. There are definitely more teak decks with issues although a lot of decks period with issues of water and deterioration. We saw a GB with teak sitting at a marina with at least six inches of water in it and it was dirty dirty dirty water so methinks had been there a while. No freaking way one would want to touch it.

I'm also basing my views on a limited number of boat brands using a limited number of teak suppliers. The vast majority of US built boats use Teakdecking Systems. Their decks are all pre-manufactured by Teakdecking so no laying of individual planks and stuff. The European boats seem similarly done. I don't know anything about Asian builders' applications or teak suppliers. But I think that's another change maybe vs. old is the whole way of manufacturing and laying.

So, I think teak maybe comes with a humongous caveat. Not inherently a problem but often is for a number of reasons.

Now, my poor little brain is hurting from all this serious crap. Back to having fun and maybe buying some art.

 

[BandB]

And periodic cleaning of teak decking, for example, isn't the same as dealing with brightwork...


-Chris

Wifey B: I agree there. We've got no teak rails or gunwales. Hearing you guys, I'm glad. We have teak tables but they're just like dealing with any table and they're protected.

 

[Bay Pelican]

Assumed the poll related to exterior teak. Inside teak is fine. The new boat market has clearly shifted away from exterior teak.

 

[BruceK]

30 year old teak decks scare me, but I certainly would consider a boat with a new teak deck, especially if it was layed without using 1000 screws.

Ah yes, the death of 1000 screws. Beware the leaking teak deck. Left to itself it can kill your boat, it has to be fixed.

 

[alormaria]

In general, I'm for it.