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Old 09-28-2015, 04:56 PM   #1
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Glassing over teak deck. Bad idea?

I need to address the fact that my teak deck is leaking and in bad shape. I always thought I would remove all the teak and put a few layers of glass to add some stifness after sealing all the holes left from the screws.

But how about simply glassing over the teak? I have the feeling it's not the best way to do this project but I was curious to see if anybody had done it that way.
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Old 09-28-2015, 05:01 PM   #2
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Greetings,
Mr. F. I have a friend who did that on his Island Gypsy. Cured the leaking problem. I haven't spoken to him in some time so I don't know of the long term effects.
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Old 09-28-2015, 05:04 PM   #3
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According to the folks on the GB owners forum when this topic comes up, it is a VERY bad idea. The wood and seams will continue to "work" underneath the glass and the glass will start to separate from the wood, the glass will eventually then start to crack, and eventually moisture will start working down onto and then under the wood.

There are some folks who say glassing over a teak deck can be done safely. But I choose to believe the people who have had a ton of experience with this sort of thing, some on a professional basis as yard owners and shipwrights and who say that the only way to do the job properly for the maximum longevity is to remove the wood and then do the right job of prepping the subdeck, adding a couple of layers of glass, and then painting/non-skid.

Teak decks can also be brought up to snuff if enough wood remains to do this. The seams can be re-cut and re-sealed and the screws re-seated and re-plugged. We had this done to our 1973 deck some 15 years ago.

It''s time to redo many of the seams again and now there is a much better sealant on the market than was available when the work was done all those years ago. It's not rocket science to redo or repair seams, screws, and plugs but it does take time and the deck has to be dry when the work is done.
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Old 09-28-2015, 05:19 PM   #4
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From a personal view when looking for a boat we found a nice GB that checked out OK at survey apart from the teak decks were glassed over the surveyors own words were it doesn't matter how well the glassing was done it has destroyed a good boat and will cost 3x more to rectifier its devalued the boat by 25% He added offer him less 40% this was a $170000 boat

The boat is still for sale 2 1/2 years on at 30% less
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Old 09-29-2015, 05:43 AM   #5
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HOT roofing tar with a sprinkle of sand is the budget "cure".

Pull it up . plug all the screw holes , replace any rotten ply and Epoxy some GRP in place.
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Old 09-29-2015, 08:34 AM   #6
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You'd be far better off coating it with something like Durabak. Glassing over would be a mess over the long term.

Durabak Truck Bed Liner Paint, Roll On Truck Bed Liner
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Old 09-29-2015, 09:25 AM   #7
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You can do it, but don't apply the glass directly to the teak. The approach to take is to start by putting down a layer of 4-5mm marine plywood and then glassing over that. My cabin house top was done that way. The bottom layer is 5/8" fir t&g beadboard. I then epoxied down two layers of 5 mm marine plywood and finally put a layer of 10 oz glass over the top of it.

The plywood layer will give you a stable surface to work on.

Now the down side. If your deck is leaking and cored, the core is certainly wet. Glassing over the deck even with a layer of plywood between the teak and glass leaves the wet core in place. Furthermore, leaving the teak on the deck and glassing over it adds weight where you don't need it.

The best approach is to remove the teak, open up the deck and replace any wet core and then glass the deck. If you do that you don't need the layer of plywood. A well done job won't detract from the value of the boat.
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Old 09-29-2015, 09:42 AM   #8
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Try "Top Secret coatings". I have used this over teak and it is GREAT. It is a 1 part flexible epoxy. You put down a primer, then paint ( with color chips if you want), Then clear coat.
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Old 09-29-2015, 09:42 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt.Bill11 View Post
You'd be far better off coating it with something like Durabak. Glassing over would be a mess over the long term.

Durabak Truck Bed Liner Paint, Roll On Truck Bed Liner
I saw a teak deck that had been overlaid with Durabak. The owner swore it stopped all the leaks. You could see the teak planking where it had telegraphed through the Durabak though.
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Old 09-29-2015, 09:45 AM   #10
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I replaced my teak deck. It was leaking bad and the teak actually had cracks in it that added to the leaking. My subdeck was rotted on places too. I've also seen a glass boat that had the teak removed and glassed over. That boat was two slips from me and I watched that project from start to finish.

Glass boats present different problems to fix and a cored glass boat the most problems. I've watched a cored boat repair as well.

If it were mine, I'd most certainly remove the teak first. That is a must do for several reasons but the main one is polyester resins won't stick to teak for very long. It will soon crack and delaminate. Once the teak is removed a good inspection will tell your next steps. One good way to dry out wet glass is to put denatured alcohol on it and that draws water out as it evaporates.

Good luck. I tried rubber sealing products, all kinds of sealers, even waterproof deck sealers. Nothing works. It's only a band aid.
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Old 09-29-2015, 11:04 AM   #11
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Greetings,
Mr. Cappie. Welcome aboard.
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Old 09-29-2015, 12:07 PM   #12
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Greetings,
Mr. Cappie. Welcome aboard.
You must have a big boat RT.
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Old 09-29-2015, 12:36 PM   #13
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With worldwide 1000th of owners of 70th and 80th build boats now facing the known problems with their teak decks, the internet would be overflowed if a "wonder" cure existed.

So go the old fashioned way by removing.....
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Old 09-29-2015, 02:06 PM   #14
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I would also recommend removing the teak.
As an additional note, I have seen only 2 boats where the owners had used "Durabek" or equivalent coatings over the teak.
In my opinion it looked like crap in both cases.
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Old 09-29-2015, 02:17 PM   #15
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In my opinion it looked like crap in both cases. __________________

Wait till ,you see roofing tar and sand!!
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Old 09-30-2015, 06:00 AM   #16
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Glassing over teak deck. Bad idea?

YES
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Old 09-30-2015, 07:43 AM   #17
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FF suggested a method a few years ago that I like the sounds of. Rip off the old teak, clean up the exposed fiberglass surface, lay down some of those hi-tech foam boards and glass over that.

Strong, light and watertight. True, it doesn't address the underlying wet core issues. But it sure sounds like a reasonable middle ground between a truck bed liner coating over the teak and taking everything apart and replacing the core.

If, a big if, I ever decide to address the deck, this is probably the course I'll take.
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Old 09-30-2015, 07:59 AM   #18
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Well, looks like I'll put that idea to bed. Lol
I pretty much figured out it wasn't the best idea in the world but I wanted to have the rationale behind it. Makes a lot of sense.

However, by looking more carefully at my foredeck (which doesn't have teck) I realized that the PO laid down 3/4 ply over the teck and glassed over that. It feels very solid and stable (no cracks or any signs of delamination). I'll leave it like that and simply address the rest of the deck that needs attention.

Thanks for all your input.
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Old 09-30-2015, 09:12 AM   #19
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A friend of mine just removed the teak from the cockpit and gunnells of his 63 ft Bertram sporty. It was a typicall laid teak deck, 3/4 inch planking. Had I been available I would have removed it just for the teak !!. What he found was that the decking added quite a bit to the structure of the deck, after removal it was a little "springy". the solution was to 'glass in a 3/4 inch thick layer of Coosa board (I think thats what it was) then a layer of 'glass on that. He's not done yet but it looks good and is just as stiff as original.
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:05 PM   #20
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I realized that the PO laid down 3/4 ply over the teck and glassed over that

Did your surveyor warn you?
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