teak deck removal questions......

The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

albin43

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2009
Messages
233
Location
US
Vessel Make
Albin 43 Trawler
im going to start removing my teak decks on my 1981 albin 43' trawler.

here are a few questions i have;

should i remove all the teak at once, or do one spot at a time? ie; 8 ft sections...

once teak is removed i understand i inspect the core and see what repairs are needed, then drill out the screw holes and fill with epoxy..

what is the best method of removing the black adhesive?

do i need to add layers of glass to add strength to the decks? if so which type and weight cloth should i use?

im planning on using gelcoat to go over the decks, insted of paint because the gel coat is much more afforable and is just as good as paint if not better.

what is the best way to remove the teak? ive seen alot of different tools used in the process by other people.


anything else you can add that you may have learned by doing this on your boat I would appricate any thoughts.

thanks to all!
 
do i need to add layers of glass to add strength to the decks? if so which type and weight cloth should i use?

Depends , the inner core was the strength .if its OK only one layer of glass will cover all the holes and give a surface for no skid.

im planning on using gelcoat to go over the decks, insted of paint because the gel coat is much more afforable and is just as good as paint if not better.

Gelcoat is fine IN A NEW LAYUP IN A MOLD , otherwise paint lasts longer and is far tougher.

If you can pay for it look up Treadmaster , real good noskid for a patched surface.

FF
 
do i need to fill in all the screw holes before doing the one layer of glass? is that needed?
 
albin43 wrote:

do i need to fill in all the screw holes before doing the one layer of glass? is that needed?
Absolutely, I drilled mine out then used an air compressor to blow all the dust out before filling the holes. I dont remember the exact size bit but I used one that would make it easy to fill with West System. *
 
how much west system did you use on your boat for wetting out the glass and filling the holes? is there a dollar amount that you have for this project? also what did you find was the best way to remove the teak and how many hours do you think you have into this?

thanks abunch!
 
It*is best to fill all of the screw holes with epoxy.* If your core is still in good shape then a skin of 1 1/2oz CSM is adequate. I you feel like you need to stiffen the deck or replace the outer skin then 1708 is our normal choice. This is a non-woven material of**two opposing layers of fibers with a layer of CSM. This is stronger and stiffer than woven fabric.
You can actually apply an excellent nonskid of gelcoat by roller. Home Depot sells roller covers designed to leave a texture in the paint. The covers have small loops of material instead of fuzz. This will leave a very uniform nonskid pattern behind.For most folks this surface will be on the aggressive side. We usually follow the next day with drywall knifes and using them like a chisel shear off the high sharp peaks. This then is about right. You can also sand some of the coarseness off. A little experimentation will show you what matches your desires.** David www.boatsmithfl.com
 
I cant remember how much I used and I probably had about 80 hours of labor from start to finish. A lot of time was used learing..........
 
"It is best to fill all of the screw holes with epoxy."

100% right! , the reason is Epoxy is poisonous to the mold , as it is to us.

Either Git Rot , or a home brew of epoxy cut with alcohol (5%) and an extra 5% of hardener will "chase" the wet wood.

Otherwise when moisture from inside the boat gets to the rot ,(breathing , the spagetti pot ot temperature change condensation) it will start up again.

We use vynelester as a single coat , it sticks almost as well as epoxy , but Epoxy for a single coat would still be the best. AS it is indeed a great glue on old surfaces.

Epoxy MUST be c covered if used it sucks at UV resistance , hence Treadmaster for the thick wallet.

www.tiflex.co.uk/marine/marine.html
 
i started to remove the teak over the weekend.. wow its alot harder than I thought. ive tried a few different tools. first was a 4 ft air chisel made to remove tile flooring, that sucked! so I returend that and bought a small air chisel hand held deal and that wasnt too much better. I also bought one of those multi tools and the scraper on that works really well but doesnt have the balls to pull up a full plank but it works great for getting under the board and breaking the seal with the black adheasive. so the only real way to remove the teak is with a crow bar. which sucks as many as you know.

so the question is, what do you guys do to remove the teak? ive heared electric planners....


thanks!
 
img_17408_0_a25b875d801fa5c73a3c9c7868570592.jpg


ive got pretty much every thing in the picture up...
 
I used a flat crow bar and a painters 5-1 putty knife as well as an old chisel. It really wasn't all that bad. Use the slowest set epoxy possible thinned slightly with alcohol. I like the Mas epoxy as it doesn't set as fast as West. I drilled all the holes out to 5/16 of an inch. Just keep filling the holes until they stay flush with the deck level. I didn't need to add any glass and the decks are stiff as rock now.
 

Attachments

  • p1010338.jpg
    p1010338.jpg
    132.6 KB · Views: 102
i dont think i need to add any glass. just going to do the same as you did..
 
I used a pry bar, a hammer and lots of elbow grease. It is a hard job, defiantly not a fun one!
 
Daddyo wrote:

*I didn't need to add any glass and the decks are stiff as rock now.

*Was the plywood core rotten and the decks soft before you started the project?
 
Removal techniques vary with the tenacity of the adhesive. If the adhesive bond is really deteriorated then often a prybar will lift several planks at once over several feet. If the adhesive is still doing its job then we will isolate smaller areas by cutting just thru the teak and then driving chisels under with bevel down and breaking off smaller pieces.We cut across the planks every 6-24" depending on need. We also cut along the caulk seams to isolate areas. The trick is to use large chisels. We use 4" slicks which are about 3' long. Big, heavy and lots of leverage. We also use 2" framing chisels that are about 16-18" long. We also use a small chipping hammer with a 3" wide chisel in it, again bevel down most of the time. We usually use a 9" angle grinder with 16-24 grit on it to remove stray pieces that are still attached. It's not usually an easy job.
David www.boatsmithfl.com

-- Edited by Boatsmith on Wednesday 30th of December 2009 08:12:24 AM
 
When you have all of these screw holes how do you fill them?* I have read that*you can use *a bent nail and drill to ream out the*core when repairing a hole.* Then you fill the hole with* epoxie or resin of what ever you decide to use by first going below and taping off the back side of the hole then pouring in the goop. Effectivly forming a plug. Is this done for all the screw holes?
 
Deck was still firm in most places but not all. Screws on mine didn't penetrate the bottom layer of glass so no plug required. An allen key inserted in a drill works to extend dug out area. I used a syringe to fill mine, it really goes very fast.
 
"Removal techniques vary with the tenacity of the adhesive."

Simplest is still the special shovel that is used to tear off old roofing.

Brutal but fast!
 
FF wrote:




"Removal techniques vary with the tenacity of the adhesive."

Simplest is still the special shovel that is used to tear off old roofing.

Brutal but fast!
im going to try this tonight..* ive got just about half of the decks up but its kicking my ass

*
 
im going to try this tonight.

If the teal has some body left , thin cross cuts with a power saw will make breaking it out easier , and the pieces easier to burn in the fireplace.
 
When you remove the plugs. *I heard that if you use a screw and screw down thru the middle of the plug as it hits the old screw it lifts the plug up does this work?

SD
 
Sounds plausible. Wish I had given it a try.
 
Yea, that screw technique works, but if you're demolishing the decks why bother? That's normally used when* you're re-plugging one that was put in badly. I also consider that another reason NOT to use epoxy when setting plugs.
 
It is very common for bungs to be the source for water intrusion. I would certainly recommend using epoxy to seal up these holes. If you are removing the deck just use a chisel and take a big chunk out with the plug included. If the screw in the plug removal technique works my guess is that you deck is probably not going to be in good shape. If you are just replacing a few plugs then use a very small chisel to chip out the old plug. We will sometimes use the next larger plug if the holes not clean.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom