Replacing My Teak Deck After 47 Years

gwkiwi said:

Kiwi Grip - the wording caught my attention !!

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I was referring to a paint product for a boat mate. Not the term thats used when kiwi's put on velcro gloves and go after the sheep ...

Capthead said:

Wooded does mean taking the hull back to bare wood. Most haulout facilities would sand blast the hulls. Then the EPA got hold of silica and now they use other materials. Mine was blasted with a black grainy particle. I don't know what it was.

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Dunno but FWIW, It sounds like crushed walnut that is used on thin metals, rubber and timber. Thats what they do ovr here anyway.

Great progress mate! ...Keep it up

Last Friday was a short day for me but I did accomplish cutting out the curved mahogany pieces to fit into where cut the damaged area in my bulwarks and I epoxied the support beams that were cracked and started filling in the holes from the fasteners. That will take some time on all of the bow area but I don't intend on placing a new deck over wood that has open holes in it.

Today was filling holes and fitting the replacement wood to the bulwarks. It will fit great and not show when it's painted. Stronger too.

Another long day today. I filled all the nail holes that are in the bow support beams. I had marked the overhead areas that show below in the sub deck and taped them off, then 2 part epoxy primer went on. I primed the support beams that I glued back together for the port bow area and started removing more deck along the port side down to the first engine room vent.

I was cursing the PO that used epoxy to bed the screw hole plugs in the quarter round that sits against the house. That took some time removing the plugs then cleaning the slot so a screwdriver would fit.

Tomorrow the top coat goes on then I can make a pattern for the 17mm ply and start assembling the sub deck. Hopefully by Friday.

Cheers!

I was cursing the PO that used epoxy to bed the screw hole plugs in the quarter round that sits against the house. That took some time removing the plugs then cleaning the slot so a screwdriver would fit.

For repairers ,The better technique is to dip the plug in old varnish.

A steel screw welded to an old screw driver is the tool of choice to remove the old plug.

Simply screw thru the old plug , and hopefully the varnish is weak enough that the planking doesnt splinter at the hole edge.

Thanks FF, that is a great tip. There are only a few screws for me to pull now. My teak decking was nailed down as was the sub decking. They used a glue of some sort between the decks but that didn't hold very well over the years.

I made progress over the week and I was hoping for the sub deck to be down. Thursday ended up being a social day as I had visits from three people at different times which almost stopped all work in progress.

I did manage to get the most forward piece of the sub deck installed, the top layer cut out and I'm almost ready to install that area. Next week will be great.

The new piece sized in and a piece of the top layer of the deck fitted in.

I have the sub deck in place. I used thickened epoxy with west systems 403 and I screwed it in place with silicon bronze square drive screws. No more slot or phillips for me.

The below surface was soaked with Smiths CPES twice and all areas that aren't screwed and glued to a stringer was primed with a 2 part epoxy primer and two top coats of white paint as well. It looks better than factory new in the old anchor locker now looking up.

Today I hope to have the top deck most forward piece in place as well. I am moving faster now and going down the port side.

Nice work!

Cleaning, soaking in CPES, painting epoxy primer and two top coats as I move aft port side.

Where did you find the bronze Roberson drive screws? I use a SS version on my deck repair, but could see using the silicon bronze at some point.

I am finalizing the bow area today. The new deck is so much stronger than the old one it's amazing how much stronger it is. Everything is going great, but slow, and I am doing a lot of detail work I didn't plan for but is needed for a clean better than factory job.

I have a picture of the area of the top of the bow meeting the deck, which sits on top of the hull and is the same angle as the hull shape. The bulwarks sit on top of the deck at the outermost edge and is vertical. This area is covered by the rub rail so no paint is showing there. I will seal and glass over this area with glass cloth and epoxy before replacing the rub rail.

I am showing the cuts I made with a skill saw at the proper angle of the hull flare while sitting a sheet of 4 x 8 ply on saw horses on the dock. It came out so clean and good I had to show off.

Keith said:

Where did you find the bronze Roberson drive screws? I use a SS version on my deck repair, but could see using the silicon bronze at some point.

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I found them online. Nobody carries them locally. Very reasonably priced and they have fast shipping too.

Bronze Square Drive Screws

You've got a pretty good eye (and hands) there, Capt Head!! Like Scary's ChrisCraft rebuild, this project is fun to watch since I would never tackle something like this on my own.

I trust the fear and anxiety of early demolition is now replaced with the pride of a job being well done and the anticipation of future boating.

Thanks a lot Al. I actually rebuilt this deck in my mind for at least ten years. I thought it over as the right way to do it and what to expect. However, I always had the first step fear and just couldn't get started. When we moved ashore I said I had to get started and I finally got to work on it. That took 2 1/2 years.

Yesterday was a great day for me. I installed the starboard side along the V Berth cabin and the two pieces that complete the bow's top deck. All was done with epoxy slightly thickened and screwed down.

It was over 90 on the bow so I chilled the epoxy first and made it runnier, more like pancake batter and brushed it on then placed the top piece over it and secured it. I had to move fast due to the heat. All went well and when I was pumping the last resin part, I got air when the pump went up. I was lucky with that last pump.

I didn't get pictures, it was so hot I drank a gallon of water and never went to the head. When I pull the bulwarks in place and secure them to the deck I'll get new pictures to post.

I am very happy with the results so far. This has far exceeded my expectations as to the solid sound and feel of the deck under feet. I recommend this for all woodies with teak over ply decks.

I have secured the bulwarks to the new deck in the bow area. It is no longer floating and I both epoxied it and screwed it to the deck. The new plug is in place where I cut the bad wood from the starboard side bulwarks.

I am now progressing aft port side. I have a fuel deck fill port and a blackwater pump out port to deal with but I don't anticipate any problems. I have to make temporary handrail supports, pull the rubrail off and I'm good to go.

Hey Captnhead, I hear you ! been doing my 77 C&L since march on the upper deck...I cut out the parts that failed the hammer test...it was useless trying to dry out the interior...I dug out rot that was absolutely dripping after no 'new' water was introduced and I had tried drying by several methods for hours, months after I thought I had it all! be brutal with your rot removal...its all rebuildable. The black stuff did not want to come off with the fein oscillating scraper I have...best tool I ever bought by the way. we ground it off wearing hasmat gear using a plastic scouring pad that screwed onto the grinder. the deck was then levelled, glassed, levelled again and gelcoating is underway as we type. No new teak for me as the old stuff self destructed on removal and is too costly to replace.

Tangler said:

Hey Captnhead, I hear you ! been doing my 77 C&L since march on the upper deck...I cut out the parts that failed the hammer test...it was useless trying to dry out the interior...I dug out rot that was absolutely dripping after no 'new' water was introduced and I had tried drying by several methods for hours, months after I thought I had it all! be brutal with your rot removal...its all rebuildable. The black stuff did not want to come off with the fein oscillating scraper I have...best tool I ever bought by the way. we ground it off wearing hasmat gear using a plastic scouring pad that screwed onto the grinder. the deck was then levelled, glassed, levelled again and gelcoating is underway as we type. No new teak for me as the old stuff self destructed on removal and is too costly to replace.

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These details and pictures are much appreciated! I am still in denial

I was in denial too...it took a while but after wasting many hours I found , if you want to do ALL of the job, you need to get out the saw and start cutting all the way to good wood. my floor was 3/4 ply covered with a good sheet of glass then teak. So the 3/4 ply was my core...some cores are more difficult to work with but not impossible. I am almost done (this job) now and feel great about it knowing it is dry in there...6-pack u know we can grow moss on a billiard ball in the pacific northwest so it is a crucial thing and a big challenge here to control moisture in and out of our boats. it will never get better by itself...

Tangler, thanks for joining in. I can't stress the importance of this job to any boat owner who has an ageing teak deck. The seam sealing material might look good from your view but water can get past it and will. Think of it this way. Water only has three atoms. It can find it's self anywhere it wants to go and when it meets unsealed wood, dry rot.

DRY ROT!!!

It isn't pretty. Then black mold.

I've been moving aft on the port side and I'm about 1/2 way to the cockpit. I uncovered the fuel tank and found plenty of rust sitting on top of the tank. I also found two cracked deck support beams that even after I epoxied them together I decided to make new ones.

I bought a 6/4 African Mahogany board and using the old stringer as a template I cut two new ones. After cleaning, scraping and vacuuming the tank, I coated it with two coats of POR15. I'm going back with a white top coat today. So far, this is going great and I am so glad I'm doing the job. The boat needed it badly.

Huge job well done. A job like this sure makes you come up with creative ideas on how to accomplish "reverse" construction of these pieces. The stern of my upper deck had compound curves...the slope or cant of the deck to the outer edges and the curve of the stern itself...a bench belt sander was really useful here along with every tool I had.. a lot of clamping on the dock using old pieces and new templates made of cardboard to get the shape. the piece also had to go around the hatch entry framing to the upper deck. It was an engineering marvel that took 2 weeks to build, weighed about 100 lb and took 4 guys to hold in place while it was installed all in one piece. Got to love it when a plan comes together!

Tangler said:

Huge job well done. A job like this sure makes you come up with creative ideas on how to accomplish "reverse" construction of these pieces. The stern of my upper deck had compound curves...the slope or cant of the deck to the outer edges and the curve of the stern itself...a bench belt sander was really useful here along with every tool I had.. a lot of clamping on the dock using old pieces and new templates made of cardboard to get the shape. the piece also had to go around the hatch entry framing to the upper deck. It was an engineering marvel that took 2 weeks to build, weighed about 100 lb and took 4 guys to hold in place while it was installed all in one piece. Got to love it when a plan comes together!

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That's what I'm talking about!!!

I love hearing how boaters can work on the dock with limited tools and fix the darndest things.

I have the subdeck cut to fit. This was one of my best cuts ever. The front half of this board on the hull side has a 15 degree flair that means angle cut to that curved edge. The aft half is only 5 degrees. Somehow, the dock Gods shined upon me on that cut.

The fuel tank is now white with it's third coat of rust proof paint. It's not a minute too late either.

Now I can paint all the areas under the deck in the hull white. First coat will be 2 part epoxy primer then an enamel.

Sunrise through the hammerheads in the Los Angeles Harbor Monday. I took the shot in the parking lot of my marina. That ship dock is over a mile away.

Thought I'd share.

I am just about done along the port fuel tank. One last thing I waited to do with the deck replacement was the house wall on the bottom and corner of the door. This was repaired years ago in a boatyard and they of course used bondo. As you probably know, bondo and wood are a bad combination because polyester resins can soak up water and the powder they make bondo does too, to an extent. So in time the water feeds the rot spores and that patch comes off.

This is a picture of the wood after I pulled the bondo patch off. The new piece extends under the new deck and is now in place solid as a rock and with epoxy, not bondo.

I replaced the rotted wood with a tight fit. In the picture you'll notice the subdeck is just laying in place. I'm going to use them as patterns for the upper deck pieces before I epoxy and screw them in place. I'm staggering the joints too so I have to always leave one not screwed down as I move aft.

After the deck is completed, I'll make a new door and refinish the frame with at least 15 coats of varnish.

On my way down the deck I found the forward portlight had rot around it and mostly below it so I cut the whole area out for replacement. This was a repair a boatyard fixed with bondo. It's amazing how paint over bondo can hide so much damaged wood.

I have the okoume in place and I'll router the window area and make new frames. I'll epoxy coat the whole wall before installing. I don't want any chance for moisture to get into this fix.

Just a footnote. This side was primed and ready for paint three years ago and we moved leaving it alone. Now I am finally back and finalizing the area.