would you buy a used trawler with teak decks?

Lets say you were shopping for a 40' trawler, late 1970s or early 1980s, and you found one you liked. If it had teak decks that appeared to be in good condition, would the teak decks be a deal-breaker for you? Does your current boat have teak decks?

Ours is a 1985 PT38 Sedan, deal breaker - no. Teak everywhere and love it.
Of course it has a house......

rochepoint said:

Ours is a 1985 PT38 Sedan, deal breaker - no. Teak everywhere and love it.
Of course it has a house......

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I can see why you love it, Mike. She's a beauty.

Moonstruck said:

I can see why you love it, Mike. She's a beauty.

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It looks like even the barn's beams are varnished!

Not a speck of varnish, way too much work.......Cetol. Beams are bear but dry.

seattleboatguy said:

Lets say you were shopping for a 40' trawler, late 1970s or early 1980s, and you found one you liked. If it had teak decks that appeared to be in good condition, would the teak decks be a deal-breaker for you? Does your current boat have teak decks?

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Back on thread. You are in Seattle, it rains a lot? Good 30-40 year old decks would be rare unless the boat is covered. Plugs fail, screws and failing caulk let water into the real deck. You`re safer with original f/g decks, or a painted f/g redo, but it won`t look as good. I`d want to be sure the teak, the plugs, the caulk, and the deck substrate really are ok.
I had mine redone, paint on 2 new layers of f/g fwd, new teak on 1 layer elsewhere for covered areas. Takes time, and it costs.

Would you buy a used trawler with teak decks?

Not me. I have too much teak as it is and I also keep my boat in a covered slip. I have kept up the varnish on the hand rails and caprails, but the doors and window trim are in need of attention. If I had teak decks, I'd have even less time to boat and more deck worries.

I DO like the look, though.

I prefer wood only in the interior, as in my present boat. A teak deck wouldn't be a deal breaker on its own, but it deserves "negative points" in my decision matrix. I originally ordered the Coot with teak over-lay on the steel deck, but changed my mind to save the expense and grief so as to spend money on a great-sounding airhorn.

rochepoint said:

Ours is a 1985 PT38 Sedan, deal breaker - no. Teak everywhere and love it.
Of course it has a house......

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Beautiful teak!

Wow, it sure would be nice to be able to put my girl in a house when she's not out to pasture Nice work

Beautiful boat. Teak looks so nice, it does take work, I guess that's the cost of looking good!
I complain every few years when I have to varnish my hand rails and sign boards, however when done they look so good.

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REAL teak decks are no problem.The can be repaired/resealed as required .

An overlay of teak on a plywood deck with a thin layer of GRP is simply a maint hassle waiting to happen.

IF woodworking and GRP repair were my hobby fau teak would be great, it would keep me bust chasing rot for years , even decades..

I leave the dock to do my boat recreation , so genuine teak probably not for me , but a fau teal overlay job , NEVER!

I love your teak deck picts!! Thanks for sharing.

In New England: Having been a full time boat yard worker for my teens and early 20’s, serving as a yacht refinisher/restorer during 1960’s and early 70’s (when most boats were still completely wood throughout), I can greatly appreciate the look and feel (mental as well as tactile) of finely finished marine wood. Your boat’s wood finishes look simply beautiful!

Being a boat owner who likes to perform my own maintenance as well as to have MUCH TIME out on the water cruising and hooking and swimming... exterior boat-wood is not on my agenda... even though I dock in covered slip!

That bridge captain’s chair got real strong magnets for feet?

Please share more photos of your beautiful boat!

Over the course of three years searching for my boat I saw dozens of "Leaky Teakies." Big headaches in most cases. I settled on mine largely because she had the teak removed and decks professionally glassed over some years earlier. While that's what I and many others prefer, having teak decks is no deal breaker in itself in my opinion; however, you want to be very cautious in your survey. Good luck!

Hi, It depends on the real state and also the Thickness and quality of teak if it is Burma teak,

Also depends in your love for beauty and time for taking care of.

Just an advise after 8 years sanding and using oils or protectors: Do not use any. It will not last more than three months in tropical waters.
It is much cheaper to learn to love the grey colour...

The Eagle has teak decks/trim uncovered moorage in the Seattle area. Teak decks would not be a deal breaker if the decks are sound, and you are willing to maintain them. Teak decks give plenty of warning signs, so if they fail its not the deck fault is the owners fault for not fixing/maintaining them.

Every September I inspect/fix/maintain the teak decks as the decks are dried out, shrunk and is the time the decks will show signs, pushed up/missing plugs, caulk pulled away from the teak strips. I also re seal the decks each September with Daily’s Sea Fin, quick brush on and let dry as additonal protection.

Art said:

Please share more photos of your beautiful boat!

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Thanks, more photos on the boats website at http://www.rochepoint.ca/...

Covered slips are an expensive upgrade in our neighbourhood and my cap rail is enough of a chore to keep up. Teak decks would definitely be a deal breaker for me. Don't need the worry or the work but they do look nice.

seattleboatguy said:

Lets say you were shopping for a 40' trawler, late 1970s or early 1980s, and you found one you liked. If it had teak decks that appeared to be in good condition, would the teak decks be a deal-breaker for you? Does your current boat have teak decks?

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No I would not buy a older boat with teak decks.

In my opinion there is simple too much risk.

Couple hundreds of fasteners, a balsa core and 30 or more years and you have a recipe for a huge repair bill down the road.

When we were looking for our next boat we wrote up a list of wants, needs, deal breakers. Teak decking over a balsa core was high on the list of deal breakers.

Please understand, I'm not saying all teak decks are bad. I'm not saying that all teak decks over balsa are bad. What I am saying, is to us, as prospective boat buyers, teak decks over balsa represented too much risk.

For us...

Fiberglass over balsa was acceptable
Teak over synthetic coring was acceptable
Fiberglass over synthetic coring was preferred.

That's one of the reasons we bought our Bayliner 4788

No balsa anywhere. All coring is synthetic.

Teak decks on a 30+ year old boat of unknown care and pedigree seems a big risk. I've owned and maintained one that was boat house kept, the only way to go IMHO if you're going to be a teak deck lover. Our vessel, like Rochepoint's is in a wet area - Sidney BC. It is completely water proof, outdoors, has great views and with only a varnished cap rail to agonize over, that is enough for me.

I love the teak decks, cap rails and trim. I stay in covered moorage for that reason. It's an expensive passion, but it sure looks nice.

seattleboatguy said:

Lets say you were shopping for a 40' trawler, late 1970s or early 1980s, and you found one you liked. If it had teak decks that appeared to be in good condition, would the teak decks be a deal-breaker for you? Does your current boat have teak decks?

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No my current boat does not.

Interesting question though as when boat shopping we loved boats with teak decks and had a GB36 under contract briefly. We seriously looked at perhaps 10 boats with teak decks. Ultimately teak decks was the deal breaker in every one of the boats we looked at as they appeared in good shape at first blush only to give up their secrets upon further examination.

Our next boat will be perhaps similar age/size range you are looking for but will be skeptical of the deck condition the minute we board rather than impressed with them as we where this time. I like Mark's suggestion of rather than a "deal breaker" we will assign negative points when considering them due to possible leak issues. Glue down decks like Bruce upgraded his boat to would be ideal but they are not common in that era boat.

rochepoint said:

Thanks, more photos on the boats website at http://www.rochepoint.ca/...

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Really nice! TY!!

I like teak decks but when the time comes to redo my decks, I think I will have them removed. I just can't see paying over $40k to have new teak decks installed on an older vessel. But if I was ordering a new boat, it will definitely have teak decks (glued on).

Teak decks in good condition on an older boat will not be a deal breaker for me.

Would I buy a boat w teak decks?

Of course ............. If it was a wood boat like a GB woodie. All you'd ever need to do is caulk the seams. But since nothing likes to stick to teak that may not be as easy as caulking other materials. I think "Life Caulk" is especially formulated for teak.

If one pulled up the teak and FG/epoxy'd the decks sealing all the old holes a new deck could be put in place w an appropriate bedding compound. Dolfinite may have too little adhesion and 291 SikaFlex probably has too much.

Way I see it!

"Pleasure" boats are for just as their name implies! - PLEASURE!

So, and although I do appreciate some work efforts on my boat(s) as a way for personal fulfillment/enjoyment, I like to keep the “pleasure use” as compared to “work effort” ratio allotted to somewhere around a 75 to 1 basis. In other words... 75 days play to one day work (75 hrs to 1 hr, not too bad!). Therefore I only purchase boats that can provide me my desired ratio!

That said... I do most work on my own vessels. But of course, if I hired all boat-work out – then my ratio would be 100% pleasure-boat-play-time no matter how much work required!

Just like swimming – different strokes for different folks!

Its a hard question to answer because not all boats are created equal. For example, and with regard to damage caused by leaks only, many marine traders and apparently some Albins (& probably others) have deck cores made of large solid teak scraps embedded in very thick resin, then they screw down the teak over this. Essentially they put down a teak deck over a very thick reinforced fiberglass deck. Whether this was a strategic design or not, the net effect of this construction is that the teak can leak like a sieve yet cause no damage below it. I suppose it could effect a piece of the embedded teak directly under a leak but as these embedded pieces are separated by pure resin, only that small piece would ever be effected.

A good friend has an MT constructed this way and although his teak decks are a wreck & nearly every piece of wood on his boat needs attention, his decks are as solid as a rock. Another MT I am intimately aware of has had its teak decks insanely pressure washered until there was nearly nothing left yet the boat interior remains dry and damage free.

I hate wood on "my boats" but in no way would I call it an automatic deal breaker if I was shopping....... it all depends.

Bay Pelican, a Krogen 42, had teak decks in 1999 when I purchased her. Leaked like crazy. Price then to repair leaks was slightly less than removing teak an replacing with fiberglass. Did that and never regretted it. Question of the value of the boat versus the price you are paying including the cost to remove decks if that is your choice.

Marty

CPseudonym said:

Our next boat will be perhaps similar age/size range you are looking for but will be skeptical of the deck condition the minute we board rather than impressed with them as we where this time.

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Can you elaborate on how you would do your teak deck inspection? Do you need to be pretty experienced with teak decks to have a high enough skill level to do this inspection?