would you buy a used trawler with teak decks?

mpgjr said:

Does this teak , in any ones humble opinion , appear to be at the "the teak tells you when

it's going bad " stage ? Thanks for any help

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First those look like bonded ( no screws/plugs ) decks. Looks like there not in bad shape.. just a previous finish that is mostly gone. The choice is to just let it wear off, remove it and go naked (decks not yachtie ) of remove and reapply some finish.

HOLLYWOOD

Thanks Hollywood ! Man if I could determine that these decks were in fact bonded it would make the purchase process easier. But this is a circa 1986 Taiwan built King Yard boat, so I'm afraid, from what I've read, that bonding decks were not the common practice ?
I am in the process of making an out of state bid on the boat and will see it in a couple weeks, so just trying to get as much info as possible. I'm sure a qualified Surveyor will know on inspection . Thanks for the help, Marty

mpgjr, tough from a photo. Port side looks better than stbd. Has it been coated with something, oil or similar? Keith`s maintenance plan is good. Danger is, what if anything is happening underneath, the way rot spreads, the growing repair area. I`d say you are on notice to check for intrusion, and to act accordingly.
The rest of the boat looks good, Eric/Manyboats) would be excited by the anchor on display.

Cl 47 and teak decks

I was in Ganges harbor a couple of summers ago and there was a CL 47 that was having its teak decks removed. I can confirm that there was a load of stainless screws and bungs holding the teak down. They were also glued down with a with some sort of black or dark brown glue. The CL 47 was an early 1980's era.

mpgjr said:

Thanks Hollywood ! Man if I could determine that these decks were in fact bonded it would make the purchase process easier. But this is a circa 1986 Taiwan built King Yard boat, so I'm afraid, from what I've read, that bonding decks were not the common practice ?
I am in the process of making an out of state bid on the boat and will see it in a couple weeks, so just trying to get as much info as possible. I'm sure a qualified Surveyor will know on inspection . Thanks for the help, Marty

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So are there screw bungs in the deck??
It doesn't look like it in the pic..
no screws typically = bonded deck
Any place to access under the foredeck... see any issues? rap on it from underneath and listen for a solid sound vs. dull thud.

HOLLYWOOD

mpgjr said:

New member here, can someone clarify what method a 1985 45' Sea Ranger teak deck install would be ? The above post would suggest that I should know before I get involved ? Thanks

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We own a 1985 47' Sea Ranger. Our deck is teak, screwed and bunged, and it has never been treated with anything. We actually quite like the grey colour.

We did have a water leak down the side wall of our forward berth and presumed it was caused by a leaking deck..... but not so. It was actually water getting in under a little area of the cap rail that had not been properly sealed.

A couple of areas that are hard to diagnose are foredecks and side decks, since it's so hard to inspect them from the inside, because of linings, tanks, etc. A lot of the far east trawlers with aft cabins didn't have sufficient structure back aft to hold up the house over the aft cabin, and the side decks slowly sagged to the point that water would stand on the decks near the sides of the house. Boats in brokerage may have been detailed to remove any sign of standing water on the side decks, so your surveyor should run water on the decks to see if water pools anywhere.

It was mentioned, too, that teak decks are often fastened down with stainless screws. SS is the wrong material for fastening where the fastener will be encapsulated and perhaps subject to future moisture incursion. Crevice corrosion will occur, and the corrosion will affect the adjacent wood - what old shipwrights call "nail sickness." Adhesives have advanced to the point where most modern teak decks are glued down - only the covering boards around the edges will have screws and bungs. That's a better method, but it's seldom found in older boats.

Our aging Uniflite has precious little exterior wood, which is fine with me, after two decades of owning a traditional sailboat that didn't have teak decks but plenty of teak trim.

Thanks Gnorts,
That's a very informative reply

>what old shipwrights call "nail sickness.<

Nail sickness was when the galvanizing finally wore off iron nails and the hull showed streaks of rust from under the putty over nail heads.

Usually on quick built commercial fishing boats .

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