Teak decks a plus or minus?

I am getting tried of chasing pesky leaks in my teak decks.* I don't think the Winter freeze and thaws make it any easier. Lately when my boat is closed it is starting to have a funky smell.* I think it is from rain water perculating thru the decks and finding its way to the bilge.

Lucky no leaks in the forward cabin or head and lockers all dry.* Seems to be along the main cabin and aft deck.

So if I bite the bullet and remove the decks, fill holes, glass over, address any core issues, and paint non skid on the decks. Will my boat be better or worse?

No Teak, no leak, no smell- I hope.

Or should I leave the teak forward from the raised step to the bow, and just work on the aft half for now?

JohnP

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-- Edited by JohnP on Tuesday 26th of April 2011 10:15:21 AM

Most TT do NOT have teak decks , they have a thin overlay of teak on a plywood GRP sheathed deck.

A poor teak "paint job" with screws sticking thru the thin covering.

TT give real Teak decks a bad name!!!

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Your repair will mostly depend on weather any of the origional ply is sound , the stench of rot will not leave till the source leaves.

Although getting everything really dry , and an Ozone unit for a couple of weeks will help a lot.


-- Edited by FF on Tuesday 26th of April 2011 11:00:38 AM

My Island Gypsy was not built in Taiwan.

I have no plywood in my decks.

Deck composite as follows.

1/2" Teak

5/16 " FRP

9/16" Hardwood block core.

1/8" FRP

attached* deck core plug.** The deck is a full 1-1/2" thick!

The "stench" is more of a mild annoyance.

I am leaning more to going back to stop the leak by further investigation and repair.

JohnP

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-- Edited by JohnP on Tuesday 26th of April 2011 03:40:37 PM

Wow!!!* You gonna land jets on that deck.

SD

My TT had 1/2 teak, 5/16 FRP, 9/16 end cut balsa, 1/8 FRP. Now it has the teak gone and one more layer of glass mat over the original 5/16 FRP.

Very glad the teak is gone.

No teak at all on our decks. Decks are not very thick. No core that I can tell. No flex. Hope its all strong enough.

As you know John we replaced our maindeck a few months ago, Teak,core the whole thing.

We replaced like with like and laid new 9mm Teak decks,glued not screwed.We did that because we liked the look & feel of Teak, especially the non slip properties. What we did'nt have to consider in our part of the world are your freezing winters and the problems that causes, I can see the attractions of glass non skid deck for your conditions.

By the way are you sure that the 'stench' is coming from the degraded hardwood core, our core was in some places was compltete mush, but the deck construction seals the core pretty well from the hull,unless of course* some screw heads have penertatated the lower 1/8" FRP, as happened with us.

Thanks,* Interesting suggestions.* This is going to take further investigation.

Maybe we should just go cruising, not keep the boat shut up every day.

JohnP

I just did some re-caulking as a preventive measure and the job was not really that bad.

I do like the feel of the teak underfoot and hope I can keep them up so I don't have to rip them up. I really don't like the look of the bed liner on the teak with all due respect to Charles. I have seen it on two boats in my area and it's doesn't tickle my fancy.

John:* If you have the time, $, and ability to replace your teak decks with FG I would do it.* You'll increase the value of your boat and you'll reduce your maintenance.* Over time you will have to renew your non-skid but that's pretty easy.* We have dealt with teak decks for 15 years and IMHO FG is the way to go.

We saw a boat that had truck bed liner applied to the decks.* The teak decking telegraphed through the bed liner.

Good luck

I'm glad I didn't cover up my 25 year old teak decks with bed liner after I saw what was going on under them. Yours may be dry but mine had lots of moisture trapped under them.

Before, During and After.

jleonard wrote:
I do like the feel of the teak underfoot and hope I can keep them up so I don't have to rip them up.

I agree about how nice they feel underfoot!

JohnP

Click to expand...

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Anode wrote:
I'm glad I didn't cover up my 25 year old teak decks with bed liner after I saw what was going on under them. Yours may be dry but mine had lots of moisture trapped under them.

Before, During and After.

Click to expand...

********* Chip,* Very impressive! You did a beautiful job.

JohnP

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Larry M wrote:
John:* If you have the time, $, and ability to replace your teak decks with FG I would do it.*

Click to expand...

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*Larry -* I got the time and ability , boats always need $.* Just not sure if I have the desire to tackle the job.* But I am getting there.

Thanks* JohnP

Carl,* Good point about the Winter we just had.* This fall I got lazy and left all the soft goods on the boat,* cushions, curtains, rugs, instead of storing them at home.

Now I think I will take them all out and put them in the sun and air them out.

With all the stuff all over the decks my boat will look like a floating flea market.

Give us a call when you come down we can go to the Lobster Shanty and compare notes.

John and Miri

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That's a fine looking hound you've got

I'm taking mine off next fall. They leak and are a deal breaker when you want to resell the boat. If you have the time and ability to do the job I think it's worth it. Every time we see a post here on someone looking to buy a trawler the first thing that comes up is the teak deck. So it's a no brainer for me even if I like the look and the feel of teak under my feet.

That's Dory 'the trawler dog'.

Carl - Click on the photo album link in my signature line and you can get a pictorial of the process. I haven't updated the album in several months but it will take you through some of the process. I ran the new glass mat up the sides about an inch to cover some of the cracks in the radius and add some strength.
Count the teak bungs in the deck and you can see how many screw holes are in your deck.

chip