Grand Banks teak deck years

[Marlinmike]

Real newb question, I'm trying to understand is there a certain year break they stop putting down:
Teak decks
Teak hand rail
Parquet flooring

Looking through yacht world and there isn't a distinct break point so guessing options?

 

[Marin]

Grand Banks continues to use teak decks on their current models. The only change that has occurred in the history of Grand Banks boats is how the teak decks are put down. Until relatively recently--- probably the later 90s or thereabouts-- the teak planks were screwed to the subdeck. This was changed to gluing the planks down, which is the common practice today with all manufacturers who use teak decking.

if you look at a teak deck on a GB and it has teak plugs in the plank surfaces, it is a screwed-down deck. If there are no teak plugs, it is a glued-down deck.

Over the years, American Marine/Grand Banks would occasionally get an order from a dealer for a boat with no teak decking at all. In these cases, additional layers of fiberglass were put over the subdeck sandwich to add the stiffness that would have been supplied by the teak planking, and a non-skid surface was applied over that. These kinds of factory orders were rare, however.

A number GB owners over the years have elected to remove a worn out or damaged teak deck and replace it with a fiberglass deck. This is a huge undertaking if done correctly, and not one to be taken lightly. It's can be an epic just getting the original teak decking off the deck even after all the screws are removed because the planks were laid in a heavy sealant which acts like an adhesive as well.

So if you see a GB with a fiberglass deck instead of a teak deck, this most likely was a modification made by an owner at some point for some reason. Some owners elect to do this big job themselves, others have a yard or a shipwright do it for them. If it isn't done correctly, the deck will lose some of its stiffness which can eventually lead to cracks in the fiberglass decking. It's not a strength issue, but it can lead to water getting under the fiberglass decking where it could cause problems.

Our 1973 GB, one of the first fiberglass GBs ever built, still has its original deck. It has been over-sanded by previous owners to say nothing of what 41 years of weather has done, but it's still in pretty good condition. We take care to keep it that way, of course. A teak deck is not a forget-about-it item on a boat, and the proper care and maintenance gets even more important as the boat gets older.

 

[Marlinmike]

Thanks Marin very informative as usual!

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Real newb question, I'm trying to understand is there a certain year break they stop putting down:
Teak decks
Teak hand rail
Parquet flooring

Looking through yacht world and there isn't a distinct break point so guessing options?

I can't remember just what year they started, late 80s early 90s perhaps but GB did start putting less teak trim and rails on their boats. Or at least overnight it as an option. Teak decks and parquet floors stayed standard I believe. But you could get them with SS top rail and much less wood trim and SS grab rails.

Ask that question over on the GB owners forum.

 

[Marin]

Based on my observation of the boats going through the GB dealier in Bellingham, which we walk past every time we go to our boat, stainless rail stanchions began appearing in place of the original bronze stanchions in the early 1990s.

Stainless hand and grab rails began appearing as factory options in the later 90s.

For whatever reason, the cap rail on a GB has to be wood, so they will always have a teak cap rail even if there is no other external teak on the boat.

So far as I know and have observed, American Marine/Grand Banks has used the teak parquet flooring in all their so-called classic models, the original boats which today are continued only in the GB52. But the GB32, 36, 42, 46, 48, 49, and 52 all used the parquet flooring. I'm sure the factory would put in whatever an owner/dealer asked for and was willing to pay for, but parquet was the norm.

I don't know what is used in the new fast models, the GB41 "pod drive" boat, and the GB47. I've been on both, but can't remember what the floors looked like. The Eastbay uses, I think, teak and holly flooring. And I don't know what they use in their Aleutian models. Probably gold-plated marble.

GB began moving to stainless for a couple of reaons. One, good teak was getting harder and harder to get and so added a lot to the price of the boat. And more owners were wanting less external maintenance to do (or pay to have done.) However, external teak remained an option for anyone who wanted to pay for it.

We have one of the first GB36s made, and so it has a veritable rain forest of teak triim on it. One slip away from us is the very last GB36 ever made, and the only external teak on it is the cap rail and the transom.

Owners of older boats will sometimes replace teak hand and grab rails with stainless. A GB46 that we came close to buyng at one point is a good example. When we first saw the boat in 1998 or so, it had the full complement of teak hand, grab, and cap rails. A subsequent owner replaced the hand and grab rails with stainless rails. The cap rail remained teak because it had to.

Almost every GB model has a teak transom. Of course, on the fiberglass boats, the transom is fiberglass. But the hull mold has a rectangular recess in it in the transom, and the teak transom planks are set into that recess. They are bedded into the recess and held in place with screws. I don't believe they ever went to gluing the transom planks down because they are big and the transom curve puts a lot of strain on the boards.

I have seen one GB that was made with a flush fiberglass transom: no recess and no teak planks. So this was apparently an option at some point, or was perhaps a special order.

Most GB owners feel that external teak is part of the boat's character and so are reluctant to not have at least some of it; the transom for sure, the deck, and at least some of the longitudinal cabin trim that was used on all but the very last boats.

Some owners, when faced with a teak deck surface that's worn out prematurely from abuse or incorrect treatment, will decide to replace the teak surfacw with a fiberglass surface instead of paying to hae a new teak deck installed. We looked into replacing our boat's original teak deck with new teak in the early 2000s, and the cost at that time was about $30,000. Lord only knows what it is today.

If we had the time and the right tools and could afford the wood,we would love to take on the challenge of replacing our teak deck with new teak just to see if we could do it. But at this point, we don't have the time or the tools, and the cost of the new wood would be pretty staggering. So we take the best care we can of our boat's original deck.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

A new glued down teak deck is $100-$115+ per square foot.

 

[Marin]

I don't know how many square feet a GB36 main deck is. The $30,000 quote (actually, I think it was more like $28,000 and change) came from Teak Decking Systems, and included the labor to put the thing together and install it. At that time-- I don't know about today--- their process was to create the new deck surface in their plant in Florida, then ship all the pre-cut components to wherever the boat was, and install it.

We've been maintaining our deck, indlucing re-grooving, re-seaming, and re-screwing and plugging, for the 16 years we've had the boat. That experience combined with the huge data base of knowledge on the GB owners forum, has taught us that making, installing, and properly maintaing a teak deck is not rocket science.

However, to make a new one and install it properly does require some very specific tools to mill the planks and cut the groove on each plank, to say nothing of knowing the proper processes for bending and fitting the planks to the subdeck. So definitely a set of skills, but certainly skills that can be learned.

As I say, my wife and I would love to have the opportunity to do this once we have the time. Whether or not we still have this particular boat when we get the time is questionable, but it's fun to think about.

Actually, we do have a deck replacement project to do when we can fit it into my and the weather's work and travel schedules. And that's to replace the teak "landing pad" on top of the aft cabin, the one you step on when going up to the flying bridge. The seams are shot and the wood is quite weathered. This will be a relatively easy intro into deck work because the planks are straight and the area is quite small. But the principles of how the planks are cut and grooved, bedded and seam sealed, are the same as the main deck.

 

[CPseudonym]

Was aboard Ray's Maholo Moi GB-42 this weekend and it had the teak deck, cap rail, stern and longitudinal trim. All of the railing was stainless steel. Believe I was told its a 1986 but could be wrong about that Marin, so the SS option must have been available in the mid 80's. If not whoever refit the rails did such an impeccable job as to be completely flawless.

This much I will attest to though, Ray could teach a clinic on maintaining a Grand Banks to an incredibly high standard. Boarding his boat leaves no room for doubt that you are aboard a fine yacht. The only flaws to be seen are the ones pointed out to you by the owner and they are very few.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

I don't know how many square feet a GB36 main deck is. The $30,000 quote (actually, I think it was more like $28,000 and change) came from Teak Decking Systems, and included the labor to put the thing together and install it. At that time-- I don't know about today--- their process was to create the new deck surface in their plant in Florida, then ship all the pre-cut components to wherever the boat was, and install it.

That is still how they do it. In fact that is how a lot of teak deck installers do it.

 

[Marin]

The stainless handrails on the GB46 I referred to that were done locally in Bellingham look identical to the stainless rails that were installed on boats by the GB plant. So while I don't know when staniless became a "standard option" from the factory-- they've probaly be willing for decades to do anything anyone was willing to pay for--- an "aftermarket" stainless conversion can be indistinguishable from a factory installation.

In 1973, when our boat was built, lots of external teak was the norm. Personally, I think the full teak "package" looks much better on a GB than the stainless option, which to me makes the boat look almost unfinished. The stainless does reduce the maintenance, though, no question.

The teak on our boat needs a lot of work to bring it up to snuff. Unfortunately, we just don't have the time now to do the job right, hence the covers we keep on all the teak to protect it until we get the time to refinish all of it.

Which we're looking forward to doing if we still have this particular boat then, because in 1973, the teak that American Marine used is just stunning in its color and figuring. The teak in the newer GBs that I see, while very nice, doesn't begin to match what they were using on the woodies and early glass boats back when teak (and labor) was cheap.

 

[Marlinmike]

Thanks everyone for weighing in on this subject. I have a boat now that has plenty of teak, so not exactly scared of it, actually somewhat therapeutic for me. Just the teak decks I could do without and a double teak railing adds to the labor. Funny I do see most GB with the teak covered, often wondered why, but given the large amount I guess that's the reason.

 

[Bob Cofer]

Just to add to the mix, some of the early '32 models could be had with bronze stanchions and a stainless cable rather than teak. Marin there is one in Bellingham at gate 6. She is the Maddy B.