Fibreglassing decks on GB36

[Gearhead]

I am going to remove the teak decks on my 1989 GB36 Classic. I plan on drilling out the screw holes and use a penetrating epoxy then fill holes with West and filler. Do I need to grind off all gel coat and layup cloth and resin? The deck truly isn't strong enough without it? I would like to hear from others about their experiences. I spoke to a fellow with an 1988 and he just filled, faired and painted. ( he also had some kind of print pattern in the gel coat, very hard to get the bedding compound out if the pattern according to him)
Thanks for your comments

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Depending on how wet your deck coring is or isn't your either going to be doing a fairly easy or a real PIA job. How badly are your decks leaking now?

 

[psneeld]

None of my deck was soft, even though there were wet areas.

I just pulled the teak, sanded down to good gel coat.....some areas were all the way through but mostly to get weathered and contaminated surface layers off.

Then I thought about the holes but decided too much work and they were small. So just put down 3 layers of 6oz cloth and painted. Still good after 5 years, still experimenting with nonskid paint but the easiest so far has been Interlux interdeck.

On flybridge where soft spots were rampant...I did drill random holes and allow unthickened resin to keep running in till it stopped. All I wanted it to do was hold the top layer of glass in place from fkexing..didn't care what it dId to the core plywood..

 

[Boydster]

I'm just about to start removing my teak decks off our 1973 GB 42. I did the flybridge deck a couple of years ago. After removing all the screws I double chamfered all the holes with a 45 degree counter-sinker and then a 30 degree. After that a fill of thickened epoxy followed by a second coat of epoxy and micro-balloons to fair it all out.
A pretty straightforward job but pretty tough on the knees!
I'll be applying some KiwiGrip nonskid come spring.

 

[BruceK]

When I had mine done, teak and gunk came off, screw holes filled, surface faired, 2 layers of glass mat fwd where we left it painted, one layer aft and side decks where new teak went down, glued not screwed. I watched it being done, every day, for weeks.Laying glued teak is slow as.
Your risk is the state of the wood in the teak sandwiched top and bottom by fiberglass, if that`s soft and rotten you`ve a much bigger job. I was lucky, the surprise material in the sandwich was foam. Except for 2 small squares of wood, wet, black, soft, replaced with foam.

 

[markpierce]

You guys keep on confirming the correctness of my decision to cancel the order for teak decks. Steel decks seem lots easier to maintain. There are no screw holes.

 

[Brisyboy]

When I had mine done, teak and gunk came off, screw holes filled, surface faired, 2 layers of glass mat fwd where we left it painted, one layer aft and side decks where new teak went down, glued not screwed. I watched it being done, every day, for weeks.Laying glued teak is slow as.
Your risk is the state of the wood in the teak sandwiched top and bottom by fiberglass, if that`s soft and rotten you`ve a much bigger job. I was lucky, the surprise material in the sandwich was foam. Except for 2 small squares of wood, wet, black, soft, replaced with foam.

Bruce, are you saying that if the core is foam and it is damp - it doesn`t have to be replaced? (yahoo if you are!!!) - I assume over time it will dry if any leaks are sealed? I have a leak coming through the flybridge - the teak is knackered - so for me it could be - old teak off, grind down to good glass, fill holes, cover with a couple of layers of mat then paint (sounds simple doesn`t it)

 

[markpierce]

Sealed, wet decks? Wouldn't they rot rather than dry?

 

[BruceK]

You guys keep on confirming the correctness of my decision to cancel the order for teak decks. Steel decks seem lots easier to maintain. There are no screw holes.

By the time the Coot was built glue had long replaced screws. Most people with teak decks don`t replace teak with teak due to expense.

 

[markpierce]

By the time the Coot was built glue had long replaced screws. Most people with teak decks don`t replace teak with teak due to expense.

Yes, heck with screws, but doesn't gluing a teak facade create its own problems, including limited access to its potentially corroding base?

 

[BruceK]

Bruce, are you saying that if the core is foam and it is damp - it doesn`t have to be replaced? (yahoo if you are!!!) - I assume over time it will dry if any leaks are sealed? I have a leak coming through the flybridge - the teak is knackered - so for me it could be - old teak off, grind down to good glass, fill holes, cover with a couple of layers of mat then paint (sounds simple doesn`t it)

I hope it`s that simple,but.... The painted bow part took about 2 weeks, the teak way longer.
If the foam core is sodden I`d say it needed replacing. I think there is foam core, and closed cell foam core, the latter may not get wet, mine was not. Nobody knew of foam core decks on an IG, but mine sure looked original.
On the FB, maybe only the uncovered back half of the teak has deteriorated. My main PO replaced it with f/g when the FB started to rot under it, the generous soul he was. The covered front half is still in good original condition.

 

[BruceK]

Yes, heck with screws, but doesn't gluing a teak facade create its own problems, including limited access to its potentially corroding base?

If the adhesion fails that must be possible. I guess it gets hotter here, making some insulation, like teak or its substitutes, more desirable. On a hot day I can`t walk without shoes on the painted foredeck, but I could on the old teak.

 

[psneeld]

Not sure there is a reason to fill individual holes.

I feel it is a waste of time because they are so small, epoxy doesn't drain away from the cloth due to its viscosity.

With several layers of glass on top of the decks, they holes become irrelevant in my mind as the new surface is level and waterproof without filling them.

If there are any larger holes or divits, then sure, but the screw holding my deck were very small.

 

[BajaTrawler]

I replaced the teak deck on my flybridge several years ago. Luckily, there was no wet core. It was quite a job but the results were well worth the effort. I debated whether to fill the screw holes, but did so because I added only 1 layer of glass and did not want any possible dimpling of the finished surface. Relative to the whole job, filling the holes was a small part. Pictures are here: https://cruisingonpacific.shutterfly.com.

 

[stonejd]

When I stripped the teak from my deck several years ago I chose to put down fresh glass and then paint. Didn't ever want to deal with teak again. On the yard manager's advice stayed with a very light overall deck color and only minimally darker contrasting nonskid areas (using Awlgrip products). Was absolutely amazing how much cooler the deck was under foot and how much it dropped the interior boat temperature. This was a boat used in FL and the Bahamas, much more comfortable.

 

[DHeckrotte]

I'm reading this with great interest. Our new-to-us '84 Fu Hwa has Teak decks, but I do not recall whether it's screwed and bunged. I'm rebuilding the lazarette hatch which was Teak glued down to 3/8" scraps of wood and that glued to 3/8" of fir plywood which was visible when the hatch was open. There were steel staples applied for clamping. There were no screws. The glue was polyester resin.

Since the 32-year-old Teak is in good shape and matches the rest of the boat, I demolished the rotted and ill-repaired plywood while retaining the Teak glued together with the seam sealant.

Comments above, more to the point of the discussion, are correct. I'll add that I filled holes in the fiberglass deck of the sailboat by cleaning 'em out with an ordinary countersink. Clean, visible surface, and lots of surface area. I used 'filled' West System epoxy for the filler. I tried the white pigment for the West, but it's just not worth it. I dabbed a little Brightside Polyurethane to protect the epoxy.

 

[CarlinLA]

Baja... appreciate that you captured the process of removing teak decking with the great pictures... a picture is worth a thousand words - still true.

Carl

I replaced the teak deck on my flybridge several years ago. Luckily, there was no wet core. It was quite a job but the results were well worth the effort. I debated whether to fill the screw holes, but did so because I added only 1 layer of glass and did not want any possible dimpling of the finished surface. Relative to the whole job, filling the holes was a small part. Pictures are here: https://cruisingonpacific.shutterfly.com.