Talk me out of renovating my teak deck
Posted by kor0na@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 117 comments
I have a Wasa 410 from 1982. The teak deck is from 199X and the age is really starting to show. Here's my plan:
Step one
Re-caulk everything, working gradually from the cockpit and moving towards the bow. I'm thinking this will be most time-consuming part.
Step two
Replace all the screws with teak plugs (remove screw, drill new hole down to gelcoat that fits the plug, inject expoxy, prime plug with aceton, gently hammer the plug down, then sand it down to level)
Should I do it the other way round? Am I missing anything? Am I going to go insane with the amount of hours I will need to put in?
(Teak deck haters, please ignore this. I have no leaks and I adore the look.)
Evening_sadness@reddit
The face of a cat who’s redone teak
FairSeafarer@reddit
I gave this post a couple days just to come into the aftermath and see how hard people worked on discouraging OP. This comment wins! LOL
FishingStrange@reddit
No leaks? Don’t touch it. It looks great to me.
Useful-Panic-2241@reddit
No
FitAmphibian1108@reddit
Kanske börja i fören eller nån stans det inte syns, så du lär dig, sen avsluta i sittbrunnen där du vill ha det snyggast?
Fast_Risk_2580@reddit
you’re basically signing up for a project that never feels “done”, just slightly better than yesterday
picklerickC-999@reddit
before you renovate, just take a brush, wet it down with some seawater and scrub the whole deck, I think the results will make you reconsider
indigoinblue@reddit
Boats with decks like this can exhibit damage to the bulkheads because the deck leaks often find their way to them. This work if even possible is costly and extensive. Check your bulkheads before you decide to rehabilitate the deck.
robsea69@reddit
Sound advice.
Ashamed_Version9661@reddit
I’d remove all the wood and glass it
TintheSEA@reddit
Beautiful
Available-Water3880@reddit
If I had your means, step one sail to marina, step two, crack open some whiskey and watch :-)
fiat-flux@reddit
I'll talk you into it. Do you have ANY idea how much work it is to re-core a deck ruined by failure to maintain the teak? Do it, and keep up with it religiously.
kiganas@reddit
Doesn't that apply to just balsa cored decks?
fiat-flux@reddit
And plywood, even more. Also foam core but to a lesser degree.
Someoneinnowherenow@reddit
Check the core before touching the teak. If the core is shot in enough places, you'll want to remove the teak, fix the core and either replace with new teak, an alternative synthetic teak or sell the boat
Fixing core is a real chore...
kor0na@reddit (OP)
Sounds like I should prioritize getting rid of the screws then, and do the re-caulking last (which is also likely going to be a much bigger chunk of work).
fiat-flux@reddit
Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. The screws are necessary to keep the boards down unless they were originally bedded with a strong adhesive (typically epoxy). The bungs are key.
Bloodless10@reddit
Well I certainly wouldn’t recaulk it before recovering the rest.
HumanVotary@reddit
I would use 5200 for the caulk
Joinusclan@reddit
I love teak, it looks the bomb and has superb characteristics.
Still, when I had no more mm to sand it down I replaced it with fake (greyed) fake teak and didn't regret it for one second. Just a thought. HR36 mk1 btw.
55North12East@reddit
Which type? I’ve seen different HRs with fake that looks great. My mms are getting smaller every year and I’m planning my next move.
Joinusclan@reddit
Flexiteek (yeah spelling is correct), bleached with black Caulking. Looks the part!
Jimman91@reddit
Looks great, but gets dirtier than regular teak, and after years the surface gets real smooth and slippery.
crazyswedishguy@reddit
I’ve been thinking of doing this to my boat, eventually though not for a few more years if possible. Can I ask you how much this cost, roughly?
Joinusclan@reddit
10 to 15k, it's very labour-intensive. A full new teak deck will set you back quite a bit more though.
crazyswedishguy@reddit
Honestly that sounds like a steal compared to what people were telling me when I was buying my boat. But I guess we were mostly talking about replacing the old teak (they said it could be up to $100k!), and it’s a 48.5ft boat.
Joinusclan@reddit
Yeah I was already thinking that you have a bit more boat to cover.. In addition this was two years ago and prices have soared.
100k sound a bit like a rip-off though...
crazyswedishguy@reddit
A rip-off for sure.
Your new deck looks great. Does it hold up on close inspection? Does it get hotter than teak in the sun?
Joinusclan@reddit
It does hold up, looks almost identical. Grip is good plus my knees are very grateful. Do get the bleached/greyed whatever variant because the other colours do look fake/plastic. Best you can do is scout marinas and just ask owners, they love to talk about it.
It gets hotter than teak, most definitely. Perfectly doable but a drawback indeed. The newest version boast 30 percent heat reduction but I've never tried that on a sunny day.
crazyswedishguy@reddit
Thanks! I bet you sleep a lot better not having to worry about maintaining the teak deck! I’m jealous 😂
Huckleberry181@reddit
Beautiful boat! What is she?
Joinusclan@reddit
Thank you! She's a Hallberg Rassy 36 mk1.
Joinusclan@reddit
Gets warm to the feet though, that's the only drawback I've found.
Stygg_Varg@reddit
Another Swede here with a teak deck from the 90s. I wouldn't do anything honestly, other than re-caulk where necessary. Congrats on having no leaks!
is0ph@reddit
We sail a small late 70s Sweden Yacht. The previous owner had the teak deck completely redone by a classic yacht shipyard (we think it was a crazy decision and we have his bills to prove it). But what they did is really beautiful and will last us a long time. We still monitor rigging attachments and other fixtures for leaks.
Stygg_Varg@reddit
I'm happy for you, that's awesome. Nothing beats a teak deck in my opinion.
Temporary-Show-2446@reddit
Professional teak decking guy here…First you have to know how much teak thickness you have left. Take a razor knife into the middle of a caulk seam until it bottoms out. If you have less than 6mm thickness remaining, the deck is worn through. Even if you recaulk the new seams will fail as there is not enough surface area for the caulk to adhere. If you have more than 10mm reseaming might be feasible. Welcome to pm me for real suggestions.
dolampochki@reddit
It’s teak. It takes care of itself. Go sailing instead.
Scarlet_Fire_32290@reddit
I haven’t read all the previous posts. I’d have to see pictures of the bad spots. How you going to fix it is sound a lot of work but if you’re into it and you’re into the boat, love the look of a teak deck etc but once it gets to a certain state of disrepair if it has gone and softens your core it just best to remove it all fix the soft spots and then paint and tape in a pattern with non-skid. If you’re going offshore I like a natural teak with my shoes or boots over nonskid
I do love teak and if you love the boat and love the look and have the time, go for it. I would take a moisture meter go down below and hold the meter up and run that over every area you can and if there’s no moisture on the meter then I would redo the teak. But if I found a lot of wet spots teaks gone.
tobi9242@reddit
Hi! I renovated the teak decking on our Grand Banks 42MY.
If you plan on removing the screws, be absolutely sure that the decking is held in place with adhesive, and that it will not come loose. Also make sure that you still have a good amount of teak left, as it would suck to spend the time only to remove it in a couple of years.
Replacing the plugs is quite simple, and i simply did these as needed, however if a lot of them need replacing, you might as well do them all at once. The procedure you listed sounds good, however before sanding, use a very sharp chisel to level the plug (once you've got this down, you can even avoid sanding entirely)
Recaulking is a much larger job. For removing the caulk the TDS router is awesome, and will really speed things up (if you have a router, just find a way to mount the dull end of a 3mm drill in it) Then use the reefing hook and seam sander to clean out the seam.
Make sure you have sufficiently deep seams, otherwise you need to deepen the groove with a router.
Clean the seam with acetone, and put tape at the bottom of the seam. Now you can caulk and sand.
I would budget somewhere around 300 hours for this job, and honestly would probably wait until the fall unless you have any leaks (or any places that remain wet, even when the rest of the deck has dried)
If you are going to do both plugs and caulking, wait
Feel free to write to me if you have any questions, I am in Denmark, so I imagine a lot of the available products are the same
achi2019@reddit
laughs as an owner of two wooden boats
cs_legend_93@reddit
Theres plenty of other upgrades and ways to sink money into a boat. Your deck is already fine
Revenantjuggernaut@reddit
Do it yourself did it on every boat my dad owned. Fresh teak is straight ⛽️ totally changes the look and dynamic of the boat/ship
prs1@reddit
I’m confused about step 2. What will hold the teak in place if you remove all the screws?
Jimman91@reddit
Only if the decking compound is good enough, which i doubt since it was done in the 90’s. Today we dont use screws on a new teak deck. We vacuum glue it today.
prs1@reddit
I thought the gluing part was completely missing, but maybe the ’inject epoxy’ is intended to do that. Seems unlikely that you’d get sufficient bonding if you just inject epoxy under a multi decade old teak plank.
Maleficent_Pea_9100@reddit
One reason that I’m not touching the tired teak on our boat: the new teak you would buy will be plantation teak, not the same wood as the old-growth teak.
Jimman91@reddit
Thats not entirely true. It may not look exactly the same, but still as strong and sturdy as the old-grown.
Have been replacing teak decks with the plantation teak for almost 5 years, somewhere around 50 boats. and we haven’t noticed anything different, and no complaints from customers.
insanisprimero@reddit
Use sika 290. When applying leave the caulk a level higher than the teak, when it cures it contracts. Then cut excess with a box cutter and sand flush.
Jimman91@reddit
Bostiks silicone based Caulk is even better
Jimman91@reddit
Im a professional in the teak business, and i would say don’t do anything big if your boat doesn’t have any leaks or problems. But if it does then you should definitely fix it.
You can replace the caulk if you want to, but that means a LOT of work, and the result usually isn’t that good. It also means that in the near future the teak will need to be replaced since the the caulk is starting to loosen (im guessing that’s why you want to replace it?) you can also remove the teakplugs and the screws, but then you need to seal each of those holes with a water and weather sealant and a teak plug. And that means hundreds or thousands of them.
In my line of work, when the caulk needs replacing it often means that the teak is too thin to do its job. (Think of car tires, the line that appears when the tire is too thin/worn) thats when we remove all teak and get install a new one. The only problem with old/worn teak is leakage, which is indeed a very Big problem. And the best way to deal with that is Before you have that big problem. Sure a new teak deck will cost you a lot, but it’ll cost you less than a new teak deck And new interior because of leaks.
You can look at my previous posts so see how our finished jobs look. We’re located in western sweden. We’ve been doing teak decks for 40 years.
Jimman91@reddit
I should also mention that its a big chance your teak is glued with some type of silicone glue, which crumbles over the years. Which means the majority of force keeping the teak down is the screws. And because of silicone there is no sealant around the screws. Today the decks a glued without screws if wanted, with a sealant that last longer than the deck itself.
CrosslinkR@reddit
It all depends how its fastened. Teak is like gold and can be bought back if no fastener issues.
PillerTrillBenzo@reddit
I have a väldigt good idé here. Give mig the båt instead so i kan segla down south när autumn arrives (:
Teknos3@reddit
Thompson’s water seal?
BrowardBoi@reddit
It doesn’t look to be failing really, but if it does begin it’s a full new deck, redoing the sikaflex/caulk isn’t going to restore it. Most of the time you just acid wash and trim down the sikaflex to be flush with the deck, but you do you
Key_Database4735@reddit
Does it leak? Has it been ground down to splinters?
BikerBear76@reddit
This project would give me complete exhaustion of the bunghole.
bathrugbysufferer@reddit
I did mine this winter, I’m so pleased with how it turned out!
never_safe_for_life@reddit
What was the rough cost of hiring the yard to do it?
bathrugbysufferer@reddit
About £15k for the deck. I had a significant external refit with coppercoat, hull polish, new Genoa tracks (old ones were corroded at the base which set me down the path of a refit).
DiscombobulatedRip98@reddit
Pretty good for $15k
RevLoveJoy@reddit
Okay okay, I made a joke above about it costing a fortune. 15 large is actually less than I would have guessed by a good margin. As others have said, it looks fantastic.
Mindless-Weather-234@reddit
Beautiful
SoundByte@reddit
Nice deck
HyFinated@reddit
I’m going to regret saying this, but that makes me feel tingly feelings in my no-no spot.
Great job and looks like a million bucks!
RevLoveJoy@reddit
Great news, it ONLY COST half a million! 2X the value!
Professional-Time444@reddit
That is hot. You already had prior woodworking experience right?
bathrugbysufferer@reddit
No no no don’t misunderstand me - I found an amazing yard that did this like it was a labour of love. Not my own work
MASTODON_ROCKS@reddit
Excellent work!
mr_muffinhead@reddit
Gorgeous deck. Big too!
johnbro27@reddit
I did it on our 45. Would not do again
AndrewMcIlroy@reddit
Just sand it an oil it. It looks dry. After you do that see how you feel
teivaz@reddit
Would be a nice weekend project… for next couple of years.
whistleridge@reddit
That $5,000 dollars will be the best $25,000 they ever spent.
Hour_Baby_3428@reddit
I can hear the pain in your words
whistleridge@reddit
Fortunately, not me. I’m far, far too lazy to try a project like that. I just got to watch a more motivated friend learn that lesson, over the course of a month that turned into a year and a half.
RobynTheCookieJar@reddit
damn you talked me out of it and I don't even have a boat at the moment!
WayAgreeable3999@reddit
Starting at one end working towards the other. By the time you get to the end the beginning will be needing to be done again. The infinite weekend project.
gerbilshower@reddit
i feel like we cracked a code here or something. always a 'reason' to be on the boat?
evilted@reddit
Similar to the painting of the Golden Gate Bridge.
klaagmeaan@reddit
Remove it, epoxy it over, kiwi gip. Thank me when you're done.
johnnydfree@reddit
What’s wrong wiffit!?
olli-mac-p@reddit
What about Kiwi Grip? Nobody?
robsea69@reddit
I work at a large boat yard in SF Bay Area. I own a 1982 Cardinal 46. The deck on my boat should have come off 2-3 years ago but other life issues intervened. I refinished my deck in 2021. Sanded, recaulked etc. it’s coming off this July. DM me if you would like. I will ask you some questions and afterwards I think you will know whether or not or when to remove or refinish your deck
HeinerWersenberg@reddit
Have to admit, I never heard of Wasa before.
I like the lines, which are somewhat similar to a Swan.
kor0na@reddit (OP)
They are very similar. Wasa is Swedish though (as am I). They were made in the late 70s to some time in the 90s. They're fast boats, cruiser/racer style, and well-suited for any ocean this planet has to offer.
HeinerWersenberg@reddit
Swans are one of a kind. Are you saying a Wasa would be reasonable comparison, a competitor even?
kor0na@reddit (OP)
The Swans are no doubt the superior boats (hurts to have to say it, but it's the truth). They are definitely similar though, and the Wasas are for sure also premium boats (of their time).
meatflaps-69@reddit
No, get on with it.
Cptawesome23@reddit
Just fiberglass it and glue some sandpaper on top for grip.
pizzakartonger@reddit
The wasa 55 is one of the best boats Ive sailed.
You should totally do it, would be a shame to leave it to long
Sinn_Sage@reddit
Whatever you do, I suggest you start at the bow end.
Why? Because you never know when your rehab project has to stop for something and now you are trapped from the cockpit.
You may have to tie up stern first though.
wkavinsky@reddit
It's the sanding that will kill you.
You need to caulk then sand, and sanders don't like sanding caulk.
iddereddi@reddit
Over a decade ago did one for money.
If you have no leaks do not touch it. Swap only loose/worn pieces. To do it all is a full month or two worth of hours and that boat was indoors and we worked on scaffolding around the boat.
MASTODON_ROCKS@reddit
When you say "we", how big was your crew?
iddereddi@reddit
Two, including me.
Joinusclan@reddit
When we removed the teak to replace it we found moisture entries in the hull. Had to dry it in for months on end.
OP; this is not a job you can do in a few weeks, even for a professional you're looking at two/three months wages, not to mention the cost of the new teak.
MandatoryAdventure@reddit
don't rrenovate your tear deck
MonkeySmart409@reddit
Your screws are holding the deck down.
You could do what I did- remove the screws, remove the planks, bore and plug the old fastener holes in the planks, and use a purpose-made epoxy (TDS for example) to refasten them to the deck without screws- but you cannot simply remove your screw fastener and expect your planks to stay in place.
saucissefatal@reddit
Money much better spent on Pripps.
ManWhoIsDrunk@reddit
No! Get some oil and go to work, you lazy git!
Then varnish afterwards!
Joinusclan@reddit
Oil and varnish? Oof
evilted@reddit
Maybe just a can of cheap topsides paint?
AppropriateBunch147@reddit
Well it makes your deck slick and dangerous
No-Sail-6510@reddit
Is it teak screwed into glass?
Comfortable-Ad8560@reddit
Put a raptor deck on top of the teak
Mehfisto666@reddit
Well do you want to sail this summer or wanna be stuck in a boatyard all season and set sails in the winter?
Ill_Commercial_1805@reddit
Send it
kerberos824@reddit
I have no meaningful input beyond saying, that's a gorgeous boat.
historydoubt@reddit
Det är lite likt Ferrari eller andra korkade företag i form av lyx-just-nu tänk. Jag vet mycket om bilar, mindre om båtar. Men jag ser dina bilder, jag förstår ditt problem. Jag hade absolut INTE fösrökt mig på att ersätta allt det där trät på ditt däck. Då kan du ju köpa en ny båt helt i 1-(och samma) material, du fattar?
Gud bevare mig. Du får göra det bästa av vad du har att göra med. Försök bara konservera/bevara och fyll i med lim/epoxy/etc när trät släpper för mycket.
Tanken med trä är inte att vara perfekt, bara gott nog.
svm_invictvs@reddit
Why do you want to? Not asking obtusely, just curious. If you really can't stand it, then I guess you should do it.
If you have no leaks and the deck isn't compromised then why bother? Give it an acid wash and some teak oil.
Ripping it out is a lot of work and I don't think re-caulking is as bad as you think it is.
aivopesukarhu@reddit
Older teak decks often have screws that have round heads. When changing the screws, try to find similar teak deck screws but with flat head. Then you don’t need to drill the hole so much deeper and avoid drilling into the gelcoat.
For protecting the glassfiber from water you might also dip the new screw into Sikaflex to prevent moisture getting in thorugh the screw hole.
Instead of sanding down to the level, you should get a sharp chisel and cut the plug to the level and then finish with sanding. But only after the epoxy has dried.
We sanded the our teak deck some time ago and it really brought it back to life. Of course depends how thick the teak is and if the glue is still holding it to the deck.
Redfish680@reddit
Remove over replace, but start the job and you’ll come to your own conclusions.
bigmphan@reddit
A little sand paper? Maybe some lemon oil?
It can wait another season. It’s time to set sail, captain!
Ok_Split_6463@reddit
That is going to be a lot of work....