# Removing Teak Decks and replacing w/ Fiberglass



## dofthesea (Jul 24, 2010)

Can anyone give me an idea about how difficult this is? I'm looking at a Pearson Triton that needs the deck replaced. I would prefer to use fiberglass. I'm pretty good with fiberglass and painting. Just need to know the process and or if its not worth it.


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

Not having done this project but reading enough articles about it, i am pretty sure its a large task. The stories i have read usually involves larger boats. Given the retail value of a Triton, I am going to say it is probably not worth it unless the boat is in otherwise immaculate shape and cheap or your time is not worth anything.

I was not aware that Triton's came teaked?


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## amwbox (Aug 22, 2015)

Its a rather huge amount of arduous manual labor. You will be backing out/digging out/drilling out a thousand screws, half of which will fall apart. They you will get to, while awkwardly stooped over, try to dig/pry a bunch of wooden planks out of whatever adhesive they were bedded in. Then you'll get to fill those thousand holes with epoxy, grind and sand all that scum all over the deck until the world ends, and finally, fair and said until the world is reborn. Then you can paint and nonskid. Its going to be expensive and its going to involve weeks of hard labor. Maybe months. Your call.

You won't have to "replace" the deck. Well, unless the core is rotten all to hell. A real possibility, since some idiot drilled a thousand holes from the part exposed to weather directly into the deck core. The fiberglass deck under the teak is the same ordinary deck that would have been on the boat if some genius hadn't decided to add a few hundred pounds of wood and drill a thousand holes into something that NEEDS to be waterproof.

I'll never understand how anyone thought drilling a thousand holes in a BOAT was a good idea.

Triton is a great boat, and cheap. Find one without this headache. But if you must:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/buying-boat-articles/19501-techniques-removing-teak-decks.html


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

Amwbox,
You paint such a pretty picture of the process. Have you done it yourself?


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## overbored (Oct 8, 2010)

Not worth it. there is and never was a good reason to have teak decks on a 28' boat boat that has fiberglass deck construction under the teak. find another boat


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## amwbox (Aug 22, 2015)

jephotog said:


> Amwbox,
> You paint such a pretty picture of the process. Have you done it yourself?


Not beginning to end, but I've donated quite a few weekends to friends who've done it. That was enough for me. I really like a lot of boats that tended to have teak decks...but I'd pay a serious premium for a boat that's already had this chore done.


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

amwbox said:


> I really like a lot of boats that tended to have teak decks...but I'd pay a serious premium for a boat that's already had this chore done.


Me too, in a search I only consider boats that have been de-teaked.

I love log homes but helped peel logs for a friend building one. I will stick with dimensional lumber myself when building.


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

If the present teak decks are screwed down over a layer of 'thiokol' (aka: black death) and the deck core is rotted balsa, etc. .... on a Triton, you've got about 3000-3500 screws and 3000-3500 bungs to remove, a massive amount of core to remove / air-impact power-chisel out even before the 'repair' begins. The original top-deck will be somewhat thin, so you're going to be breaking a lot of it (unusable as a replacement surface once sawn/broken away from its present location). 
However, If the present deck was epoxied down without screws (was 'laminated' using epoxy) you're going to need to cut a larger area of top deck down & through to the core, making the repair even more difficult (to get it flat). Think air impact chisels and air compressors, shoulder bursitis that may take 'years' to finally heal.

Depending on the age of the Triton, if close to the early 1970s the deck may not be Teak, but Brazilian Iroko which isn't reusable for any purpose as it becomes oxidized throughout its thickness and severely weakens as well as erodes severely at the soft portions to the exposed 'grain'. 
Consider the cost of tools needed: power hammer drill, power hand saw, air impact chisel + compressor, large belt sander, 'long' polyethylene trowels for leveling and fairing, 'long boards' for sanding back down to 'fair' and straight etc. etc. 
Probably will take 3 solid days to remove and clean out; about 4-5 days to restore. About 4-5 gallons of epoxy and 'fillers', about 20-25 sq. ft. of "klegecel" etc. for core replacement, a 'bundle' of 12-16oz. fiberglass cloth, gelcoat/spray gun etc. etc., Awlgrip deck (tinted) paint and 'grit' to cover/hide the repair. If you want to restore to 'showroom' new, Id suggest not use any paint; consider to reshoot/spray with computer matched gelcoat .... for an extra 3-4 days of work. Your probably looking at 2 solid weeks (14 days) of dawn to dusk agony. Add another week if the strakes are reusable, reasonably thick so that they can be re-milled and re-bunged with larger 1/2"? bungs (just for 'cosmetic' purposes) ... and the deck strakes epoxy laminated to the deck but will have to be 'caulked' (using single part oxime cure TDS type deck caulk). 

Sure this can be done. However if the balance of the boat isn't of absolute pristine condition, you're still going to have an 'old' boat, a very prolonged recovery time for your sore back and knees, a lot of newly bought power tools and a much emptied wallet. 
Unless this boat 'really really pulls at your heartstrings' ... reconsider.

;-)


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

SNer jrd22 did this on his current boat when he bought it.. hopefully he'll chime in. I've seen pictures of his efforts, looked like a lot of work, but the results were great.


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## colemj (Jul 10, 2003)

I've never seen a Triton with a teak deck. Were they offered this way, or was this a PO addition?

Anyway, they made 700-800 of them, so it might not be too difficult to find one without teak decks.

Mark


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## colemj (Jul 10, 2003)

Upon re-reading the OP, I'm now thinking he was asking about replacing a cored deck with a solid fiberglass one, and used the word "teak" to mean a wood core. I have seen a lot of Tritons, but none with actual teak decks.

If so, then a bad core is probably a very common problem with these boats, and a fairly easy one to fix. Yes, he could make it solid fiberglass, but that would add a lot of weight for no reason. 

If the above is true, and you are good with fiberglass and painting, then recoring the deck will be very easy for you.

Mark


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Sometimes a picture (or three) is worth a thousand words:


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

colemj said:


> Upon re-reading the OP, I'm now thinking he was asking about replacing a cored deck with a solid fiberglass one, and used the word "teak" to mean a wood core. I have seen a lot of Tritons, but none with actual teak decks.
> 
> If so, then a bad core is probably a very common problem with these boats, and a fairly easy one to fix. Yes, he could make it solid fiberglass, but that would add a lot of weight for no reason.
> 
> ...


My guess as well, likely balsa or plywood core replacement. You peel off the first layer of fiberglass and replace with like or similar materials. Do not drill holes and inject goo, as this will make the proper repair much harder. Do not make it solid fiberglass as to get the stiffness you need would be too heavy. Oh and my description is simplified, not hard just really unpleasant and lots of work. Might be worth it to get an estimate. The estimate will not be what it costs you to do yourself but will give you an idea of how much time is involved.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

It is worth your while to have a look at this forum. Plastic Classic Forum ? Index page

There are several threads on recoring decks on Tritons.


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## amwbox (Aug 22, 2015)

Timely. This is going to be a fun project to follow over the course of the winter. Not just a teak deck removal and replacement, but also most of a cabin top to be rebuilt.


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## SailorMaggie (Feb 26, 2017)

So consider this... say you like the teak look but don't want a 'leaky teaky'. Fix the fiberglass so it's structurally sound then cover with this new stuff called 'plasdeck'. It is forgiving. I had to pull my old deck up because I had a soft deck. Then I let the plywood dry out. Covered with fiberglass again so it was strong and watertight then I put the plasdeck over that which in my opinion looks great but isn't real and has none of those headaches you get with real teak. Essentially no maintenance. I love the way it turned out on my boat and now my boat is watertight, dry and looks great.


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## DonScribner (Jan 9, 2011)

dofthesea said:


> Can anyone give me an idea about how difficult this is? I'm looking at a Pearson Triton that needs the deck replaced. I would prefer to use fiberglass. I'm pretty good with fiberglass and painting. Just need to know the process and or if its not worth it.


If you are in love with the boat, then I would suggest pulling the teak as shown in the video and filling and fairing all the holes. Then use one of those sheet teak products that replaces the look with a non-slip surface that actually looks pretty good. I personally don't care for teak on any boat that I have to care for. Don't get me wrong, as a finish carpenter by training, there are few things that turn my head faster than Christie Brinkley; nice wood grain is one of them. But in the weather . . . . even Christie wouldn't age well left on the deck of a boat for years on end. An afternoon in the BVI in a bright blue one piece . . . different story.

Christie, if you're reading this, meet me on April 11 in Trellis Bay.


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