# Decking Material -- Teak vs Fiberglass



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I'm new to the BB and am quite impressed with the conversations I have reviewed. While I am boatless for the time being, I do look forward to a purhase of a coastal cruiser - eventual blue water boat. From my previous experience (limited), I have come across owners that had teak decks that had pulled them up to correct water seepage resulting in some deck rot. 

Any suggestions out there as far as what to avoid what looking at used boats and their respective decks? I ask because for example, I've admired teh Swans, but their decks are teak -- what goes - suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Bernie


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Nothing compares to the beauty & traction of a natural teak deck . . . as long as it is properly maintained. They are found on the most expensive boats, but also on some older (& cheaper) Taiwanese-built boats, using inferior craftsmanship, materials and fastening techniques. One could argue that these boats have given teak decks a bad name.

The greatest liability is fasteners leaking into a cored substrate, rotting the core & migrating to cabin spaces below. This can be avoided if the screw bungs and caulking are maintained by not using bleach or other chemicals which may degrade the caulking & glues.

The best teak installation is when overlaid on a solid fiberglass deck. To my knowledge, Nauticat Yachts is the only boat builder that does this with all their boats.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

TrueBlue:

Appreciate your response --- agree about the beauty of teak. Regarding the installation by builders, is there a master list anywhere that tells what boats install over fiberglass (aside from the one you mentioned) versus over cored structures or is this just a question that a buyer needs to ask?

Additionally, if I found a boat with the teak, should a good survey pick up on any potential problems here?

Bernie


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Fortunately replacing a teak deck is one monetary hara-kiri I have missed amongst various financial shipwrecks over my years of boat-owning. It's the type of cost that underpins the jokes about boat expenses: a hole in the water, boat dollars, "if you have to ask&#8230;", etc. There are items that any sensible, dollar-constrained boat buyer should simply, always, walk away from (my personal list being): colored gelcoat hulls, lots of varnished teak, cored hulls, steel keels, Taiwan boats, and &#8230;teak decks. 

Aside from maintenance, teak decks are subject to wear, the wear can open bungs or eventually expose the fasteners. I think the question is only WHEN, not if, the decks need to be replaced. Since most owners won't take on a repair like deck replacement until its need is obvious, at that point the deck also needs to be re-cored. Who needs such aggravation, even if money is no object?

That Nauticat has an un-cored deck is an interesting oddity, which reduces the teak deck replacement problem (no deck re-coring), still leaving the need to eventually replace the teak. Say only $10-15,000 versus $20-30,000? IMHO, boating is expensive from the get-go, why take on reasonably avoidable trouble?

Cored decks are almost universal, Nauticat being an exception (although I have seen a listing for an older Nauticat that referenced a wood core deck, maybe there's exceptions for the exception...)


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## sailandoar (Mar 20, 2006)

*It can be great! .... but no teak for me.*

I would love to have a teak deck if I didn't have to maintain it (not a huge deal) or ever worry about leaks and core degradation (can be a HUGE HUGE deal). No teak for me. Not enough hours in the day, but some folks priorities are different.

The deck surface that everyone seems to RAVE about is treadmaster. We inherited it on our vessel and we love it. It is a diamond tread pattern in sheet form and made from a rubber/cork composite. It is expensive ($12-$15Sqr/Ft) but seems worth it. We are painting it using the non-skid micro-spheres in one part marine enamel and would not change. A lot of folks tell us they wish they had treadmaster. If we were doing it again we would choose it.

Treadmaster:
http://www.tiflex.co.uk/marine/marine.html


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

There are also some pretty good artificial teak decking materials now. If you like the look of a teak deck, they may be worth taking a look at. Some of the newer installations use adhesives, so the risk to cored decks is much lower than one that is screwed into place.


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## Sialia (Feb 14, 2006)

*No Teak for me*

I love teak and teak decks are beautiful. Despite this, I have never owned a boat with a teak deck and do not plan to. I sail with my dogs, who are deck trained. The smaell of urine absorbed into the teak would probably keep me land-bound.

There's also a weight issue, but that doesn't figure into my logic - it's all about the dogs and the potential smell.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

*Protect those teak decks*

We also love teak decks and our 9 week old puppy, who recently replaced our past 4-legged sailing mate, euthanized 3 months ago after 14 years of dinking her ashore. With this one, we've pad-trained her to go on a pad, on-command, and being as smart as she seems to be, has taken to it very well.

The potti-pads are easily exchanged with an astro-turf door mat, over a plastic tray. Our plan is to position it on the foredeck - attached to a line so we can rinse it overboard while cruising.

This hasn't been tested offshore yet, but she has used the pad over our teak decks while at dock . . . a good sign that it may work.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Appreciate everyone's comments on the subject -- a wealth of information. My new perspective is to not search out teak, but be cautious when looking for a boat with teak installed.

Again Thanks!

Bernie


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

We have teak decks. I wasn't looking for them when we bought our boat 4 years ago and bought it in spite of them. We have found the traction as advertised and the maintenance much easier than expected. The trick is getting them into good shape. Once done it is just a matter of keeping them clean, never using brushes, never oiling or sealing. We have had no deck leaks due to the teak or fasteners. The boat is 23 years old. The decks were redone (sanded, refastened and rebunged) about 4 years ago (we had the previous owners complete this as a part of the sale). The deck is teak layed over fiberglass sandwiched plywood. The fiberglass was designed to take the fastening screws without penetrating the core. So far we have seen none of the reputed issues. I think it depends on the design, installation and maintenance.


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## marinedtcomRob (Oct 26, 2005)

Bernie,

I have teak decks on my Little Harbor 38. I have a passion for teak decks and they are great when the decks are wet. However, for many folks they are not the way to go on a used boat. My decks leaked and would have ruined what was a beautiful interior. I pulled up my decks (worst part of the job by far) re-cored the decks and then re-decked with new teak. Project cost was about $5000 doing this myself vs. roughly $60,000 at Little Harbor. I took a piece of pvc tubing and placed it over every screw coming up from below and filled with West Sys. epoxy to prevent leaks if the core ever leaked again. The core was filled with small sections using end grain balsa and marine grade plywood. The theory here again was that if one section leaked, the West System would "compartmentalize" the leak and prevent it from spreading to the whole deck. Top skin was laid down again with West System episize glass + two layers 12 oz 90/90 cloth plus one layer Kevlar to build back in stiffness. The decks we're bedded down with Teak Decking Systems fairing and fitting epoxy. West System is not recommended for bedding teak. Anyway, the whole project turned out beautifully and we have no leaks seven years out from project completion. So to sum it up, if you want to sail and not worry about the decks - avoid the teak. If you have a passion for teak and are willing to face what could be a big project (or have lots of money to pay someone else to put down new decks) then maybe teak is for you.



















Good luck.

Rob Proctor, CEO
Marine.com / Sailnet


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

One word of warning...Fiberglass is rarely a good material for screws. The laminate does not tolerate screws well, and the screws break the glass fibers, which ARE QUITE BRITTLE, and weaken the laminate. I have yet to see any form of fiberglass, where the screws weren't relatively weak compared to wood, aluminum, steel, epoxy...


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

One thing I would also mention is that when teak decks are laid; if it was done properly there is a cord placed below the caulking. This cord is placed beneath the caulking so that when you want to re-caulk you rip the cord out to help strip the caulk out of the decking. The best way to prevent problems with the decking is to maintain it by re-caulking/sanding it before the caulk dries out and allows water to get beneath the teak.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

There are other alternatives than just traditional teak or fiberglass. I saw a product called Flexdeck (or something like that) at the Seattle Boat Show in January that I would have sworn was real teak decking, but it was PVC! It even had the texture of real teak and the salesman said it was even more non-skid than traditional teak decking (which the company also was selling). The major thing I remember is that the Flexdeck is simply glued down once the existing teak deck is removed (or over the existing fiberglass non-skid)...so no fasteners to eventually leak. It was explained that once the deck is installed, its guaranteed never to leak. The other big thing was that it doesn't fade to the dull grey teak does. The company was called Yacht Deck and I think they were based in San Francisco, but I'm not quite sure of that.

If you do want to go with traditional teak, make sure you go with at least 1/2" thick teak as any thinner and you won't get sufficient life out of it due to wear and sanding. When maintaining a traditional teak deck, never scrub it in the direction of the seams, always go across them so that you don't wear out the soft grain of the wood. Also, if you see any caulk separation from the teak battens, make sure to repair it ASAP as even a small leak can lead to big problems down the road.

Good luck with your purchase and as someone mentioned, there's nothing better looking than a well maintained teak deck...or possibly the new synthetic decking I suppose!


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