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Teak Deck Replacement with Nonskid

15K views 49 replies 17 participants last post by  Quinn99 
#1 ·
Today I started the BIG job of replacing my teak decks on my 1981 Cheoy Lee ketch. I just did a small section of the cockpit near my port jibsheet winch. I'm using this post as a guide. It took four hours from getting my tools out until the area is mostly clean.

The first step was removing the winch and two cleats from on top of the deck.


Here's the deck before removing the deck hardware.


They're off now. Then it was on to the wrecking bar and mallet to pry up the old teak. The screw heads stayed behind, so I used a flat tip screwdriver and vice grip pliers remove all the screws.

Next I scraped off the black bedding compound that held the teak in place. Most of it came up easily using a Fein Multimaster scraper tool.


Next I used acetone and a rag to remove the residual bedding compound. I wore nitrile gloves, but the acetone ate through them so tomorrow I'll be getting better chemical protective gloves. I switched to using a scotchbrite green scrubber with acetone and that helped the gunk come up quicker.

At the end I wiped down the surface and drilled out the hardware mounting holes, then reamed them out using a dremel tool. I'll rebed all the hardware later using this guide.


Now the deck is clear and is ready for the individual screw holes to be reamed and the holes to be filled with epoxy.

We have guests coming August 10 so my goal is to have the decks done by then. I guess I need to get to work!
 
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#3 ·
I doubt very much of the decking came up in reusable pieces.

It's a daunting job, looks like you got off to a good start. SNer jrd22 did the same on his new-to-him boat, seems a good way to put that particular worry to rest.
 
#6 ·
N8, I'd bet some resourceful people would love that wood. Teak is expensive, and a trip through a properly set-up bandsaw would take off the sealant and probably still leave most of the wood. If you weren't on the other side of the country from me, I'd be tempted t make a deal. I have several projects that could benefit from long pieces.
 
#9 ·
Goodonya for starting this daunting task! Never having to worry about a rotten core, and the tremendous job/expense that entails, makes the work removing the teak and glassing over seem minor (when you're done with it :)).
 
#10 ·
Yesterday my wife and I removed more deck hardware and teak. Now we have both sides of the cockpit cleared. Today we're having friends come over and they'll help remove the teak from the seats in the cockpit. Here's my first big challenge. With the teak removed there will be a lip and I'll need to decide if I'll remove that edge and fair it, or fill the space previously occupied by the teak.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday's hard work.


THe holes are all drilled out, vacuumed and filled. Some of the screw holes just kept sucking the epoxy. It's not dripping inside the cabin so there must have been a gap in the hull between the gel coat and the fiberglass, especially on the starboard side outboard.


The starboard side prepped. To remove the old sealant I used a paint scraper attachment with my drill to expedite the process.


Durabak nonskid coating samples. Top to bottom the colors are Tan, Creme and Sand. We're planning on using Sand because it compliments the wood trim the best. The nonskid is UV protected polyurethane so I can use the same primer that I'll use for the edges
 
#12 ·
Got the teak all off the cockpit and lots of screw holes filled with epoxy. Now it's just what to do with the quarterdeck area. The deck feels solid, but my moisture meter says it's wet. I'm letting it dry out and will see if the wood still stays solid.
 

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#14 ·
Thanks. I'm making a trip to WestMarine to get some more epoxy and fairing filler. Then I'll be working on the deck above the transom and quarterdeck. My next big issue will be working with the coaming that's left around the cockpit from where I removed the teak. I need to make a decision of whether to lay balsa and epoxy it down and glass over, or to cut the coaming down and fair smooth. It looks like I may need to get an angle grinder.
 
#17 ·
OK, more pictures and a status update.


My dock neighbor, Jay from JAYGAR is on the right helping scrape off the sticky tar stuff, while I'm on the left with my head down out of the frame removing bedding compound. So far I've used three different methods to remove the sticky stuff and the easiest one was using a paint or varnish scraper. The other less successful methods were using a Scotchbright green scrubbing pad with acetone and using a paint removal wheel.


This is a repost of a picture of the cockpit taken while standing on my dockbox showing how white and nice the cockpit looks after scraping the sticky teak bedding compound off and cleaning the area with acetone.


Here is my next problem. After removing the teak there's a half inch lip or coaming in the cockpit that I need to deal with. My first instinct is to cut it off with my Fein multimaster or a sawzall and then smooth it and fair with epoxy fairing compound, but before I make the fist cut I want to see if anyone out there in sailnet land has experience with this.
 
#21 ·
We already have some cushions and they don't reach all the way out to the edge. After sitting in the cockpit for a few minutes that lip starts to cut off circulation to my feet so the lip's coming off. Now I have to figure out if it's easier to use the Fein Multimaster or a grinder.

Blog post about the beginning of the project At Aboard Astraea
 
#22 ·
I did this same project in 2008 on my Skye 51, replacing my teak with Treadmaster--best money I have put into the boat! In deciding between the colors, know that the sand color I used has made the boat worlds more comfortable in the summer as it has dropped the temperature below decks significantly. Good work tackling it yourself!

Does the lip you are looking to get rid of come right up to the vertical surface of the cockpit? It might be difficult to get a smooth rollover using epoxy and filler, LOTS of sanding at a minimum. I have never tried it but maybe you could use a router and rollover bit if you faired with something soft like West 410 filler but that would be prone to chipping with every day wear and tear.
 
#23 ·
Obelisk:
The lip does go right up to the edge of the cockpit. I painted that area about a year ago when I replaced the windows. I'm prepared to do a bit of touch up paint around there and see how nicely I can smooth the deck paint in to the side paint, but that's a discussion for a later post when I'm closer to it. I've decided to remove more hardware and the reset of the deck before going in to the lip removal and fairing phase.

Today I removed all the chainplate covers:


Please ignore the drips on the toerail in the background. My varnishing skills are way better than that, it's just how the boat came.

All the covers for the chain plates have been removed and labeled. It took about two hours to unscrew all the plates, then loosen the turnbuckle and lubricate the turnbuckle with lanolin, an antisieze compound.


The tools I used are shown in the pictures, a wrench, electric and manual screwdriver and some pliers.

So here's the project plan as it stands now:
1) Remove the rest of the teak deck mounted hardware
Problem areas are the anchor windlass and bow pulpit and stanchions. They're through bolted, big, heavy or cumbersome so I'll need help with removing them. It's possibly going to get dirty in the cabin when removing this hardware because of the big holes.
Goal Date: Friday, likely finish date Saturday morning
2) Remove teak decks: Same process as before with mallet and hammer
Goal Date: Sunday, I'll have weekend help
3) Remove screws and clean up deck with scrapers and acetone
Goal Date: May 13, 2013
4) Prep Holes
Goal Date: May 15, 2013
5) Fill holes
Goal Date: May 22, 2013

Boy it's going to take a while. Guess I'll need to buy some extra beer and brats and call in the reinforcements.
 
#24 ·
these pics look all too familiar! good luck getting everything off. just a note about getting the black goo off that remains after the teak is removed--i used a sharp, broad chisel to scrape the majority of the gunk off then used MEK, which worked way better for me than acetone. of course, it causes cancer 3 times as fast, so wear gloves...
 
#30 · (Edited)
Of course, how stupid of me. I just removed mine similarly to do some painting. Brain fahrt.

OMG what a huge job you're doing. This may not apply to your boat, but based on my experience over this last winter I have decided that bargain boats that just need a little TLC are often not a bargain at all.
 
#27 ·

I tried removing the deck fill for the water tanks, but it's seized up. While holding it with a wrench I started to crush the tube. I need to use some PB Blaster penetrating fluid to break the nut free. If that doesn't work I'm going to cut the fittings off and replace them.


Top view of the water deck fill

My wife and I removed the screws and nuts for the stanchion bases and the jib lead track.




Then she got down to pulling up the teak.


And I got to play on the dock with my 11 month old son.


Yesterday we got all the teak up off the port side deck to the front of the cabintop. All the screws are out, the deck was cleaned of the old sealant, holes drilled and countersunk. We didn't do the jiblead track and stanchion holes yet. That will have to wait until later today or tomorrow.
Today we're taking a break for Mother's Day and going up to the restaurant for brunch.
 
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