What is a teak deck worth?

[Bardo]

This is driving me crazy. I am looking at an ericson 35, MK III which is being sold at a very decent price (pending survey etc etc). I like everything about the boat so far, except.........it has teak decks. I have researched and followed the threads on teak decks, and know the pros and cons (I think). My question is, if the boat is good otherwise, how much "risk" ie dollars do I need to crank into my plan, in case the deck is damaged beyond what a survey sees, or if I decide I need to repair or remove the teak? I am sorely tempted by this boat.....Teak deck, get thee behind me!

Freeman

[Gary M]

As far as I know the big question is whether the deck is cored or not. If it is a solid glass deck and the teak looks like it was properly installed in good shape and you like it I would be tempted to go for it. I really like a teak deck

However if the deck is cored and the teak was screwed down you would be taking a big chance. I think removing the teak, making repairs, and then painting the deck would be $15-20 k minimum and you would likely have to do a lot of work yourself to get it that cheap.

Gary

[labatt]

I love the look of our teak deck and the feeling under our feet. If you are truly concerned about the state of the deck, you might want to see if there is a part of the deck you can obtain a core sample from. This would allow a surveyor to see the thickness of the teak and the quality of the core construction. A teak deck is very easy to care for - just wash it down with salt water, bleach it once a year, replace any missing bungs and put new sealant down when the old looks like it's worn away. Generally, other than washing it down, there is little you have to do with it the entire year.

On the other hand, as teak decks get older and bungs pop out, the screws holding the deck down will be screwed in a little tighter. At some point in time one of two things will happen. Either you'll end up compromising the core because the screw goes all the way through, or the deck will get so thin you'll get warping or other major problems. At this point, you have to spend the tens of thousands to replace the deck with a new teak deck, or just go the fiberglass route.

Our Passport 40 is 23 years old and the deck is in "OK" shape. Our surveyor wasn't in love with the decks due to their age, but he never took a core sample to see how thick they were (kind of a difficult thing since you have to find a spot of the deck you can cut through!). We had the old sealant pulled up and new "caulking" put down. When we had the sealant up it looked like we had an OK amount of thickness left in most parts. The caulk replacement and replacement of missing bungs cost us about $1,500 (we hired someone to do it).

If the teak starts wearing at different rates, you can pay to have it removed, planed and put back into place. This is a major project, and you can expect estimates between $5k-$10k. If the wood is too thin this option won't be available.

[TSteele65]

I'd make sure the surveyor goes into as much detail as possible about the decks. Unfortunately, there's no way of really "knowing" if things have gotten out of hand without doing core samples, and I doubt the seller will put up with that.

[Bardo]

Further info: I believe the decks are glued and not screwed, which should be some consolation. I may be able to guage the thickness of the teak if there are, as the broker says, a couple that need re-bedding. Maybe if I snuck into the head with my battery powered hole saw, they would never miss it! Is there a significant weight/performance penalty for the teak decks?

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by Bardo

This is driving me crazy. I am looking at an ericson 35, MK III which is being sold at a very decent price (pending survey etc etc). I like everything about the boat so far, except.........it has teak decks. I have researched and followed the threads on teak decks, and know the pros and cons (I think). My question is, if the boat is good otherwise, how much "risk" ie dollars do I need to crank into my plan, in case the deck is damaged beyond what a survey sees, or if I decide I need to repair or remove the teak? I am sorely tempted by this boat.....Teak deck, get thee behind me!

Freeman

In many repects, I differ from some others here on teak decks. I like them. I think they are beautiful. They are also functional. I know as well as anyone the negatives of the decks - espcecially the footprints you would leave behind on a hot summer day without shoes!! However, there are many other places I have seen water find its way in, like: hatches, chainplates, stanchions, etc. Thus, I would not (on me personally or for my parents) let it be a deal breaker... in some cases I think it is a positive.

Several years ago we were SERIOUSLY considering a particulair Krogen 42 with teak decks that had some spongy problems. The total costs, me not touching it and in a reputable yard (cannot remember the yard now, it was SE Florida) was right about $20,000. THat included deck repair. THat did not include my help. THat is at least a ballpark for you.

If the decks had very little damage, that number would be less. But if they did not have that damage, I doubt you would replace. Hope that helps.

- CD

[sailingdog]

Bardo—

Unless the boat's deck was recently re-done, I seriously doubt that it was only glued in place. Most older decks were screwed in place, and the detrimental effects of the screws, especially to a cored deck laminate, were pretty much unknown. Only recently have teak decks been attached primarily with adhesive.

Any teak-decked boat is going to have a weight/performance penalty and a reduced righting moment, since the weight of the teak is generally above the center of gravity.

[Bardo]

UGHH, SD you have dashed my irrational hopes with cold wet reason. How am I ever going to find my dream boat if you keep injecting REALITY into my search? Its not helping at all (although its probably saving me a lot of money and headaches). I will challenge the broker to prove to me that the decks are glued, as he said. He may be just ignorant, and CardiacPaul so kindly puts it, but I maintain he lies.......

[camaraderie]

If you can see little round circles in the teak it is screwed and those are the bung covers for the screw holes. I think you could get new teak decks for half of that $20k price IF you replace them before there is any underlying coring problem. Not cheap but not quite so intimidating. The reason that teak jobs end up being so costly is neglect until failure is gross. Just like anything else on a boat...failure to fix small problems and replace worn things in a timely manner can lead to significantly larger expenses...like standing rigging vs. rig failure!(G)

EDIT...BTW...The 35-3 does not appear to have been standard with teak decks OR available as a FACTORY option so you may be looking at an after the fact deck job. Here's the review page link zipped up from the Ericson Owners site.
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/mainframe.htm
I always liked these boats a lot myself...hope it goes well for you!

[sailingdog]

Bardo-

I have a 1.5 liter Super Soaker, loaded with reality concentrate sitting at my desk. It begs to be used. It sounds like the broker is blowing smoke or smoking something—and unless he can prove otherwise, assuming he lied is probably not a bad idea.... so take anything else he says with a lump of rock salt.

Originally Posted by Bardo

UGHH, SD you have dashed my irrational hopes with cold wet reason. How am I ever going to find my dream boat if you keep injecting REALITY into my search? Its not helping at all (although its probably saving me a lot of money and headaches). I will challenge the broker to prove to me that the decks are glued, as he said. He may be just ignorant, and CardiacPaul so kindly puts it, but I maintain he lies.......