Do you think a cruiser-racer with LOA of 47.5 feet and a displacement of 26,400 pounds that will be sailing in tropics would be better off with a fiberglass or teak deck?
Tom Wood responds:
Teak decks look beautiful—on someone else's boat. Actually, their beauty and their natural nonskid under foot are their only good points. All other things are to their disadvantage:
1. They are expensive to install.
2. They are heavy, adding weight up high on the boat, which is undesirable for good performance.
3. They can make deck leaks very hard to locate and repair.
4. They require a great deal of time-consuming labor to maintain their beautiful looks.
5. Regardless of the level of care, at some time in the future the teak
will need to be replaced—granted, this may be 20 or more years, but the cost associated with such a major job must be taken into account. In my opinion, you're much better of with fiberglass decks.
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