[Calmwater]

I'm trying to decide if DIY installation is worth the time and effort. I've priced PlasTeak at about $8K for the custom-made mats, or $5K for the DIY rolls of material that you join together similar to hardwood flooring (but more complicated). If anyone has actually tried this, I'm wondering if it's practical for a 50 foot sailboat with kingplanks an all sorts of other interesting patterns to make.

It seems like all the posts are about which brand to buy but none about actual installation.

I was originally thinking about replacing the old teak with Kiwigrip but am concerned about the aesthetics, not to mention resale value.

I have an original teak deck that is still in a reasonable shape, although a rehabilitation project is planned for the spring. A friend in the NL, with similar boat (Contest 43), just finished the replacement of his teak deck with a synthetic teak-like material. It took them hundreds of hours, as there are a lot of different shapes, patterns, frames etc. I think ordering custom made mats would be a better decision. As for the removal of the existing teak, guess, Beneteau, used a much thinner lumber without screws (unlike my deck), so the removal of screws, which is the biggest pain is saved for you. As for the removal of the glued deck, I have seen quite massive scrapers in use, at least for the large areas - like those used to remove glued ceramic floor and they worked well. At any case, I would look at scrapers much more than sanders as a way to remove and flatten the deck.

Not sure what adhesive is offered by PlasTeak, as I have seen in their manual a process to use screws, covered by plugs, into the sub floor, which is something you really don’t want to do and where they write that the material can’t be glued - but this may be related to a different product they have. The thicker the glue is, the more forgiving the surface can be with the new decking.

Will be interesting to see how your project proceeds.

Best of luck!

 

[Calmwater]

I agree. I bought a boat with teak decks and love them and am having them updated. But when they get beyond that and am told to replace them, I will put some kind of grip decks on the boat. Teak is easy to maintain in salt water, just get them wet and use a not too stiff brush to keep them clean. But so are nonskid decks.

Right. Just one comment - never use any brush, even not a soft one and definitely only across the teak grain. The better way is using a non abrasive white pad on a mop. It is quick and safe way.

There are ways to rehabilitate an existing old teak deck. These are involved with some work in removing popped out screws epoxy injection and plugging with a new bungs. Removing deteriorated caulking and recaulking, as long as the teak itself is not badly damaged or lifted. This can easily add at least 10-15 more years if properly done. I have seen 50 years old original teak decks in the NL that still look great.

and when the time comes to replace, I would definitely go with a quality synthetic teak-like decking - for many original boats, this is part of their core design and “personality”.