Hi Phil,
A familiar refrain, teak deck screwed to rotting balsa core, with rusted
tanks below decks. The fix you mention sounds painfully expensive. Now I've
never repaired a teak deck, but based on recent work I've done on a plywood
and epoxy deck, why couldn't a fellow do the following and save a bundle.
Rip up the teak with a spade, screw and glue down 1/2" plywood on top of the
old fibreglass, and then seal the whole shebang with a couple layers of glass
cloth and epoxy. Then you could fill the surface and fillet the edges with
epoxy and microballoons, sand it smooth and finish it by rolling on a two
part urethane paint with a non-slip grit like "Shark Grip" mixed in. Maybe
you could even leave the teak right where it is, if you could accept the
extra height and if the deck edge detail allowed you to glass up the bulwarks
and house to seal the edges.
Sealed like that, the deck ain't never going to leak. Then get below, and if
the tanks aren't rusted through, sand or bronze wool them. Then paint then
with Ospho to convert the rust, then a coat of red steel primer, then two
coats of coal tar epoxy at $15/gallon. After a couple of weeks the tar stink
will disappear, and that's the end of your problem.
I just about choke when I read $10,500 to fix the deck on a 30 footer.
Cripes, you could do it yourself in 2 or 3 weekends for maybe $500 in
materials. And it would look just as good too.
Paul Browne
Boatless but building in Tampa
Hi Phil,
A familiar refrain, teak deck screwed to rotting balsa core, with rusted
tanks below decks. The fix you mention sounds painfully expensive. Now I've
never repaired a teak deck, but based on recent work I've done on a plywood
and epoxy deck, why couldn't a fellow do the following and save a bundle.
Rip up the teak with a spade, screw and glue down 1/2" plywood on top of the
old fibreglass, and then seal the whole shebang with a couple layers of glass
cloth and epoxy. Then you could fill the surface and fillet the edges with
epoxy and microballoons, sand it smooth and finish it by rolling on a two
part urethane paint with a non-slip grit like "Shark Grip" mixed in. Maybe
you could even leave the teak right where it is, if you could accept the
extra height and if the deck edge detail allowed you to glass up the bulwarks
and house to seal the edges.
Sealed like that, the deck ain't never going to leak. Then get below, and if
the tanks aren't rusted through, sand or bronze wool them. Then paint then
with Ospho to convert the rust, then a coat of red steel primer, then two
coats of coal tar epoxy at $15/gallon. After a couple of weeks the tar stink
will disappear, and that's the end of your problem.
I just about choke when I read $10,500 to fix the deck on a 30 footer.
Cripes, you could do it yourself in 2 or 3 weekends for maybe $500 in
materials. And it would look just as good too.
Paul Browne
Boatless but building in Tampa
