I think the real concern should be whether or not there is plywood in the decks. The early trawlers had glassed-over plywood on the main deck, the boat deck, and the bridge. When teak is screwed into the plywood and, for whatever reason, water gets into the plywood, the plywood rots and you have a *big* problem and a *big* expense. However, the better quality trawlers quit doing that some time back. Around 1982 the DeFever 49 built at the CTF yard went to solid fiberglass decks. The teak overlay is screwed into solid fiberglass, there is no plywood to rot. The Krogen 42 eliminated plywood decks around 1986. Some of the cheaper trawlers may still be putting plywood in their decks, I don't know. If--a big if--you don't have plywood in your decks, I highly recommend teak decks. They are easy on the feet, much less slippery than fiberglass, look great, and are easy to take care of as long as you don't put oil or other finishes on them. Ron Jones m/v Bilbo Baggins DeFever 49 PH St. Pete, Fla. <<I'm one of the newbie's here. I just came across the "list" and have found the topics of conversation to be just great....>> <<I don't have a boat, but I'm one of those guys who has been looking for the "trawler of my dreams" for the past two years. A decent and dry MT 34 DC or SE, or an early Willard 30 Voyager, etc would fill the dream. Good ones are very hard to find via the normal route and if they are there, they seem to be in CA, OR or WA and not here on the East Coast, BUT with this thought in mind, a question.>> <<As I walk the marinas in MD from Harve de Grace to the Solomons and across the Bay Bridge and discuss the available trawlers with either the owners or the brokers, one of the topics of conversation which surfaces is "teak decks" and the saying, "buyer be careful".>> <<>From what I understand when the vessel was first purchased there were of course many options. One of those was whether to include the teak decks. Many new owners opted to include that option at the time of purchase.>> <<The teak is laid on top of the fiberglass deck, correct? The deck was at that point in time sound and solid. What causes the deck, with time, to eventually start to leak? I'm sure it doesn't happen in all cases, but I've heard the comment so many times I'm becoming deck-shy when I see a teak deck. Is it stress? If so, would the stress problem not have developed if the teak had not been involved?>>