Lots of rain in California this winter. I have very few leaks compared
to most, but I'm continually fixing little deck leaks.

I have come to the realization that I should remove the teak decks on my
fiberglass trawler. Good solid molded fiberglass decks underneath the
teak.

The teak is good shape, but I do not want to chase all the little leaks
for the rest of my life.

Anyone remove these things?

I've only seen one removal. They took a big scraper and scraped and
pried it off. I'm thinking of removing the 2000+ screws, one at a time.

Anyone removed their teak decks?

Jim

"Jim" wrote in message
nk.net...
Lots of rain in California this winter. I have very few leaks compared
to most, but I'm continually fixing little deck leaks.

I have come to the realization that I should remove the teak decks on my
fiberglass trawler. Good solid molded fiberglass decks underneath the
teak.

The teak is good shape, but I do not want to chase all the little leaks
for the rest of my life.

Anyone remove these things?

I've only seen one removal. They took a big scraper and scraped and
pried it off. I'm thinking of removing the 2000+ screws, one at a time.

Anyone removed their teak decks?

Jim

Have you considered glueing a new teak deck (3/16" thick strips) on top of
the old one ?

...Ken

.....Ken wrote:

Have you considered glueing a new teak deck (3/16" thick strips) on top of
the old one ?


My decks are in pretty good shape. The teak is plenty thick and there
are no problems, except for the 2000+ screw holes in the deck.

Over the years some screws have worked loose. When the deck is flooded
some water finds its way below the wood and into the screw holes.

I have fiberglass decks with a plywood core, typical construction.
Fortunately the wood core is all teak, so rot may not be a problem.

The water soaks the wood and washes out the glue, then eventually finds
it's way through the inside layer of glass and leaks coffee colored
water. Cold wood tea.

I've been draining these voids, finding the wet screw and injecting
epoxy into the screw hole, then redrilling and putting the old screw
back. Every screw in the deck is 7/8, so no long ones have been added.

I figure that I'm in for a lifetime of fixing little leaks unless those
2000+ screws go away.

When it stops raining maybe I'll change my mind.

I too have been removing the screws and injecting West System. But I
do not re-drill since I believe this can expose the wood again. Once
the holes stop soaking in the epoxy I re-screw them before it sets up.
Careful taping and clean up are important to not turning this into a
disaster. But it does allow me to do as much as I want at a time. So
far all the leaks have stopped and no new ones have appeared.
Eventually the entire area will be done. BTW, this is only the cockpit
area. The rest of the decks are fiberglass. Another method would be to
epoxy the teak to the deck with screws and fender washer ON TOP of the
teak. Then fill the holes after the epoxy has set and the screws are
removed permanently.

Jim,
I am working with teak decks, but this is not by any means to promote my
business, just give some ideas to solve your problem.

Teak decks typically leak from two reasons, 1. teak plugs/ screw holes or 2.
caulk between teak failed.

If you hose your deck and look when it is drying you can see problem spots
as they will remain wet way longer than surrounding areas, example if teak
next to seam stays wet longer than other areas, seam failed and water gets
in. If plugs over screws are loose they usually have black mildew ring
around.
Now you say subdeck is plywood, and I am sorry to inform you that it will
rot, for sure over the time. I have never seen teak plywood with all teak
wood plyes in it and even it would be all teak ply, it will delaminate over
the time if it stays wet. So whatever you do it is best to do sooner than
later.

If you know that your problem is caused by screws/plugs and your deck is
otherwise in good shape, you should not need to remove teak, but simply
remove all teak plugs ( best tool for this is cutter by
www.hougen.com/cutters/sheetmetal/Rotacut.html ) and countersink holes
little deeper, replace all screws and dip new screw to teak deck caulk to
seal hole around screw and re-plug every screw hole. If plug is properly
glued in with epoxy water will not get in and the leak is eliminated for
many years.

If your seams are bad you have much more work to save your deck because bad
seams need to come out and teak edges have to be cleaned to bare teak and
then re-caulked. Re-caulking is very difficult to do and makes sence only if
you really have lot of teak left.

Good luck for your project

Best Regards,

J.T.

www.TeakDeckCompany.com
Custom Teak Decks and Ready to install Teak Deck Panels for Boat Owners,
Builders and Professional Installers



"Jim" wrote in message
nk.net...


....Ken wrote:

Have you considered glueing a new teak deck (3/16" thick strips) on top
of
the old one ?


My decks are in pretty good shape. The teak is plenty thick and there are
no problems, except for the 2000+ screw holes in the deck.

Over the years some screws have worked loose. When the deck is flooded
some water finds its way below the wood and into the screw holes.

I have fiberglass decks with a plywood core, typical construction.
Fortunately the wood core is all teak, so rot may not be a problem.

The water soaks the wood and washes out the glue, then eventually finds
it's way through the inside layer of glass and leaks coffee colored water.
Cold wood tea.

I've been draining these voids, finding the wet screw and injecting epoxy
into the screw hole, then redrilling and putting the old screw back.
Every screw in the deck is 7/8, so no long ones have been added.

I figure that I'm in for a lifetime of fixing little leaks unless those
2000+ screws go away.

When it stops raining maybe I'll change my mind.

J.T. Tuomela wrote:
Snip........


My decks dry evenly, no wet plugs.

This has been exactly the winter I wanted. Heavy rain then a period of
dry to fix leaks, then more heavy rain. All leaks fixed, and then a
long period of very heavy rain. No leaks anywhere. Finally.

But I will still be removing the teak decks.

I don't see why but...

run skillsaw across teak strips about 2" apart and chisell off teak pieces.
For big decks you can use air tool from Home Depot to chisel teak from
subdeck. Teak will pop out pretty easy.
Then just find out to re-finish your deck with paint/gelcoat.

Best Regards,

J.T.

www.TeakDeckCompany.com
Custom Teak Decks and Ready to install Teak Deck Panels for Boat Owners,
Builders and Professional Installers



"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...


J.T. Tuomela wrote:
Snip........


My decks dry evenly, no wet plugs.

This has been exactly the winter I wanted. Heavy rain then a period of
dry to fix leaks, then more heavy rain. All leaks fixed, and then a long
period of very heavy rain. No leaks anywhere. Finally.

But I will still be removing the teak decks.

J.T. Tuomela wrote:
I don't see why but...

Why is because I don't want to spend the rest of my life finding leaks.

I don't mind the varnish, but I hate to sleep in a wet bunk.