Author Topic: Remove Teak Decks and Preserve Non-Skid (Read 11823 times)

tadej.mezek · « **on:** July 06 2019, 16:35 »

HI

Teak deck on my B44 (2002) is in bad condition. I acquired the boat in this condition and I think it can't be repaired. Many of the black stripes are teared off, several thin teak deck parts lifted ... and there arre numerous signs and cracks lateral and longitudinal (thin teak was glued on thin balsa core and both together to deck with a ). On some places it is seen there is a regular non slip deck down below - looks like new ... I tried on several cca 10mm holes which deteriorated to the point that nothing is below - I was scrubbing the black sealant with a finger and from what I see it looks like the deck shall be as new if one can remove the teak deck - (and polish it to remove the black coulking).
Anyone know in what condition is the top deck if teak is completely removed? (sanded etc?). Was anyone trying to remove the teak deck? I think relevant answers are from owners from same type of boat and year of manufacture

Apart from reinstalling few deck gear and few (cca 20 all together- 4mm holes (from factory teak deck installation process) is there anything else to be expected?

Symphony · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07 2019, 23:00 »

The teak faced deck is glued (vacuum bagged) onto the standard deck moulding which has the non slip pattern. However it is unlikely that you will be able to remove the decking and still have a usable non slip GRP deck. The glue used is intended to stay stuck so you will have to remove it mechanically which will inevitably result in some damage to the GRP surface. There are various ways of refinishing the deck. Perhaps the most common is making good the damage, filling and fairing to get an fair surface then applying a non slip coating, either a regular deck paint such as Interdeck or perhaps a more sophisticated coating such as KiwiGrip. Alternatively you could fit a new prefabricated teak deck, a plastic teak substitute (there are several brands) or a cork deck such as Marinedeck2000.

basta350 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 08 2019, 17:05 »

Symphony,
I also have a Bavaria 37, Exclusive model, 2001, with the original teak decks, which are nearing the end of their usable lifespan and I was wondering if you had had teak decks on your boat and had removed them... and if so can you give any insight and detail to that project, such as difficulties encountered, techniques used, time to completion, DIY or professional assistance? Thanks.

Symphony · « **Reply #3 on:** July 08 2019, 18:21 »

Fortunately my 37 (same age as yours) did not have teak decks, only teak in the cockpit. I bought it new and specifically avoided the teak deck as it was first used as a charter boat. It spent 9 years in Corfu and the teak in the cockpit lasted well except for the area aft where there is a slight dip and water lies. Some of the caulking needed replacing which was not too difficult.

However I think you have to accept that removing a worn out deck is a major task. As I said in the earlier reply the adhesive used is intended to stick permanently so even though the worn teak strips may come of relatively easily with a chisel, either manual or powered you will still have to grind off the residue of glue to get to clean GRP before you apply your new finish. This is a back breaking and labour intensive job. Done professionally and refinished in a non slip surface such as KiwiGrip you are probably looking at a bill up to 20-25% of the value of the boat, most of which will be labour. DIY of course is much more economic and relatively unskilled, except for filling and fairing before refinishing which requires patience.

Real dilemma. If you want to keep the boat long term then it might be worth biting the bullet and doing the job as you will get the long term benefit out of the cost/effort - as well as enhancing the value of the boat (or at least making it more attractive if you do sell). Alternatively, before it gets too bad, sell it and pass the future problem onto somebody else!

tadej.mezek · « **Reply #4 on:** July 10 2019, 22:59 »

Hi

Thanks for reply.
Well as far as i was looking and testing the fairing compound is blackish like sika which I think is possible to remove without any damage to the boat decks. But the job is tedious. I would use a polishing like device to do it, not grinder. I believe Acetone and similar organic compouns do soften this old material...so it is easier to remove it.
I am sure there is someone around who has already done this?

Inneither case I think one can try to do it - if the result is not satisfying you can then check for other options.

Best regards

basta350 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13 2019, 00:02 »

If you tackle this teak deck replacement could you post the process and result, thanks

tadej.mezek · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13 2019, 21:25 »

Hi

I am in a thinking process of what to do, so will most probably not start until late fall or early winter. Meanwhile, we are still searching for someone who did this already?? I am sure there must be someone who did this. But I believe the techniques by Bavaria was changing over the years, so I believe we must get an insight from someone with he boat year of 2002 or very close to …
Best regards and will keep update this post if I find any new information.

Yngmar · « **Reply #7 on:** July 14 2019, 09:06 »

Our boat is from 2001 and I've found the same - the teak deck is glued straight onto the square pattern GRP non-slip. I think it would be very difficult to remove all the caulking out of the pattern, even if you managed to pry off the teak without damaging the underlying gelcoat too much. There'd still be areas to repair first and the only thing we found to dissolve the caulking (unfortunately) was laundry detergent (Ariel, for whites), and that just turn it into a sticky mess.

Very interested in how it goes if you attempt this.

sailprincess · « **Reply #8 on:** August 12 2019, 16:46 »

Our 2002 Bav 40 has teak decks that are in really bad shape. We know the teak will have to come off eventually anyways and thinking it is pretty much at its end-of-life, as these veneered decks are so thin and don't last forever. I've attached several pics of the deck to show its state. You can very clearly see the non-skid texture underneath as the teak was laid after by Bavaria. My question is this.... can the teak be removed in a way that allows the non-skid texture underneath to be preserved? Does anyone know what adhesive material(s) were used to glue it down? We are thinking our worst-case scenario here is to sand the non-skid down and paint a kiwi-grip on top if it doesn't work out. Replacing the teak with new teak or fake teak is not within our budget. Any advice is welcomed!

IslandAlchemy · « **Reply #9 on:** August 12 2019, 17:18 »

I think it is unlikely that you will get it all off cleanly enough to leave them with just the non-skid gelcoat. I think you will have to re-cover them, probably with a fake teak product.

Symphony · « **Reply #10 on:** August 12 2019, 17:28 »

Agree. To do its original job the adhesive is intended to stick to the GRP and not come off. The adhesion to the GRP is stronger than it is to the wood so when you remove the wood the adhesive will stay stuck and need to be removed mechanically.

The options then are to recover with either new (better) teak, one of the teak substitutes as suggested or fill, fair and coat with a non slip product such as KiwiGrip. The last named is easily the most economic (important of a 20 year old boat) and much more practical.

sailprincess · « **Reply #11 on:** August 12 2019, 17:52 »

Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like a big job. Do you think salvaging the teak and lightly sanding and re-caulking it would be an option? We just aren't sure what to do here and don't have a huge budget!

Symphony · « **Reply #12 on:** August 12 2019, 22:23 »

First thing is to clean it with a teak cleaner - it will look so much better. Recaulking is possible although the seams are relatively shallow so not easy to fill neatly. Mask the edges, dig out the old caulking - there are tools for this although you may find a sharp knife to cut the edges and a narrow chisel effective for short runs. Apply caulk with masking tape on the edges. Remove the tape while the caulk is soft and you will get a clean edge. When cured a light sanding will help the new caulk blend in. Fortunately the wood decking is not structural and you won't get leaks through the deck and you could keep the deck looking passable for a few more years with regular patching.

sailprincess · « **Reply #13 on:** August 13 2019, 02:43 »

Thanks so much for that info! How many years do you think the teak will extend with the recaulking option?

KiwiBeanie · « **Reply #14 on:** August 13 2019, 09:55 »

my boat is same age as yours and deck similar if not worse. there were big grooves and uneven spots where the teak was worn so a full sanding was the only option

i removed the existing caulking using a fein multitool with hook attachment then sanded the grooves to remove remaining caulk. recaulked and then sanded the deck with a belt sander. result was good, not perfect but much better than it was. there is little teak left - one spot i went through to the ply backing, so definately the last time it can be sanded. but figure if that is the first time it was done in 20 years i may get another 5 out if it.

i also had leaks through the screw holes from the original fitting so was an opportunity to uncover those and fill with resin

it is a big job - probably took around 40 man hours but made a huge difference to the overall appearance and stopped the black smudges. just need to recaulk the cockpit now....

Symphony · « **Reply #15 on:** August 13 2019, 11:20 »

Quote from: sailprincess on August 13 2019, 02:43

Thanks so much for that info! How many years do you think the teak will extend with the recaulking option?

I think KiwiBeanie sums it up well. The additional life depends on how much thickness of teak is left after sanding. The teak is very variable in hardness and some areas may well wear quicker than others. The time given is a lot less than removal and refinishing as well as costing little in materials so the best option unless you intend keeping the boat for a very long time - that is enough to get the benefit of the more expensive solutions. BTW I forgot that Bavaria used temporary screws to hold the panels down while the adhesive cured unlike later boats where they used vacuum bagging with no temporary fastenings.

sailprincess · « **Reply #16 on:** August 16 2019, 16:40 »

Thanks for all of the feedback everyone. We are leaning towards removal but a bit worried about what we might find underneath... It's a crapshoot... *sigh*

sailprincess · « **Reply #17 on:** August 16 2019, 16:55 »

I am in the exact same dilemna! 2002 Bavaria 40 and the teak decks are pretty much end of life. We have the diamond, non-skid pattern underneath and would LOVE to salvage it. I just did a post here http://bavariayacht.org/forum/index.php/topic,2548.0.html as I didn't realize someone else was facing the same thing! We are in the process of deciding what to do. Worst-case being that it gets pulled off and then we have to deal with the deck underneath. I had no idea there were some screws through the deck though. Does anyone know where those are located?

@tadej.mezek have you decided what you are going to do yet? Luckily we are in Mexico and the labour here is really reasonable so we will likely hire a team to remove it, etc.

@Yngmar what will you do?

Borealis · « **Reply #18 on:** August 16 2019, 19:50 »

I have a 98 41 exclusive, and my teak deck is also lifting in several places. This is mainly between the teak and the plywood. I`m considering taking everything of. Is there any brushes that could be used on a drill?
There are som vinyl stripers that maybee could be used. Anyone have tried them?
I`m thinking like this one:https://www.amazon.com/Sticker-Pinstripe-Adhesive-Graphics-ArrowTeq/dp/B0755RFNS5

Yngmar · « **Reply #19 on:** August 17 2019, 09:16 »

I've merged these two threads about the same subject.

As for what I'll do, for now we're still mid season, so I'm scraping out the failing (gunky) caulking as and when it occurs, although I've ran out of solvents to clean up the sticky stuff tread around all over the boat and it's very annoying. Last few small supermarkets here in Greece didn't have the handy cleaning alcohol that was widely available all over Italy.

Ours doesn't seem to have plywood backing, it's teak directly glued on top of the non-skid. There may be just enough teak left to recaulk it all and sand it down for a few more years of delaying the inevitable, but it's a lot of work and I'm not keen on doing the job twice.

So I'd rather remove it all and apply something more practical instead. That probably means either non-skid paint or TBS sheets (I don't like the treadmaster pattern). Other alternatives are either too expensive or too offensive. Too expensive includes cork, which looks like a good solution if you're willing to spend a lot. Too offensive includes real teak or fake-stripey PVC decking, as I really don't see the point of it and the fake teak look and pointless caulking stripes offend me

The removing doesn't look that horrible, I'll probably go through a few oscillating multi-tools though and have to take breaks for my rubbish knees. Seen someone do it a few years ago on a similar sized boat. The major work will be in then preparing the deck underneath, i.e. cleaning, fixing holes, fairing and applying whatever product it will be afterwards. Needs some good weather window too!

I don't think the original non-skid pattern can be freed from the adhesives and it also looks like it was damaged in areas during the installation, or perhaps before and never fixed as the boat was going to be covered in teak anyways, so it didn't matter.

Although maybe you want to try our laundry detergent that seems to have the ability to dissolve caulking

sailprincess · « **Reply #20 on:** September 16 2019, 18:15 »

Hey all- I thought I'd post a pic as we have begun the project of having our teak deck removed. I must say, the non-skid looks really good underneath!! I am thinking we'll be able to salvage it... we shall see! I'll post updates as I have more progress.

Ziffius · « **Reply #21 on:** September 19 2019, 08:55 »

Seems we are all getting to that age, my 2006 Bav39 teak has had the caulking crumble to dust in patches here and there. Mostly on the port side which favours the sun when on its berth in Corfu. This month I found odd bits of caulking melting in various places. The teak itself isn’t too bad but the labour involved recaulking fills me with dread having done several patches already.
We also have been considering going back to bare decks as SWMBO isn’t keen on plastic teak decks.

@Sailprincess, Please keep us updated on your removal process and what you are finding as best methods/tools.

nightowle · « **Reply #22 on:** September 19 2019, 20:12 »

Ok, here's a question that is on the same topic. On my 1999 35E, there's teak decking on the cockpit seating. In a couple of areas, it is lifting. The worst being against the forward coaming where it curves toward the companionway area. I've tried three different adhesives and even used concrete blocks for weight, but it continues to lift. This is very hard to access. I certainly can't get under it to clean out whatever layers of adhesive are there. I'm tempted to use a couple of short stainless screws countersunk just so it grabs to the GRP below. I can probably cover the screws with teak bungs. Bad idea to use screws and just get this done with?

Borealis · « **Reply #23 on:** March 31 2020, 21:11 »

Hi I´m considering what to do with my deck after I removed the teak. Have any one tried this product from Gisatex: https://www.gisatex.de/teppiche-bodenbelage/anti-rutsch-anti-slip-belag/antislide-soft-walk-antirutschbelag-244.html

Other products I consider is treadmaster, TBS or just paint it with Kiwi- Grip. Any one have any experince to share after removing the old teak?
I will this weekend try to remove the old Sika in the non-skid pattern, but I consider it would not be a surface I will have in the future.

sailprincess · « **Reply #24 on:** March 31 2020, 21:43 »

I’ve attached photos of how ours turned out. We removed all teak and salvaged the non skid deck underneath. Crow bar to pry teak off, wire brushes and paint solvent to remove black sikaflex and then primer and paint on top. Happy with how it turned out!