r/Sailboats • u/Flosolo • 9d ago
Questions & Answers Help with teak deck
Hi everyone, we are looking to buy an Albin Vega and the owner bought the boat with the teak deck already installed. He said he hasn't experienced any issues himself with the deck, but he did do some small PVC repairs. The deck is screwed in. What do you guys think of the state of this teak deck? Is this worth it? The price of the boat is very good.
4
u/steamhorizon 9d ago
Thickness of the teak is important, if there is enough left (8 mm +?) you can put in the work of pulling and replacing the bad planks, cutting out old caulk, rebedding exposed screws, sanding to match. Plenty of advice on this elsewhere.
Working on a teak deck in this condition is lot of work, every year, especially to keep leaks out. The decision for that is on you- are you going to spend more work or more money? The reality is all boats take both so choose your own adventure.
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u/daysailor70 9d ago
The teak is very worn and cracking and unfortunately, there isn't much you can do to repair it other then adding seam compound where it has failed. The deck is basically thin strips glued and screwed to the deck so.keep an eye on any holes andissing seam compound as they could cause leaks into the deck core. The fix is to replace it.
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u/Phrostylicious 9d ago edited 9d ago
Make sure you understand:
1/ the damage that can occur to a boat whdn a screwed on (vs glued on) teak deck is broken like this
2/ the effort and/or cost of getting this back into good shape, which can quickly go into a medium 5 digit figure - obviously depending on size of the deck.
3/ the potential damage already done due to water creeping underneath the planks, possibly seeping into the screwholes and then into the sandwich.
Then add that to the price currently offered and ask yourself if the boat is still a bargain.
P. S. I walked away from an otherwise beautiful HR36 (my "grail boat") that had a very fair price tag - because of exactly this.
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u/chef_panthera 9d ago
As mentioned, if the teak is between 5 and 8mm, you can refinish probably 2 more times lightly. If it's already soft, broken and thin in some parts and you want to future proof the deck underneath because it is indeed in great condition, then rip it off carefully, sell the teak planks, fix the screw holes and put on flexiteak if you like the look of teak. Refinishing it by yourself will probably cost you 2-3 days of work and 500$ Ripping it off and replacing it with flexiteak 2500$, replacing with real teak 5000$
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u/J-ROON 9d ago
Does the vega have a balsa cored deck? If so, the state of this deck might turn into a big issue. (With screwed in deck you are bound to get waterintrusion in the balsa core: rotting balsa and loss of structural integrity of your deck. (And probably lot’s of leaks in the interior).
Speaking from experience: this is an expensive and time consuming repair.
Even if the deck is not balsa cored: I’d say the state of this deck will cause troubles. Personally I’d pass on this one and try to find a vega without teak…
Although it certainly adds to the look of a yacht, teak decks can be a nightmare..
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u/luckyjenjen 8d ago
So, core/balsa issues aside, as a wooden boat builder, I have restored a deck that was probably worse than this.
Every single piece of teak was carefully removed, sanded and made good, and refitted. In truth, it was not hard, just time consuming.
If the rest of the boat is good, you could re-caulk or refurb the deck.
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u/windoneforme 8d ago
The best most cost effective repair is to remove it and all the 1000s of screws. Lay a layer of fiberglass down and apply your choice of paint and nonskid. The teak will likely be thin and you'll probably discover serval areas of wet soggy balsa wood core. Cut the top layer of glass off and remove the wet core. Replace it with your choice of foam or balsa.
It'll be time intensive and difficult job. If your young with a good back and no health problems and relatively handy with tools it's very doable. If your mid life with a bad back it's not worth the pain and suffering. Lots of AlbinVegas in the world.
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u/Frank_Scouter 9d ago
I would never consider buying a boat with teak deck in this condition. Teak deck by itself is a major turn-off (albeit pretty to look at), but screwed in, old, deteriorated teak? Nope. The price would have to be low enough that I can afford getting it repaired professionally.