Teak Therapy [For the complete article, download Teak Therapy.pdf] A guide to cleaning, sanding, refastening and recaulking teak decking By Susan Canfield [Introduction] In philosophical terms, teak decking is the yin and yang of nonskid. On the one hand, it provides exceptional traction and aesthetics, on the other it's more expensive and requires more maintenance than any other nonskid. Many boatbuilders still hand-lay teak decks, fitting, bedding and screwing planks down one at a time. "What's so bad about that?" you ask. "The craftsmanship is awesome." True. So is the sheer quantity of screws used to fasten the wood, most of which typically extend through the upper skin of the fiberglass deck laminate and into the core. Can you guess how many screws hold down the teak overlay on my Tayana 37 cutter? Would you believe 1,300? That's 1,300 potential paths for water to leak into the core and ultimately the boat's interior. In the process, the typical end grain balsa or plywood core will rot and the deck molding will eventually delaminate. As a marine surveyor, I often find evidence of deck molding delamination— and boats with teak overlays are the most common victims. Is it any wonder teak decked boats have earned the sobriquet "Leaky Teakies"? Photo Captions: 01 Boat Cover – A major refastening or recaulking project always takes longer than expected and is, therefore, best accomplished indoors or under a weatherproof cover like this one. 02 Deck Marks - Before refastening and recaulking your boat's teak overlay, assess the condition of the underlying fiberglass deck molding. Percussion soundings and moisture meter readings taken by an experienced marine surveyor will help you decide how best to proceed. If there were evidence of extensive deck core delamination, it would be best to remove the teak overlay and re-core the deck molding. The author marked moisture meter (Protimeter Aquant 2) readings on blue masking tape strips. Percussion sounding and analysis of moisture meter readings found only localized water intrusion at deck fittings, with no significant delamination. 03 Interior Overhead – When scoping a teak decking renovation project, consider what will be required if deck hardware is to be removed. Here, fixed interior headliners have been removed to access thru-bolted deck fittings. 04 Fein Tool – Caulking in areas not readily reached with a laminate trimmer can be removed manually using a hooked scraper, made by heating and bending a screwdriver or rat-tail file. Alternately, the variable-speed Fein tool with teak knife blade will do the same job more quickly with far less physical effort. 05 Router Guide – Use a laminate trimmer (a small special purpose router) with straight bit to remove the old caulk in curved deck seams. A flexible wood batten can be tacked in an adjacent seam and used as a guide for the laminate trimmer. 06 Freehand – Save tricky freehand work along the king plank until last, when you've developed some expertise with the laminate trimmer. 07 Sanding – In the hands of a skilled operator, an eight-inch disc sander with 80- grit paper can quickly smooth heavily eroded teak decking. Less experienced operators should stick with a random orbital sander and 80 or120-grit paper. It'll take longer, but you're far less likely to scar your deck in the process. If you've removed the old caulking before you sand, be sure to save your sawdust. It makes an excellent thickener for use with epoxy when filling gaps or gouges in your boat's teak trim. 08 Taping – Before caulking, protect your teak deck with masking tape. While this is a time consuming task, it will mean little or no sanding later. Don't let the tape lap into the seams or you'll have trouble pulling it free after the caulk has cured. 09 Can Opener – BoatLife's two-part caulk can be mixed in the original quart or gallon can. Mix in the catalyst, then tightly seal and invert the can. Use a disc sander (or grinder) to cut the rolled bead at the bottom of the can. 10 Caulk Tubes – A gallon of BoatLife's two-part pourable Life-Caulk will fill nine caulking cartridges. All nine cartridges will fit vertically in a single 5-quart plastic bucket for filling. The Life-Caulk container, after bottom removal, can be readily bent to form a pour spout. Cut a length of wire hanger to pierce any air bubbles that my form when filling the tubes. 11 Pre-assembled – Modern pre-assembled teak decking is installed using high- strength adhesives. Screws are used around decking edges, but only until the adhesive cures. The fasteners are then removed and their holes filled and plugged. The result is a teak overlay with no greater propensity for deck leaks than a fiberglass deck molding with molded non-skid.