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Seayanika Gets a Teak Deck Spring is in the air! The birds are busy building their nests, flowers are blooming, and as I look out the kitchen window I see that Erik is standing frozen in place again, deep in thought. He looks kind of like Rodin’s answer to a deck ornament. I’m getting used to this pose; he's been striking it a lot since we decided to install teak decks on our custom 49-ft sailboat, Seayanika. We talked this decision over at length, weighing all the pros and cons. My conclusion was that it wasn’t practical, since we would mostly be traveling in the tropics and teak decks would be hotter, heavier and more labor intensive than non-skid decks. Erik had a slightly less pragmatic take, “Gee, think how great it would look!” Needless to say, Erik prevailed in this discussion, and ever since that fateful day he has been working out this jigsaw puzzle of decking and king planks, often stopping in mid-sentence, or mid-stride, on the forward deck. Within 24 hours of deciding Seayanika’s fate, he was off to Frost Hardwoods to purchase $800 worth of teak 2X6s to begin the milling process. A major 'con' of teak decking is the manner in which it's attached. The thousands of little screws make thousands of little screw holes which wait fervently for the day they can blossom into full-fledged deck leaks. To thwart these little devils, Erik decided to attach the deck with West System epoxy mixed with 406 filler. Erik milled the teak planks into random lengths 1 inch by 5/16 inch. He then dry fitted the pieces to the deck using approximately 1,500 devil screws and washers he made out of starboard. Once he was satisfied with the fit and appearance, he labeled each teak piece and removed the screws and washers. He then applied the thickened epoxy to the deck and reattached the teak with the above mentioned 1,500 screws and washers. When the epoxy went off, these self-same 1,500 screws and washers were removed again, and their screw holes reamed, filled with epoxy and covered with home-bored teak plugs. (If anyone is counting that’s a total of 6,000 times screws went either in or out of the deck. Thank the gods of power tools for the electric screw driver!) The result, however, is a teak deck that has the appearance of a traditionally installed one, without the leaking complication. We hope.
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Erik Vader puts the finishing touches on 'Seayanika's new teak deck. If it sounds too easy, well, we’re not finished yet. Next came the tenacious black goo, also known as 3M Teak Seam Sealant, which fills in the spaces between the teak decking. If ever there was a messiest, ugliest job in boat construction, this is certainly it. First, each and every teak deck piece was taped with blue painter’s tape. Then teeny-tiny-skinny clear tape, also unimaginatively known as fine line tape, was inserted between each deck piece. The purpose of this tape, so it seems, is to keep the seam sealant from adhering to the deck. (Uh, isn’t it supposed to stay stuck?) Finally, the tenacious black goo was pumped into all the seams, and a few other accidental places. Two weeks later, patches of it still reside on Erik’s arm and the dog’s tail. I’m hoping we don’t have to resort to amputation. As soon as the black goo was in, Erik removed the blue painter’s tape. Then he was able to return to his favorite, never-ending task, sanding with 80 grit sandpaper. My job, since I refused to work anywhere near the horrid black goo, was to sashay around the finished decks barefoot to see if they passed muster. So there you have it -- Installing Teak Decks 101. I have to admit, the results are beautiful. Seayanika is becoming boat-show worthy, and I’m glad Erik outvoted my frugal, purist attitude. He was right, once again. However, I have two suggestions if you, too, are contemplating the self-installation of teak decks. First, purchase a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle and see how you fare putting it together. And second, keep in mind that all technical aspects of this 'how-to' article were provided by a blonde. |
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