Removing teak deck

Hello again everybody! Well my father and I are getting started on fixing up his 36C together. She's in pretty bad shape after having been neglected for the past 5 years now and starting to sink a bit. We've managed to get all the through hulls closed and now every time we come to the boat the bilge is bone dry so apparently one of the hoses/clamps etc was the source of the leak that we'll track down later. In addition to all the work on the cabin sole, engine, interior, exterior etc one of the big projects we're planning on is removing the teak deck. Probably a project we'll start next spring at this point but just getting some ideas now.

On our 36C the floor and seating area of the cockpit is all teak as well as the bow area. After 5 years of sitting there well over half the planks are split, lifting up, warping etc and all the black sealant between the planks is cracked, pulled out or missing altogether. So, since money is going to be tight fixing the boat up it seams the cheapest route will be to remove the teak completely instead of replacing it.

Question is, has anybody done this before? and how to deal with the billion screw holes that will be left behind? Any tips/tricks/suggestions etc? Also if anybody has any before/after pictures that they've taken so I know we won't be totally screwing this up.

Great to hear that you are fixing her up. If I were to ever go up a few feet, it would be to a C36. I assume that the teak decks are over a standard fiberglass deck. With that in mind, check out this article from EpoxyWorks. EpoxyWorks is a really neat online publication from West System. A lot of good stories and information on a wide range of techniques, repairs and fabrication with epoxy:

http://www.epoxyworks.com/20/Teak_deck.html

Wow thanks for the fast response and great site. Read that whole article and about 5 others so far lots of great stuff there thank you.

Hi Mick,

There are several good epoxies out there, but I pretty much do everything with West System, and this is one of the reasons. The knowledge base and associated information is incredible. Hope you didn't have anything else planned for the weekend - I think I was lost for days when I first found out about EpoxyWorks Magazine

Replacing the teak

Several articles exist on this project. I found one with a quick search.
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/buying-boat-articles/19501-techniques-removing-teak-decks.html

Hope this gives some information and perspective on the project.
FWIW, IF (!) we were moving up to a boat (sailboat or trawler) with old screwed-down teak decks, we *would* replace with Treadmaster or with sand non-skid LPU paint.

Considering the weight of the teak, whatever you do you will end up with less deck weight and effectively increase (well, slightly) your ballast to displ. ratio...

Good luck,
Loren

ps: Mick, if you end up with a pile of misc teak lengths to get rid of, I will pay shipping to get them up to me in Portland. I can scarf the lengths together and plane them down for thin strips for a future hull ceiling project for our boat.

Thanks that Treadmaster stuff looks good not sure what dad will want to do to refinish the decks but I'm making lists of options for him to mull over. I'll keep you in mind for the teak. I'm off all week and we're going to be getting started on getting the engine tuned up and started again and then getting started on cleaning/sanding/refinishing the cabin sole after the water level got 3-4" above the sole. May come up with some interior projects for the teak during that but if not you probably have the dibs on it.

My dad goes up to Victoria, WA most every year to go sailing on his friend's 36C for a few weeks. Depending on when we get around to doing the deck I may be able to talk him into throwing it in the truck when he goes up there and making a small stop for you to unload it but we'll see... probably not getting to the deck till at least late spring at this point.