Tom Cunliffe discusses teak decks
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- Опубліковано 12 лип 2019
- Tom Cunliffe talks about his experiences with teak decks on modern and traditional yachts
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copyright Tom Cunliffe 2019
Great video....listening to Tom talk is like bumping into a knowledgeable sea salt at the pub or marina and just absorbing everything he says....what a splendid fellow.
I've yet to find one of Tom's videos that I haven't enjoyed. He is such a great story teller.
I am with you in that one
He could read the side of a packet of cornflakes and I'd be hypnotised.
"It'll see me out." Another fine turn of phrase.
Just hearing you talk about yachts and the sea is a delight Tom. Thanks!
Steve Cass you are so right.
Thanks Guys. Really good to know our little efforts are appreciated.
Thanks Guys. Really good to know our little efforts are appreciated.
Pepper Rudder. Pepper Rubber? Sergeant Pepper - great name! We love your yarns Tom - keep up the great work. Many thanks.
It's Pepper Rhodda and a fine broker he is. Did the right thing by his client and was honest with his buyer. Loads of fun too.
Eight or nine years with Constance! Wow - how time flies when you're having fun.
Too right mate!
Could sit and listen to this lovely man for years likely....
More sage advice from a man that has lived it Thank you
Always a pleasure to watch but especially to listen to your videos Tom.😀👍⛵️
Thanks Tom, a great yarn and good solid advice as usual
That indeed is one lovely looking teak deck Tom. Cheers!
Looks great. Well said Tom
Fantastic, thanks Tom. We were thinking that for our next boat we would look for one with a teak deck, now thanks to you we have a lot more info about what to watch out for!
Lovely boat and a wonderful teak deck you got there :)
Fantastic!
Convincing advice..thanks for the lesson Tom.
Tom is great. I can listen to his advice for hours.Thanks Tom, brilliant channel.
Agree entirety. I love my teak deck.
Thanks for the solid advice! I really enjoy your videos
Tom, thank you for the story. Thank you for the tale telling style.
Thanks Tom nice video, I certainly love my teak laid cockpit 😃
Hi Tom you exude enthusiasm that's infectious, brilliant, it always cheers me up watching you.
Completely agree with you Tom. A properly laid teak deck is a thing of beauty.
You've given me pause for thought on what to do deck-wise on my next boat! ;)
What a brilliant not to mention wonderfully informative clip. THANK YOU Tom 😊
Great advice, Great video and beautiful boat! Thanks for taking the time to make this video!
That deck still looks new. I agree that teak looks great on a boat
Excellent vid thank you
It reminds me that I still have a teak plug at home, a souvenir of s ship I sailed upon. Steel decks but inlaid with teak. Such a delight to go bronzing on or walk upon, especially in the sun in your nice white shoes. The plug I've got is still over one inch thick with the ship then 25 yrs old. ! built by Swan Hunters. They don't make them like that now, it never needed renewal.
Many Cruise ships today have a "passenger convincing" poured resin simulated wood deck. At least red wine and vomit doesn't stain....
....or sun tan oil, I expect. Still, better stained than simulated. A one-inch plug eh? Those were indeed the days.
Great story Tom.
Thank you for sharing. Baltic looking good again.
You should see the Baltic today mate. Horizontal rain like stair rods. Seagulls flying backwards, but I've just been to the System Bolaget (state-sponsored liquor store) to top up. The sun-downers were getting a bit thin, but it'll be Whisky Macs tonight. Cheers!
Thank you mate⚓️
Ahhh I just love listening to you - and all the more because my Swan 38 just got her new teak decks about 18mths ago and I’ve been puzzling how to best take care of them and clean them. (My kids know ‘not on the teak’!!!! - strawberries, red wine, vomit, tomato sauce.. all BANNED) I think when Swan in Finland relaid these decks there are very very few bungs.. it’s a work of art! As always, you’re an incredible source of knowledge. Thank you.
Great vid, after 9 yrs your teak still looks great.
Nice talk about Teak Decks,,, Tom ,,, I'm still smiling :-)
Life is short and unpromised. Get the Teak.
You've got the best video operator!
Lucky me . And lucky you , from what you've been through. Thanks Tom. From California..
Don't I know it mate. Cheers Tom
Great story, great talk, beautiful boat and very sensible what you're saying. Thanks a lot for sharing. I bet this Welsh teak-guy becomes busy when people start contacting him after this video, which is really good promotion for him.
Great video
This has made me reconsider buying a Swedish yacht with a teak deck from 1981 that I was/am interested in I have yet to go and see it but my eyes will be more open when I do!
YES!
Love teak decks
"a bit out of pocket".... that's the understatement of the century 🤣 but it looks beautiful though
Good on you, we glued down teak decks in 1980 on the boats I was building in RSA. Made good sense to me then, and now, we actually routed grooves for the caulking so no gaps in the teak. Worked a charm! Cheers Warren
Thanks Warren. More than one way to skin the cat.
When I was in the navy, I was stationed on the Uss Fulton AS 11. she was a sub tender moored in Groton CT and had beautiful teak decks which were probably 2 inches or more thick. Once a week these decks were cleaned not with a brush but with a holy stone. those decks were beautiful.
Hi Ken. Last time I was in Groton, it was back in the early 1980s and I went to the large drive-in cinema there. Great fun. The Royal Navy also used holy stones and I mention this in my video about Bembridge that I did a while ago. Tom
Great storytelling! Recognized the name, so checked my books… easy on the helm :)
A great yarn from a born storyteller.
Hi Tom
I built My Cape George 36 cutter 42 years ago. Never been in a storage shed for her entire life. I built the deck system from Port Orford Cedar strakes over laminated deck beams, followed by 10oz cloth in epoxy. On top of that the 1/4" teak strakes were bonded down with no fasteners. I last saw her at age 40 and the decks were still perfect.
That's something Richard. Bet her owner now is happy that you took so much care. Tom
What is the cape george’s name now?
An old wooden fishing vessel I worked on in the eighties had those wooden decks that you had to calk and use a coating on to seal, that was the reason I passed on buying it when the owner offered to sell it to me. Good information in your video, thanks.
Sounds like a good decision Jerry!
There are now a number of companies that are making prefabricated teak decks. Patterns are made and sent to the factory where they cnc cut the teak and bond it all together in large panels that are then epoxied down. No screws. Much cheaper and dramatically faster than laying one plank at a time. Great info about the scrub brushing. Thanks.
Hi Ross. Thanks for pointing this out. I looked into this before making my decision. On balance, laying the deck on site, as it were, seemed a more attractive option. In light of the quote I finally received, I had no reason to doubt my decision. However, this is now a legitimate answer to the problem that folks would be sensible to consider.
@@TomCunliffeYachtsandYarns ....What was your cost ??
@@Rick-tb4so There is a very simple and accurate formula for boats up to about 35 ft: Cost of boat x 2.783= replacement.
@@Rick-tb4so Sorry, that was kind of irreverent. Practically speaking, for a 35' boat, you would want to set aside around $38k for a visiting shipwright or perhaps around $75-80k if you put her in the yard. Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I'm just reporting what other jobs have cost.
Hi Tom.
Budding sailor here, have just purchased my 1st boat, a small Invader 22. I know she's nothing special but she will do whilst I learn the ropes.
Anyway, I love watching your videos! They are so Informative and you explain things very well, thanks very much for making them 😀
Don't put it down mate, an Invader 22 is a thousand times better than my £40 Intex dinghy.
Fantastic look for 9 yrs of use. 🤠
I love teak decks so much, my porch has one, which I did myself.
Well done Harold. That sounds fantastic. Tom
Really enjoyable, Tom!! We just had the same discussion after crawling all over a gorgeous F&C 44 that was listed around $50,000USD below market.... it's too beautiful not to replace.... but that invoice is going to leave a mark on the wallet!!
Thanks Capt. Q. The replacement value is just something you have to factor in. I was lucky to find a good guy at a reasonable price. Tom
Hi Tom. One VERY important point you haven‘t mentioned. A „shot“ teak deck will have had multiple leaks in way of the screw holes. The real problem is not the replacement of the teak, but the repair of the deck. My Rustler didn‘t have a teak deck, but every deck fitting had leaked and I had wet core. It took a year of drying out, using tents and heaters, and then repainting and replacing all the fittings. With an old teak deck the only solution might be the removal of the top skin, replacement of the core, and rebuilding. I agree that nothing beats a teak deck for beauty and grip, but after my experience I‘d never consider an old teak deck. Like your „fireside chat“ style of videos. 😉
Good point there, worth watching for. From what Tom was saying I think he was referring to a deck that was not that bad, at pre-leak status if you will 😄
Personally id replace any wet core and replace the core with epoxy in the way of any fittings then kiwigrip the lot. Only thing that still has grip in frosty conditions, and as a sailmaker slipping around bosts in the winter... ive tried them all. Its cheap and highly effective. It also makes the finish work easier after core work.
@@philippadowney549 I used Kiwigrip, great product.
Well Said! Remember:
Beyond All Things Is The Sea
Seneca
make my eyes bleed!! love it Tom
Thanks for this Tom. I have a 1967 broom cruiser with an original teak deck. I love it but, well you said it your self. I would love to restore it and am considering what to do. it would be a shame to replace it with plastic.
Yes Tom I agree, teak is wonderful. I’m in the throws of renovating my teak deck on one of the Swedish boat, Najad. She’s from ‘81 and still has 10mm thick ness on the teak believe it or nor after 38 years!. So it’s out with all the screws, then thickened epoxy down the holes then a bung on top. Taking out all the caulking, deepening the grooves then back in with caulking. Done all this on the aft deck of my 343a couple of years back and now just the rest to do.
After that it’ll out last me!
Warren s/y Legend
Another trick for thin teak decks is to make teak trunnels or tree nails. Make them conical in shape, drill a slightly oversized hole, squeeze in epoxy, coat the trunnell with epoxy and tap it in with the grain. Put a towel over the repair with a cinder block on top. Chisel off and sand flush the trunnell and you're done. In One-Shot you have drilled away any rot surrounding an old screw, sealed it with epoxy and pulled down the teak plank. A good solution with both a mechanical and chemical bond, with one less screw to go bad.
1978 Baba by the name of Guru's Grace. She has the original teak deck on her, screws and all. Wss thinking about a cork deck replacement. Love the video and thank you.
I’m glad that the broker redeemed himself accordingly by advising you to make an offer low enough to cover the deck job, but still feel he mislead you. Lovely deck now, and I completely agree with you, there’s nothing nicer than good teak under foot. Not a great idea here on the Chesapeake though because lack of salt here would result in frequent chemical cleanings being required.
I have to have a Teak deck. Period. Bonded too. No screws please in this day and age.
Having a boat is always being a bit outta pocket! :-) Thanks Tom
You can say that again John! Boats keep most of us in the poor house, but there's more to life than money mouldering in the bank.Who owns these 'luxury yachts' the press go on about anyway?!
Interesting story...thank you
I helped to recaulk the deck on an Oyster 56 this winter, that boat is almost 14 year old, still original teak deck.
My guess is that the original teak was between 30-45mm thick.
It was still thick enough to cut the 6mm groove for the "black stuff (insert brand you use)".
Lovely video! I am new to boating... Will fish blood stain a teak deck? Is teak harder to clean after a day of fishing? What are the issues with teak and fishing?
We are looking at some center consoles for entertaining on weekends and occasionally doing offshore fishing. No hardcore fishing though. I love the look of the teak deck but all the center consoles setup for fishing have fiberglass flooring.
All wise words ,, but there still is something glorious about a nice teak deck.
There is Tom. I love 'em. Tom
👌Sweeeeet 👍
...didn’t he have a band called “Lonely Hearts Club”...?😁
Hi I’m a Ship Wright from New Zealand refreshing to hear my thoughts repeated by you, I have cut lots of plugs but not for teak decks .Teak veneer with fixings never under stood this,a recipe for water ingress , it’s only a matter of time and there is nothing nicer than a wooden deck ...some use celery pine but teak is the king , you must get the surface oil off before bonding .
Thanks for that. Good to hear from down under and especially about the woods you guys work with. Celery pine eh? Sounds like just the business, but I'm glad you like teak best. I've had pine on a number of boats. It works ok., but you can't beat teak.
I think i'm yet to hear a more enthusiastic sailor.. Great to hear a bit of real passion about boats and sailing.
Hi Tom. Very informative video. But how do you keep Constance's toe rails so coloured. Varnish?
Cool Teak artificial and has heat reflection technology. Will allways be cool to the touch.
And easier on the eye than the glare of heat-reflecting white.
Love this Tom. Look forward to showing you Growler when you are back. Making good progress.
Oh, I was wondering how you were doing. Great to hear your are making progress!
That's good news about Growler. Might show up again in October to say 'hi'.
I have tread master decks on Amicula. Thirty years on the bonding is firm despite blistering summers and - 12C winters.
Good to hear Nigel. It confirms my point that a lot of switched-on people really don't want teak for sensible reasons.
Tom loved this and will be buying a "Swedish" boat. Debated teak vs another material. I don't mind taking things so trying to convince the wife that teak will be a labor of love.
Pictures speak louder than words. Always get pictures and video.
In fact i always have taken pictures when looking at boats to look at it again in the cold light of day. You spot things later.
relying on opinions is only for those you trust.
I subscribed
Thanks! Tom
Just lovely You are a very gifted story teller. Thanks a lot. - Oh, and where is this? The landscape is beautiful.
Stockholm archipelago.
if it isnt Stockholm, its somewhere down the east coast.
Hello Tom, thanks for another great video, is you boat a tradewind 35 ?
She's a Mason 44.
Hi Tom, do you also recommend teak deck for Med only boats?
Love your videos did u sail your boat straight back from america
No Sara. I've made the passage often enough to know that you must be sure of your boat. Constance was an unknown quantity and I had reasons to doubt the security of the rig. Also, it was hurricane season,, so we shipped her back and pulled the mast as soon as she arrived in UK. We were right - there were problems. All sorted straightaway and we now have a boat we could go anywhere in.
❤
Thanks, Tom. I share your love of teak. I spent a few weeks of my school summer holidays in the mid 1960s on a 1936 Camper & Nicholson built 78' motor yacht. This one:
www.astillerosdemallorca.com/images/projects-classic-yachts-header-002.jpg
Original Gardner diesels giving hull speed at around 750rpm - phucka - phucha - phucka. Yum. She had steel frames, afromosia planking and teak decks on real deck beams. I don't know how thick they were, but they were very solid. The decks were just under 30 years old and were perfect. The navy had had her during WW2 and had painted nearly everything grey. I don't think that they painted the decks 😀 However, everything that had been painted grey was nicely preserved underneath.
That's a lovely boat. A real class act. What a pity they don't build motor yachts with that sort of dignity any more. All taste seems to have gone out the porthole. Tom
Tom
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Always enjoy You mentioned a fungicide for using on decks during winter I have have just brought a Starlight 35 with teak decks and wondered about using this but a bit worried about whether it will affect the caulking. Do you have the name for the one that you have used . Thanks again .john
Airgead is right on the money. Actually, Hallberg Rassy recommend Boracol in their manual for new owners. It is as near magic as any product I've used and paid for. Worth every penny. It works well on covers too and even helps with green ropes, but for teak decks it is peerless.
@@TomCunliffeYachtsandYarns Many Thanks Tom Will purchase Boracal.
@@TomCunliffeYachtsandYarns No pun intended there I'm sure Tom but Airgead is money in Irish. Well done and Sláinte (Your health)
I ran across this site a few days ago and now subscribed. Looking forward to more.
I restore antique furniture and understand the properties and dynamics of those woods. My question is, why scrub modern decks and wouldn't an application of teak oil help the wood last longer?
Btw, I would insist on a teak deck for all your reasons plus , anything else is sacrilegious on a quality boat.
Hi Jeff. Partly the reason for not oiling the deck is traditional in the UK. Decks were always kept bare in Naval vessels and scrubbed with a holystone (see my vid coming out of Bembridge). The salt water and sun bleaches a deck and it contrasts nicely with varnished toe rails, hatches etc. I believe that in some countries, such as Scandinavia, sailors preferred to oil their decks. Definitely teak for yachts, but the old pilot cutters and race boats always had pine because it was lighter. By the way, we only scrub rarely and then across the grain so as not to disturb the pith too much. Hope this helps. Tom
Any new information helps, thanks. Looking forward to vicarious sailing through your videos.
Aha! So that's the secret to a good modern teak deck, good to know. I'm with you on teak decks Mr Cunliffe, I love them, make the boat look so classically elegant and smart in my view. Now, I wonder if there's a place on the East Coast of the USA who would do such work, or does one need to sail across the Atlantic to your contact and get him to do it? 😉😃
PS: Now of course there are a few types of artificial teak decking available, with Flexiteek seeming to lead the pack. I'd be interested to know what you think about those as an alternative. Thank you Sir!
My guy's in North Wales. I don't know of anyone on the E Coast who would do such a job at that price, but I bet there's a man somewhere. In the US, everything is possible. You'll just have to ferret him out...
Two thoughts: the south coast is full of big snappy yachts, so the prices are going to be higher there. I’m surprised and disappointed that you can’t find a suitable yacht in the UK and have to go to Florida. However, Constance looks lovely.
Beautiful v1000 windless
Another lovely video to listen to. I'm in the early stages of boat buying and my concern is how hot teak gets and worrying about my dog's feet (oh and the wife's!). So I think cork decking may be the way to go. Any thoughts?
It does get hot in high sun, but so do a lot of other surfaces. In the Baltic where the sun is lower, I've never noticed it as an issue in three summers despite temps up to 85. When it does get too hot for comfort, poor some honest sea water over it. Spare some for the dog too - he'll love it. I don't know anything about cork decking. Sorry.
I did mine with bonded cork. Much better than the GRP roughed up surface that it once was. Easy to replace a 'plank' if it gets damaged and cost effective. Like most woods always cool underfoot in the summer and very non slip.
See the first part of this video to see what it looks like.
ua-cam.com/video/be4mZA6-BBI/v-deo.html
Hi Andy. An interesting solution. Thanks Tom.
Came for the teak decks, stayed for one of Tom's tales.
Thanks William. Good to have you on board. Tom
Ahoy Tom! Have you sailed Constance back home?
One take..no editing needed 👍🏼 !
Love the video but I have to ask: I've heard somewhere that the old teak decks that were screwed down are actually a structural part of the deck. If you take them up and don't strengthen the deck somehow the deck will weaken and bow over time. Have you heard anything like this and if so, what do you think?
With a plank-on-frame wooden boat, the whole is certainly stronger than the individual parts and I'm sure that a well-fastened wooden deck with good, long planks augments the general structure. With a modern boat like mine, nearly all the deck strength comes from the sub-deck. For what it's worth, once the planks are bonded down, they are probably even stronger fore and aft than traditional planks which must inevitably be spot-fastened. They are thinner, of course, but the sub-deck makes up for that. Hope this helps. It was a good question. Tom
I don't understand how the attachment points for stays and what-not don't leak through the wooden deck. Great video.
Good boat building, and maintenance where needed!
The wonders of Stikaflex hey Tom, Shindela's is stuck down too 12mm I think, and certainly doesn't get scrubbed to death
If anybody wonders what Shindela's decks look like, I'm here to tell them that they are world-class yacht standard. Shindela can be seen on my Wine-dark sea video. You can't see Gareth which is a pity 'cos he's a lot younger than me!
Tom can you recommend something to clean a teak cockpit table that has got grease or olive oil stained and looks a bit dark/black compared to the decks. I not keen on sanding it, since it's likely to happen again
Hi Garry. The best bet is a saturated solution of crystalline Oxalic acid. Scrub it in. Leave until it's nearly dry, then scrub it out with clean rinsing water. We used to scrub the teak decks with it on 'professional' yachts in the free and easy days before we were all taught about the environment. Tom
What the proper way to maintain it
Tom, can you tell me what product was used to bond/glue your teak decks down ?
I'm pretty sure it was Sikaflex. Very important to choose the correct grade for that job. It does, of course, come in a number of flavours.
Another great one Tom.
Call me a philistine if you like but I am more than happy with my Flexiteek decks. Looks and feels like teal with almost no maintenance. Ok it’s not natural wood by neither is the GRP boat underneath it! No I am not a shareholder of Flexiteek.
Tony Thornton except, to my thinking the GRP boat is not pretending to be anything other than what it is, GRP, whole the Flexiteak is a pretender. Semantics, but got me an important difference.
no worries, teak veneer decks are nothing more than Imitation Laid Teak Decks.
In the days when folks would caulk their decks with pitch and oakum the oakum would often have been sourced from prisons. As if prison in the day was not bad enough, having to spend their days pulling oakum from old rope must have been truly awful. Just imagine spending years in a dank prison, pulling oakum just because you poached a pheasant! Plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme... Carry on Tom, always a joy
Thanks Brendan for that insight. I remember reading about picking oakum in Dana's 'Two Years before the Mast'. He leaves you in no doubt it was a horror job.
One problem. How does the next owner remove the teak decking?
Can you say a little about balsa sandwich hull/bottoms?
Balsa sandwich decks are as good as the guys who built them. I've heard some horror stories and seen some bad results, but I've been lucky. Mine is by Ta Shing and when we lifted the tired old teak after twenty-five years or so the subdeck was almost as good as new.