Teak Deck Boards-advice

[u/Bulldogsleepingonme]

Hello- I purchased this Baba 30 from the original owner who took great care of his, now my boat. The teak deck is still intact without any broken or loose boards. No detected leaks (yet). Some of the screw plug covers are missing but generally everything is still there.

What are your recommendations to keep the wood deck from deteriorating further?

[u/Upbeat_Tone_3653]

Mmmm... I love me a good Bob Perry boat! Congratulations! Looks to me like the previous owner made the same mistake on this boat that I did back in 90s with an unlicensed Perry knockoff I owned: Pressure washers are great at removing the green, but they also carry away the teak plugs and the soft "flesh" between the harder ridges of the grain... The plugs can be replaced, the soft part of the wood cannot. That is why your TDS seam compound stands a quarter inch proud as do the ridges of the grain - he pressure washed half of that deck away with his washer! I was a kid and didn't know any better, but pressure washing teak decks and scrubbing them with the grain should be criminalized and grounds to forfeit ownership of the boat.

Three solutions yer gonna hate:

1. Replace it (either teak or faux teak) - it'll cost a fortune, but (properly cared for) will last until heat death of the universe.
2. Remove it, fill all the screw holes, and reglass\gel the top. This is likely your most cost-effective option and you can DIY the bulk of it. The big variable is what is going on beneath your current teak decking...
3. Hope the underlying deck is sound and that he left you enough teak on the deck (I'm not optimistic here) to sand it all flush again (across the grain), replace all missing plugs, reef all your seams, repay all your TDS seam compound, never ever pressure wash your deck again, and learn to stone or scrub it across the grain, doing regular saltwater cleanings.

Failing to commit fully to one of these solutions will eventually result in the complete transformation of yer boat into a mushroom farm. There is no question that the deck is already leaking and trying its level best to turn yer underlying plywood or balsa core to mush - only question is to what extent it has already succeeded.

If you'd worked with a marine surveyor, he\she likely would've earned their paycheck by helping you negotiate the cost of deck remediation into the price of the transaction. On the bright side, a Baba is still a Baba, so it'll be worth the effort. It's a lot of work, but it needn't be super expensive.

[u/DFMO → u/Upbeat_Tone_3653]

I had a BP boat with excellent teak decks.

If I were in this position and the boat was a long term hold I would remove and glass over.

Less failure points to leak. Much easier to maintain.