Teak decks on Monk 36

[woverend]

Looking at a Monk 36 tomorrow with rarely seen (for this boat) teak decking.
Im generally avoiding all teak decking in my boat searches, but I wold prefer a Monk for a variety of reasons.
Given Monk's reputation for slightly superior build quality over other TT's Im wondering if I should be LESS worried about teak decks on a Monk as opposed to other boats.
Anyone with personal experience or advice?

 

[DavidM]

Is the teak screwed to the underlying deck or glued. Screwed decks have hundreds of easily visible bung plugs. I wouldn't worry a bit about glued decks. Screwed?????

I am not sure that there is a good way of protecting old screwed decks from ultimately leaking. Sure a competent builder could have sealed each and every screw fitting, but did anyone do that. And if they did does it stop the problem.


David

 

[alormaria]

If the boat you love has teak decks then you have to love them too. Teak decks are beautiful and useful. They don't get hot underfoot and there is no better non-skid. There is some maintenance to get them up to speed and keeping them fine. Small price to pay.


Is this Monk one of the Taiwan boats or the later Canadian manufactured. Eh? Could make a difference.

 

[Andy G]

Having had some experience with replacing teak decks I would caution a very thorough inspection of the boat if the decks are screwed down.

Obviously spongy deck areas are a major warning sign.

I am not sure how Monk's are put together, however a common build method for these style of boats was using small blocks of hardwood encased between fibreglass as the deck support, then laying down the teak on top and using screws to secure through the top of the fibreglass. As the decks twist the screws work loose and water percolates through. Over years this turns those hardwood blocks to mush. That's where the real problem and expense lays.

Having said that, not all boats had wooden blocks, some had foam or other types of non pervious material. Even within the same brands the building technique differed. As an example, we have an Island Gypsy 36' and 'Bruce K' has one as well. Our boat had the wooden blocks and Bruce's didn't, similar age, different build technique. Go figure.

Teak decks are great, as has been already said, but there may well be a cost factor to that.

Good luck.

 

[woverend]

It was/is a 1990 Monk - so Nova Scotia build I presume.
Saw it yesterday and answered my own question - the teak deck on the Monk seemed just as "scary" to me as the teak deck I saw on a MT 36 earlier the same day. Definitely screwed down, not glued. While it SEEMED to be in decent repair and there were no visible signs of leakage below, there was nothing noticeably different about the installation of the deck than on the cheaper Marine Trader. Obviously I have no idea whether its the plywood or foam situation referenced above.
If the rest of the boat had been in better condition, then maybe it wouldn't be a deal-breaker, but the boat was overall too much of a project for my needs. (especially at the list price). It certainly is a rarity though - A Monk 36 with twin 135's and teak decking!
So the search continues.
Thanks for the replies though.