I counted the strips of teak caulking on the boat the boat the other day. In the middle of the boat there were slightly more than 100.
100 X 53′ = 5,300 linear feet of caulking.
Of course, that’s just an average, some of those strips end before the bow.
But that number does make one reflect a moment.
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Your boat is 12 years old, and you have this huge job of recaulking. Does this mean 12 years from now you’ll have to do it again ?
Is this a common thing to do, replacing the caulking ?
Nice work btw.
My understanding is that this is not normal…more like 20 years is the norm.
However, by appearances one of the prior owners was WAY too aggressive with the acidic teak cleaners and hard brushes.
Stiff bristles on the grain of the wood eat it away quickly. What we’ve seen as we remove deck fittings looks like quite a bit of wear for 12 years – 9 years really, because I’ve never taken a hard bristle to the grain or put an acidic teak cleaner on it.
With the wearing down of the wood, the caulk gets raised and starts catching and pulling out.
Does UV have an adverse effect on the caulking? Wasn’t this boat in Florida for most of it’s life?
The boat was in Florida most of the time.
That being said, I don’t really know if UV is eating the caulk. It’s my understanding that it can degrade the caulk, but that most modern caulks contain in inhibitor.
Much of the caulk comes up intact once you start it pulling, so I think a lot of it has good integrity. But I think too much of the deck was worn down too fast.
Interesting doc from Bill Adams, at Free State Yachts, one of the East Coast Hallberg-Rassy importers.
http://www.tenayatravels.com/files/Teak%20Deck%20Care.doc