Final preparations are being made before laying new teak deck. Today we will look at:
Countersinking holes and epoxy
Tools needed
Sanding prior to laying teak.
Marking out
Laying the first planks
Countersinking
Once all the old fixing holes have been countersunk they will be filled with epoxy to seal the deck.
There were many hundreds of old holes that were epoxy filled to provide a watertight new deck. The old deck didn’t actually leak which is a testament to the quality of the work done by Hallberg Rassy 33 years ago. The new deck will be held in place by Sikaflex 298 adhesive, which has become the norm in recent years.
Laying new teak deck – completely hand made.
The photos of the deck being laid disguises the amount of actual work involved. There are five carpenters working every day. The process is completely hand made, except now of course electric hand tools are used. The carpenters will take up to four weeks to craft the new deck plus two weeks for the caulking to dry, we’ll come to that later.
laying new teak deck – the first planks
The first part of laying the new planks is the outside edge of the deck. here a 60mm wide plank 5 metres long is used. The outside planks are made as long as possible to provide a secure base for subsequent planks which will be 35mm wide, as per the previous deck. The inside edge is also being worked on at the same time, which will also have a 60mm wide plank.
Laying new teak deck – the first outside planks is laid.
The first plank is laid and then cramped in position by short lengths of wood screwed into the deck. These holes will have to be filled again, part of what makes it laborious I suppose. Later they will be glued into place.
Laying new teak deck – the wedge clamp
Another ingenious and ancient clamping method is the wedge. Two triangular wedges are placed facing each other. Pressure is then applied by hammer to increase the overall thickness of the wedge, producing a consistent clamping force that needs no glue to hold it in place.
Laying new teak deck – removing excess adhesive
It takes about 12 hours for the deck adhesive to cure. The following morning any adhesive that has squeezed out is removed with a chisel ready for the next plank to be laid.
laying new teak deck – all special shapes are hand cut
As few parts of a yacht have straight lines, most pieces of the deck will be hand crafted by eye. I watched this corner being cut from a straight, wide teak board and then sanded for a perfect fit. It took more than half an hour for just this piece.
Laying new teak deck – marking out the inside edge.
Corners and other shaped areas have their positions marked as the basis for the whole design. Small blocks are glued to the surface which will keep them in position, (which can be easily removed with a sharp hammer blow) until they are ready to be glued down.
Finally the corner is complete. Straight lengths are now prepared to run along the length of the deck.
Laying new teak deck – a handy drum sander mounted on the remains of a garden chair!laying new teak deck – meticulous care is taken for each piece
Slowly the outside edge is completed, each piece very carefully shaped. It seems very slow to watch but hugely reassuring that we will get a perfect looking deck. Any piece that is not right cannot simply be removed and replaced as like a jigsaw every other piece is based on this. If you were building a wall with bricks, any flaw would get magnified as the wall developed.
In part four we will see more of the specially shaped pieces being crafted and the first of the narrow planks being laid alongside the wide outer planks. We will also meet another very useful but heavy device.
Remove old silicon which was sandwiched between the planks and the deck.
Countersink the holes where the screws had previously held down the old deck.
Sand the surface ready for the application of a layer of epoxy resin prior to laying the new deck.
New teak deck preparation
You can see the hatch has not been disturbed as it sits directly on the GRP deck. The two holes at the front of the foredeck is for the windlass. The front hole is so chain can drop into the chain locker at the front. The rearward hole is for the shaft of the windlass. On Hallberg Rassys the motor is mounted in the front cabin behind the bulkhead which keeps it dry and corrosion free.
New teak deck preparation
The side deck and one of the six mast mounting tangs. This is simply a square hole cut in the deck, filled with bitumen mastic.
New teak deck preparation – Side decks
Foredeck looking aft, you can more clearly see the mast mounting tangs. Later the handholds will be removed as these are being replaced as well.
The aft lazarette hatch looks terrible, but will clean up nicely. Its largely covered in old silicon sealant.
Nadine teak deck replacement – End of the day quietly in her temporary home
The temporary cover to protect the four carpenters can easily be seen here. Mostly they leave the sides up for ventilation, but it can be dropped quickly as the sun drops or they are sanding which might blow on to another yacht.
Nadine sits quietly at the end of the day, naked without her old deck, but eagerly awaiting her new teak deck which begins tomorrow.
Most of our client’s and our charter fleets owners know the passion we have for our Hallberg Rassy 38 yacht and home, Nadine. We have lived onboard this lovely vessel for more than 10 year’s and still have no desire to go land based anytime soon. If we get fed up with the view of our back garden, we go find another!
When we bought Nadine in 2004, she was in generally good order, and we spent a substantial amount (more than 25% of the purchase price) renewing, improving and upgrading her systems for our life aboard. This proved a sound investment as we have had few problems over the years. Several items were serviced but were not replaced as they had a long life remaining. Time finally caught up with these, so we have changed the engine and now begins the teak decks replacement.
Teak deck replacement and maintenance
Maintenance and upgrades are an ongoing part of owning a yacht. Here is a concise list of major works we’ve undertaken in the last ten years. Praise has to be given to Perfect Sailing’s two engineers Huseyin & Ahmet for their care, skill and professionalism for much of this work. We do use outside contractors for certain items (like the teak deck replacement) but this is built upon our core teams expertise.
Two years ago we replaced the ageing Volvo MD21 with a new Beta 50 and four blade feathering prop from Darglow Engineering. Nadine is now faster and has more torque in big head seas, wish we had done it years ago!
After purchase we fitted an ‘in boom’ mainsail reefing system, which we were unhappy with almost as soon as we had installed it. It simply didn’t work as it should have.
Last autumn we extensively modified this ‘in-boom’ system, converting it to a conventional slab reef system with new mainsail. Now, at last it works as a mainsail should, easy to set, reef and stow, no matter what the weather.
We renewed and upgraded much of our two fridge systems this spring, now working well with no pump motors to fail in the future, as they were replaced by keel coolers.
All internal upholstery was recovered last year
New bimini and side curtains, better quality materials used.
Not really maintenance, we upgraded our cruising chute to a ‘top down furler’ system which has massively improved it’s usability and safety in use.
Substantially altered the pushpits, transom swim ladder location and passarelle connection. In part to suit the ‘Monitor windvane‘ steering system we had mounted on the transom.
Following a lightning strike about six years ago we also replaced many of the yacht’s electrical system including:
Mains battery charger & 2000w inverter.
Autopliot system (electronics only).
Alternator & smart charge controller.
Solar panel regulator.
Work begins
The only item remaining which we knew would eventually need replacement was the teak decks. Teak deck replacement is a major undertaking, even more than changing the engine. Work started this week on the decks which will take around six weeks to complete. This blog section will diarise the teak deck replacement as it advances. If you have any questions on any part of this process, please feel free to comment or email info@perfect-sailing.com
Hallberg Rassy 38 Nadine sail removal
The process started a couple of weeks ago, by moving out! We removed almost all of our personal possessions and general boat stuff. This was followed by bimini, spray hood and sails removal.
Old deck with sail track and filler removed
Head-linings had to be dropped to allow access to the nuts holding various deck fittings which had to be removed before the old deck can be removed.
Off with the mast!
Once the major items were removed, next was the mast and boom. We moved Nadine 75 metres to a place where the crane could get reasonable access. This was a slightly worry part of the process as the crane operator chose to not avoid the small trees but dropped his jib through the tree which required subsequent removal of some branches. Sadly in my view this was avoidable. I suppose trees grow so quickly here it won’t actually matter, but.
Nadine’s mast just clear of the deckCant see the wood for the trees!nadine sat alongside the new Malabar feeling naked
Next was to remove the last deck items. The radar arch was stripped of radar, wind generator, and solar panels. Various antennas were most awkward as their cables traced their way through to the centre of the boat, so took some time to remove.
Hallberg Rassy 38 Nadine sitting at the dock
Tent building
Nadine was then moved to her temporary new mooring whilst the work is completed. Erection of the sun protection tent began the next morning.
Woodworkers start building the tent
Within a couple of hours the structure was complete.
Deck tent to protect workers replacing teak decks.
All that was need now was the sun cover.
Nadine’s deck tent completed. Radar arch now devoid of radar, solar panels, wind generator and antennas.
So why did the deck need replacement? General use shouldn’t have a big impact on a good quality teak deck.
Premature teak deck replacement results from aggressive cleaning using brushes or worse a high pressure washer. This will pare away the structure of the wood leaving a rough surface and little gullies where the soft grain lifts off. This can easily been witnessed on Nadine, but they are other general tell tale signs. The screws that hold the planks down will lose the wooden plugs inserted to hide the screws, the black mastic which is laid in the gaps between the planks will protrude (as the deck itself recedes). The mastic will then get caught underfoot and start to remove itself from the slots.
If you are intending to purchase a yacht with teak decks, check how proud the fittings are above the deck to calculate how much deck has disappeared. The excess proud caulking from a worn out deck is often pared back with a flat knife, so don’t trust the appearance of the deck caulking. Despite renewal of the deck caulking, inevitably teak deck replacement will be required, which is where we are today.
Our previous HR312 had almost perfect decks where only gentle washing and spending winters in a shed had protected her. The correct way to clean a teak deck is by washing with a sponge across the grain.
Teak deck well passed it’s best.
You can see in the photo above where the screws have been exposed by missing plugs and failure of the deck caulking because there is so little teak left. What started as 12mm is now down to 6mm, leaving the caulking channels only 2mm deep in places. Teak deck replacement was inevitable and the best solution.
Why Turkey, not Thailand?
Thailand is probably the best known place in the world for this type of work as the raw materials are so close by and labour is very competitive. Few parts of the world still have the raw woodworking skills in these days of machinery and automation to tackle such work effectively. Turkey is one of those places.For example, Turkey was chosen as the venue to build the Nina, Pinta & Santa Maria, for the TV series.
As Perfect sailing is based in Turkey, with the skills and reasonable labour rates. It therefore made good economic sense to do it here, especially as 2016 has been a quiet year for charter.
It was with much excitement and anticipation that ‘Malabar’, Perfect Sailing’s new charter Oceanis 45 arrived quietly in Bozburun.
Oceanis 45 Malabar entering Bozburun harbour
The owners brought her in smoothly, as they had had six weeks practice navigating her safely from her launch in Perpignan, France.
Oceanis 45 Malabar reverses on to the Bozburun quay
In conversation over a celebratory drink, owner’s James & Carol remarked “She is everything we had hoped for and more. She took whatever we threw at her, and kept us comfortable and safe. We love her”
Charter Oceanis 45 champagne reception
Naturally we are delighted to welcome another new yacht this year. She arrives in our fleet at a time when some people are anxious about visiting this delightful part of the ‘Turkish Turquoise Coast’ and Turkey in general. The owners have demonstrated their confidence and prior experience, that the area is nothing like the media seem to suggest. This is a fantastic place to sail and the people are so lovely and welcoming.
Sara is welcomed on board Oceanis 45 Malabar by James for the first time.
Perfect Sailing has just under two weeks to prepare her for her first charter. There will be lots of cleaning and polishing, plus the addition of those things our charter guests love, like onboard Wi-Fi and quality linen & towels etc, plus all the little things that get taken for granted but would be missed if not onboard, like quality cockpit cushions, playing cards & board games for those quiet relaxing nights with friends or family under the clear starry sky.
Malabar, Oceanis 45 relaxing before her journey from Perpignan France to Orhaniye Turkey
‘Malabar’ is a rather special Oceanis 45, as she has the new 2016 light oak interior which gives her a very light, airy and modern feel. She has a high specification which includes a cockpit remote control windlass with chain counter, and very cool 7″ chart plotter repeater screens at each helm, so you can focus on making her sail fast. Her transom is of the modern drop down swim platform type, but includes the infra red remote control operation. There have been many small additions such as additional shelves in some lockers to make her even more comfortable.
Oceanis 45 Malabar arrives in Bozburun
So, welcome Charter Oceanis 45 ‘Malabar’ and perhaps a welcome to you too, be one of the first to experience this rather special addition in Perfect Sailing’s fleet for discerning yachtsman’s.
Call us today on +44 1273 906939 or email us for a special charter offer this summer, be sure to mention ‘Malabar’s arrival’ for an extra special offer.
I have long since raved about the current BandG chart-plotter. We already have one fitted to our Hanse 415 ‘Serenity’. The BandG chart-plotter on ‘Malabar’ our Oceanis 45 takes this to the next level with ‘Platinum’ cartography.
Today I received a photo of the plotter on Malabar, our soon to arrive Oceanis 45. Malabar, like most of our yachts, is way beyond vanilla. She has been specced way well above that of a normal ‘bareboat’ charter yacht. The owner’s have bought many options like windlass cockpit remote control and chain counter, very useful when shorthanded or you cant hear the foredeck crew calling the amount of chain down! Today I wanted to show you just how capable and sexy her B&G chart plotter is.
Malabar has the 12″ BandG chart-plotter centrally mounted in the cockpit plus two 7″ Zeus BandG chart-plotter repeaters at each helm. These are not just instrument repeaters, but mini chart-plotter screens. In addition she has the platinum cartography which includes the option of 3D charting, ideal when entering a bay to ‘get your bearings’. Probably the easiest way to describe this is by showing some photos.
Helm position on our new 2016 Oceanis 45, with the 7″ B&G Zeus chart-plotter repeaters
Above is the helm repeaters which replicates whatever is displayed on the main BandG chart-plotter screen.
Oceanis 45 ‘Malabar’ BandG chart-plotter in 2D split screen mode
This is the centrally mounted BandG chart-plotter, currently in 2D mode with split screen. These are all user adjustable screens. This shot shows the normal chart screen on the port side and an electronic compass on starboard. It is set to show ‘course up’ contrasting the ‘North up’ display on the chart screen.
Oceanis 45 ‘Malabar’ BandG chart-plotter with platinum chart
Here the chart-Plotter is in 3D mode showing her anchored position in a bay. You’ll also notice there is an underwater rock to her right, very useful when choosing where to anchor, particularly at night. You can have an autopilot control shown to control the autopilot as well as display what’s currently playing from you phone or tablet device, and of course you can change track and volume etc. or play videos too!
Malabar is currently approaching the Corinth Canal and is scheduled to arrive here in Orhaniye 10 July, naturally we are all very excited.
P.S. Sorry about the B&G spelling, it’s a Google thing!
