with All pics STewart Wheeler
practical
Faking It:
synthetic teak
How to lay teak effect deck When ST Art Editor Stewart Wheeler opted to clad his Westerly Centaur’s deck and cockpit with a modern, teak look PVC compound, we enlisted the help of Permateek expert Leigh Coda (above).
12 Sailing Today March 2011
The development of synthetic decking has given many sailors the opportunity to smarten up their yacht at a fraction of the cost of laying a real teak deck. This has meant that, while there can be few who would ever dream of laying a teak deck on a boat in the Westerly Centaur’s price bracket, the advent of synthetic teak decking has given cruisers a much more affordable means of getting their boat decked out. So successful have these products proved to be, that one of the main dilemmas is working out which company to go with: Permateek, Dekkit, Flexiteek, Fore Deck, Tek Dek, Dek King, Isiteek, Atlanteak, the list is endless and baffling. Basically though, most of these products use PVC, cork or epoxy based ‘planking’ strips, which are first glued and sometimes welded together and then laid out and glued onto the deck. All these products benefit from being relatively
cheap and low maintenance. A hose can be used to wash them off, while stains can be sanded out. Stewart opted to go with a combination of the DIY Dekkit for the relatively simple cockpit and clad the foredeck and side decks with professionally fitted Permateek. For this stage, we had Leigh Coda, a Permateek representative, on hand to help us out. “Permateek and Dekkit are much the same,” he explained: “The difference is that Permateek is a professional product only available in premade welded panels, which is best suited to more intricate patterns, with a more professional finish to edges, mitring and welded seams. “In the case of this Centaur, I wouldn’t generally recommend doing the foredeck and side decks yourself, as that’s relatively complicated. “On the other hand, the cockpit is pretty simple, so that makes the ideal DIY project. The beauty of