Teak decks

[Bardo]

I am an aspiring Ericson owner. I am looking at an E35, 1983 MKIII. Its seems in pretty good shape. However, I am worried.....she has teak decks. Pretty they are, but the maintenance and water issues scare me. Does anyone know if the E35 MKIII has solid fiberglass or cored decks? If they are solid glass, then my worries would be less. Was the teak deck an option, or were these aftermarket installations? Thanks for any info or references.

Freeman
S/V Black Pearl

 

[u079721]

Run away!

It will be interesting to see what owners of 35s say (I owned a 38). But AFAIK Ericsons had plywood cored decks, not solid (I can't think of any boats that have solid decks). I also can't recall ever seeing or even hearing of an Ericson with a teak deck. (Anyone else?) Given that these boats were not designed to have much weight on deck, I would worry that the stability had been compromised. And of course there is the question of several hundred holes in the deck, all of which may be letting water permeate the plywood core.

No matter how nice it looks I would walk, no RUN away from this Ericson and find another.

 

[Bardo]

I believe you are right. There are just too many if, buts and what-ifs on this boat. Oh well, the search goes on. Patience......

 

[treilley]

Too bad someone ruined one of these boats. I have seen this boat on YW for some time now and you can tell from the interior photos if you look close that there appears to be massive water intrusion. Look under the salon table and it looks like mold growing on the side of the bunk. There is also mold growing on the teak around the stbd portlights. It also looks like there has been constant water running down the bulkhead in front of the stbd settee. Notice that the teak deck has been applied on top of the existing fiberglass deck as it comes up flush with the bottom edge of the portlights. I won't mention the condition of the sole as this can be common for this model and year boat although I bet it is wet from leakage. How about the icebox. Do you think they ever cleaned the lid?

Remember that these are the best photos the broker could find. I would hate to see what shows up in person or even with a proper survey. Here is the first line of the description: "Galileo is not a project boat, but she needs someone to give her TLC". Now I know what most broker's term "pristine" really means. I wonder about "TLC"

It will probably get down to about $20k and some poor sap will think he got a deal. Although that AC unit looks pretty nice in the quarterberth

 

[Chris Miller]

couple nice ones in FL... maybe a fall FL vacation is in order?

 

[gareth harris]

I also can't recall ever seeing or even hearing of an Ericson with a teak deck. (Anyone else?)
No matter how nice it looks I would walk, no RUN away from this Ericson and find another.

I have been a member here about as long as you, and I can not remember reading of a single wackier modification to an Ericson.

I love the look of teak decks, and they are also much nicer to sit on than non skid. But, even after my deck work, I can not think how I would approach dealing with the description here, other than using the teak for a new hatch and making a new deck from divinycell.

Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972

 

[Martin King]

Actually the factory would install a teak deck if requested, but
this was the rare exception. The vast majority came with glass
decks. There is a 46 on yachtworld right now that came with teak
decks. The problem with this is that back then, teak decks were
fastened down with hundreds of screws shot right into the deck
core and we all know what that means, right? Companies like
TDS now laminate the strips onto a substrate before fastening
to the deck, and on custom boats, the teak is vacuum bagged
in epoxy-eliminating any fasteners.

Martin

 

[Sean Engle]

Nope.

Yeah, I would avoid it (sorry).

Normally, the 35-3's biggest issue (that I found in the water-in-deck intrusion department) is that dorade vent box - which rots and leaks - sometimes letting water into the nearby deckcore... That issue is easily taken care of, however with some work...

Teak decks? Glued down or screwed down - does not sound like a good idea to me...

Keep on considering Ericsons, however - with the exception of goofy modifications by POs, the boats are generally very sound - and an excellent value (end commercial here! )...

//sse