In this series, we take a in-depth look at best practices when it comes to boat care in Seychelles. In this installment, we we look at the proper care, maintenance and restoration of your vessel's teak decking and trimming.

Teak is an expensive, beautiful and luxurious part of any yacht, but it needs a lot of maintenance to retain its golden appearance. Teak becomes oxidized, embedded with dirt and oily residues, and is easily affected by the sun and salt. Left untreated it will become contaminated by mould and mildew spores and the golden colour changes to grey.

Although our team are always on-hand to maintain and restore your vessel's teak decking and trimmings whenever you may need, we've compiled a quick guide to  teak care and maintenance so that you can get the most out of your decking and trimmings before needing professional restoration.

Treating Teak 

Teak is a hard, oily wood with fine structure and appearance.  To keep the natural beauty of the wood on show it can be kept untreated with varnishes. Although teak is a very durable wood it does becomes grey and dull over time. However this can be overcome thanks to products on the market such as teak cleaners, restorers and oil.

Popular products are the invisible coatings that provide a natural seal over your teak decking and trimmings. These coatings work by forming a very thin barrier of molecular thickness that repels water, causing it to bead on the teak surface and are rapidly dispersed. This helps prevent the ingress of dirt particles as well as stains from food spills, wine, beverages or oil.

Teak Cleaning and Care

Just like gel coat or paint, teak decks and other teak areas/details need to be cleaned thoroughly to keep them looking great and in tip-top shape.

Always use the mildest cleaning product that gets the job done. Also, it is important to keep in mind that when teak gets wet the fibres of the wood are softened and erode away more easily. Wetting the teak and scrubbing too vigorously removes softened wood fibres fast and can ultimately be more detrimental to the life of the deck than a simple light sanding of the teak during a restoration job.

Protecting Teak Decking

To keep your teak looking great in the long term, teak oil should be applied regularly to protect a boat’s teak from the marine environment and to keep that natural beauty of the wood. Teak oil intensifies the colours and fine grain patterns and gives wood a rich, warm appearance.