Wearing Your Deck Shoes On Your Non Teak Deck}

Wearing Your Deck Shoes On Your Non Teak Deck

by

neoinfo

It is probable that should you be invited sailing on a luxury ocean going yacht that the upper deck will be made of teak wood.

Luxury yachts being built today are still frequently finishing the upper decks with over one inch thick teak. The practice of using teak to make decks has been happening around the world for centuries. There are many yachtsmen regularly to be found scrubbing the teak decks when this is actually the worst way to take care of the wood.

Experts recommend a gentle warm slightly soapy wash with cloth or mop is a far better way as scrubbing with a brush may make the deck superficially look cleaner but is in fact reducing the life of the deck with gradual wear.

Owners of these expensive boats are obsessive about visitors wearing the correct footwear. Deck shoes are the preferred shoe as they will not scratch the teak. The only other sure way to upset the owner of the boat other than wearing the wrong shoes is to spill red wine or suntan lotion onto the teak. Both are notoriously difficult to remove and you will almost certainly never get another invitation.

Boat building yards still get requests from many of their customers for their new plaything to have teak decks. Teak costs thousands of pounds a ton and is a massive and slow task to fit properly. On a one hundred foot yacht it will take up to six months just to do the upper deck properly. There is an enormous amount of preparation to be carried out on the wood and then thousands of brass screws and finally careful caulking.

The tragedy is that where teak was once the only option for upper decks because of its relatively long life compared with other woods, there are now one or two other manmade materials that could be used instead. Teak is a limited resource and with all the problems we know about deforestation in subtropical countries it would be far better to stop felling teak. This wood is also very heavy and many people who insist on a teak deck should be persuaded to look at alternatives as the deck weight may be too much for the smaller boat. When the customer insists the only action the builder can take is to use thinner wood which means a shorter life for the deck.

Even wearing deck shoes will not guarantee the teak deck will last long if it is too thin.

Unfortunately the tycoons with their seemingly unlimited pots of money still insist on teak as it still looks best on the boat. More than thirty to forty per cent of all privately owned luxury yachts being built today are still being fitted with teak decks. Some enlightened owners are conscious of the environmental impact in the continuation of teak built decks and are happy with the new artificial materials available.

With any deck surface it is still necessary to wear

deck shoes

and it is also preferable in all cases not to spill the wine or suntan lotion. Find yours at

deck-shoes.net

.

Article Source:

Wearing Your Deck Shoes On Your Non Teak Deck

}