Refit Sunseeker Predator 72: Flexiteek or Teak?

real TEAK. I've had some issues with one of the aftermarket plastic type teak decks on a Sunseeker and the company had to re-do it 3 times in 18 months. As for Flexiteak, One of my customers did it on a 52' Searay and it's been about 4 years and has held up perfectly, but he has a full time mate that never puts anything harder than spray nine on it. On the other hand I also managed another yacht where the owner cleaned it (flexi teak)with soft scrub and it wore horribly and it also was lifting in several places. The plastic/rubber synthetic teak products are incredibly hot in the summer. Although you could probably do the synthetic teak twice, versus the price of real teal and then you've got the monthly cleaning of the real teak.

Laminate or hardwood in your home? Same question basically. Now, while I believe the fake teaks are probably improving in quality every day, we did a test a couple of years ago. We had multiple types of "teak" including real and including 3 different fake ones in large sheets on our patio. We walked on them all in varying conditions as did our friends. We let different types of weather conditions hit them. Our conclusion was that we found the fake ones to be slightly less desirable. Had we never had real teak or been on a boat with it, it might not really have mattered or had we not had it on the patio to compare to. However, as it was, three differences, although minimum, made the difference to us.

1-Appearance. We are just partial to the real wood. I can't say that it's better looking because that's all perspective and individual opinion but it was better looking to us and our friends, all familiar with teak. There was no "oh you mean that's not real" moment on any of the fakes.

2-Heat. Again it was a very small difference. But when all were hot, being a little less hot was very nice.

3-Slick/Slippery. When wet, this became very noticeable. It did vary depending on barefoot vs. shoes and what shoes but it alone would have made our decision for us.

As to maintenance and upkeep, it's like anything else. We follow manufacturer's instructions with teak and don't really find it that much more effort than any floor or decking. Now, we didn't run the test long enough to know this for sure, but it was our opinion that the various fake teaks would have to be replaced periodically and more significantly more frequently than teak. Specifically we did some intentional scratched or scraping of the surfaces and were unable to get the damage out of at least one of the fake teaks.

You're doing a refit, you intend to have a beautifully refit multi-million dollar boat (when new) and there is just something from the viewpoint of all the effort that having someone immediately step on a laminate flooring instead of real wood is counter to in our opinion. Then you add the heat and the slipping issues, even though relatively small, just not worth it to us.

Rick Obey once told me that Sunseeker buyers want real teak decks. He is probably the authority on used Sunseekers and sells a ton of them.

On the 62' Predator I manage, everything in the bilges and engine room is easy to get around in and get to, engine room is mostly standup for someone 6'3. Most Sunseekers have very good access, especially compared to their English and Italian competitors

How big are your samples? Put them in heat and rain and walk on them in various types of shoes and barefoot. Give them some abuse. If they're the typical flooring size sample, you can't tell anything. Sorry, I wanted to be convinced, but wasn't. They look fake to me. They feel fake. I like how Flexiteek compares cooling time and weight but only to other synthetic floors. Also, a bit of a trick on cooling time. How long it takes to cool is one thing. How hot it gets is quite another. How is that first step onto it? Give me a hose and I can cool any of them.

I also keep hearing about how much one spends caring for teak and how much trouble it is, and we follow manufacturers recommendations in all ways and really don't find it all that bad. I've found most people do not know the proper cleaning. They use hard brushes or they scrub with the grain instead of against it, or they pressure wash or they use harsh chemicals. We only use the manufacturer's cleaning products and recommended brushes.

I never use brushes on natural teak, but special pads (like soft Scotch-brite), and sideways to the grain of course. It looks and feels like new for years...

If your talking all around decks, How bout a fared deck with a nice non-skid compound in it.
Been with many boats that went this way, Looks great and newer/better IMO.
If this IS for re-sale, let the next owner decide on decking.

What I'm calling a brush is similar to your pad. Our oldest teak is a little over 3 years old and looks brand new. We had the same brand teak in out boats in NC and after 7 years it looked like new.

Keeping the area you're working on wet while working and rinsing quickly and thoroughly are also very important.

It does not look new, New teak is a dark walnut color. hehehe. But looks like gold teak like everyone likes yes.

I have scrubbed against the grain and with it, it doesn't seem to matter if you're using a flat scrubbie pad, or even a soft brush (which I prefer half the time), but if you use a stiff brush and go with the grain forget it...... I usually go against the grain most of the time but some places cannot like narrow side walkways and going with it doesn't seem to matter so long as your not digging the grain out with a stiff brush. I agree most people cannot clean teak.

I like to get it very wet, for like 20-30 mins before cleaning, then use straight ammonia and 3m pad, mostly spread it around lightly and let it sit 10 mins, keep very wet. Lightly scrub it a few times, rinse off, then same with Gary's golden teak let sit 10 mins, same very light scrubbing, rinse off......You can scrub till you're blue in the face but that's not what clean it, then chemicals do.

Or you can do it twice a week as I did when living aboard for several years. Only needed my special brew every second month on the top deck...

I tend to clean them generally about every 6-8 weeks and all they need is a very light scrubbing with above mentioned method/cleaners and very very little grain is even lost. Then rather than Snappy teak them once every 3-5 years when the top grain gets dried out, I'd rather just have them lightly sanded.

We use only the manufacturer's products to clean. They may or may not be any better than others, but we feel comfortable doing so.

Too cheap to fit Flexiteak on a 72ft yacht. Definitely go with natural teak. Nothing beats a natural hard wood in looks or finish.

I wonder what the end result was.

I have had Flexiteek on one of my boats, fitted 2004 and still looks great. Needs no maintenance and doesn’t matter what we spill on it or how many shoes walk on it, it’s fine.

It was the 2004 Southampton boat show ‘model’ for Flexiteek so was probably done right.

But it doesn’t look like real teak. Maybe the newer one does.

We currently have our Sunseeker Manhattan that needs the teak redone on the swim platform and the steps leading up from the swim platform.

Wondering what to do as the rest on the teak is fine.

I prefer the natural teak. The only benefit of the flexiteak, aside from the cheaper price, is the lack of maintenance.