Refit Sunseeker Predator 72: Flexiteek or Teak?

I hear talk about lack of maintenance but it still needs cleaning and in some cases stain removal. You can get by with less but I wouldn't. I'd mop it the same as I would with teak. Also the flexiteak and other similar products mark easier from shoes.

If I were buying a used boat for 500k and above it would not even look at it if the owner did not install real Teak. The fake teak will curl at the ends from the Sun and shrinks. If the owner skimped on the teak install where else did he cut corners? Maintenance?? Real Teak really makes a yacht look beautiful.

Point taken.

I just don’t think the teak on our Sunseeker was well done. It is far too thin and has worn through to fibreglass.

Maybe I can do it thicker if I redo teak.

If I were considering synthetic teak for weight or maintenance reasons, I would use Estech rather than Flexiteack.
Best,
Maldwin

Yes, generally they are re-teaked with much thicker teak. All of the Euro yacht builders under 100' use very thin teak when the boats are new. It lasts 10 years or less.

My Flexiteek has been on the boat since 2004. The swim platform is always exposed so I am quite confident it is a quality product.

As for the expectation that ‘real’ teak will help with resale, that’s why I am asking.

For me it wouldn’t be a negative, but I understand your opinion which seems to be the popular one.

It's impact would vary by market. Australia might be much different than Europe or the US. I would venture to say it will impact you less than if you were in Europe as Australians have generally been more pragmatic as shown in the design of the most successful Australian brands. I'd say the US would have some of boat and Flexiteek would turn many buyers off but appeal to some. Then, I'd say Europeans would, on the whole, be bothered more by fake teak.

I've managed a boat with fake teak on it since 2014. It rarely even needs to be washed. If you do, you just quickly hit it with the same washdown brush and boat soap. Once a year we wipe a clear sealer on it that keeps the color nice and it shiny. It's bogantech, but I think they are not around. I've also dealt with a boat with flexiteak long term and it too, either once in a while hit it with the washdown brush and boat soap......or Spray nine on stains....but much much easier than natural teak.

Forget the faux teak, whoever painted the name on the back of your ship should be hung !

That makes a lot of sense, looks like I need to do some homework here in Australia.

That lools good for the rear platform. If it were installed over all the decks then it would be subjective. You have an older boat and looks good. I've seen it on several Formula boats and 45 yacht and for the price they were charging I would not have it installed. For your rear platform i would think it helped with being non slip and an improvement.

I think that faux teak looks good on that boat. It may not on a Rybovich, but we'd be comparing apples to oranges if that were the standard. For instance, my gelcoated toe rail is no match for a high gloss Rybie toe rail of teak, but mine looks good - at least I think so.

Fixed.