Kirby,
I have the teak decks (1974 W32) and chose to keep them. It took me about a month's worth of work (alone), replacing five planks near the cockpit, cutting out the old seam caulk, regrooving by hand (I used a narrow chisel and a reciprocating saw - Fein Multimaster) and 70 tubes of caulk, then sanded with a belt sander with 120 grit. Take it slow, drink lots of ice cold beer, and just tackle one section at a time. I ended up replacing about 70% of the bungs and still have to replace about three dozen each year. I needed an impact driver (the kind you whack with a hammer) to get the screws backed out but it's not too bad of a job.
To maintain them I scrub them with Tilex. Just wet down a ten square foot section at time with water, spray Tilex on it, let it sit for about two minutes and scrub it with a kitchen scrubby, the plastic mesh type, which will not hurt the teak. You'll be amazed at how much black mold and crap comes up! Hose off the dirt and you'll see nice light golden teak decks. I do it about two or three times a year. I should add that I'm doing it with all my teak. I know varnished trim is "bristol" but I can't see the sense in continual sanding and revarnishing, especially here in Florida. A long time sailor once told me that bronze should be green and teak gray. I figured he knew a hell of a lot more about it all than me.
All that being said, if I discovered rot I think I would opt to tear off the teak and go with epoxy and non-skid rather than redo the decks again. It's tough work on your hands and knees for weeks and especially if you're over 60!
Good luck and enjoy the boat.
Tom Koehl - S/V Second Wind
