At some point, all of us classic-boat owners are faced with the expensive, time-consuming task of replacing the decks.

Teak is the preferred material, right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

I was faced with this predicament 20 years ago, when the teak decks on Searcher, our Bowman 57 ketch, needed to be replaced. The teak on the working decks was 30 years old and getting paper-thin. Bungs were missing, screwheads were showing, and the seam caulking was coming adrift.

So, I went looking for teak options. One alternative was cheap, plastic linoleum that tried to look like teak. There was real African teak or iroko, greenheart and tigerwood, but these, I thought, were better suited for a patio deck. Costa Rican teak might cost around $160 per square meter. I could have saved that money and instead painted the decks with antislip, but I never liked its look or effectiveness.

In 2004, I replaced the teak on the bow and working decks with Lewmar’s Treadmaster, an aggressively nonslip decking material with a diamond pattern. It comes in 3-by-4-foot sheets, is easily cut with a knife or shears, and is glued down over metal or fiberglass decks with a two-part epoxy. It’s maintenance-free and inexpensive.

A square meter of Treadmaster costs around $200. Teak is about the same, but far more labor-intensive and might require hiring professionals at $90 an hour. Treadmaster, I could install myself.

It took me a month to remove the old teak and fair the fiberglass decks, which were severely damaged during the removal process. I also had to remove and rebed the jib sheet tracks and other deck fittings.

Once the decks were faired, I drew out the pattern on the deck in pencil, cut out pieces of brown wrapping paper to fit, taped them down, and took a look. Nice. I then labeled the templates and the deck, and cut the Treadmaster to match. It took me a week to epoxy the Treadmaster panels in place, weighting them down with sandbags. Done.

Today, all I have to do is hose it off. But don’t fall on it, or you’ll wind up with a diamond imprint on your knees.

Another Option for Teak Decks

Five years later, the teak on the aft deck and the cockpit seats needed replacing. I wasn’t about to use Treadmaster here, with aesthetic considerations and soft behinds to take into account.

I found Stazo marinedeck, a Dutch product that’s available here in the United States. The distributor was in Thomaston, Maine, just 10 miles down the coast. This marine decking is made from compressed cork combined with a binder. It looks like teak (well, close enough) and comes in strips and sheets, all one-third of an inch thick. It does not absorb moisture, is much lighter, is a better insulator, is maintenance-free and is cooler underfoot than teak. After 15 years, all it needed was a light sanding to return to its original condition.

I also found it less expensive than teak, at $400 a square meter. It was easily cut and shaped, and I could do the installation myself. 

For that project, it took me two weeks just to remove the teak and fair the fiberglass subsurface. Cutting and fitting the cork was fun, like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. This part, I did dry: cutting the strips, fitting them in place and numbering each one with corresponding numbers on the deck. 

Then began the messy part: applying tubes of deck caulk in a caulking gun, spreading out the gooey stuff with a serrated trowel over a small section of deck, fitting a few strips in place and applying pressure, scraping up the goo that oozed out, and spreading it over the next section.

When I asked the guys at a nearby yard for suggestions, they told me they used their wives’ old dresses as smocks. “You’ll get this stuff all over yourself,” they warned. I did.

Once the cork was placed and rolled out, it needed a few days to cure. The next step involved filling and troweling the seams. This created a real mess. I began by taping the seams but then gave up, as troweling the caulk just spread the stuff outside the tape. The decks were covered in black goo. 

After a few days, the seam compound had set, and I hit the entire deck with a belt sander. It was a joy to watch the new and now-clean decks emerge from the black mess I’d created.

After 14 years of ownership and three voyages down to and back from the Eastern Caribbean, I sold Searcher in 2014. The boat sat neglected by the buyer in a Belgian marina for eight years after that. Matthi Pieters, a Belgian shipwright, then acquired it, and over the next two years, he rebuilt a significant portion of the boat’s interior, excluding the decks.

Matthi shared his progress with me and other Bowman 57 owners in our Facebook group. He recently sent me photos and this report: “We had to do some work on the cork deck, but now it looks very good again. There were some little gaps in the seams, which we cut out and filled. Water had gotten under some planks in the cockpit, which we removed and re-bedded. After a light sanding, the cork looks new. Some of the Treadmaster decking had become porous and discolored. So, we painted it with a thin epoxy. The edges of some sections of the Treadmaster were lifting. We need to re-epoxy these to fix the edges. Next summer, we’ll repaint the entire deck. The best thing would be to replace the Treadmaster. But to save costs, we try it this way for now.”

I wrote to Matthi recently about a newer product: Treadmaster’s Treadcote, an epoxy paint. It’s Lewmar’s answer to restoring heavily weathered and stained original Treadmaster decking.

Searcher has been renamed We’ll Sea and is now back in the water, with a new engine and rebuilt interior. The jade-green hull is now painted light gray. Matthi and his family sailed We’ll Sea from Belgium to London this past summer, with plans for more ambitious adventures down the road. 

She may have lost her teak, but she’s gained a new lease on life, and she’ll have a few more stories to tell from the other side of the spray.    

Based in Maine, David H. Lyman has owned and sailed four yachts in his more than half a decade of cruising in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

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US Sailing has announced a new partnership with The Windjammer Way, a group dedicated to reviving the era of classic windjammer cruising by restoring and operating historic vessels throughout the Caribbean.

The collaboration aims to connect sailing’s heritage with its future. Together, the organizations will develop opportunities for US Sailing members, create content to celebrate sailing culture, and organize events that highlight traditional seamanship for wider audiences.

“Partnering with The Windjammer Way represents a celebration of sailing’s roots and future,” said Charlie Enright, CEO of US Sailing. “Their mission to restore historic vessels and offer them to the world resonates with our commitment to legacy and connection through the water.”

At the heart of the effort is the 102-year-old S/V Mandalay, now undergoing a complete restoration. Originally built in 1923 as a luxury yacht for financier E.F. Hutton and his wife, cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, the vessel has lived many lives. She served as a research ship for Columbia University, logging more than a million nautical miles and contributing to the theory of continental drift, before finding a long career in Caribbean charter service.

Now, The Windjammer Way is giving Mandalay a new chapter. Craftsmen are rebuilding her steel hull, restoring rigging and preserving original design features while outfitting the vessel with modern safety systems. Completion is planned for spring 2026.

“The overwhelming response to our crowdfunding efforts demonstrates how much people value authentic sailing experiences and maritime preservation,” said Charles J. Kropke, CEO of The Windjammer Way. “Partnering with US Sailing elevates our mission and creates exciting possibilities for sharing our restored vessels with sailing enthusiasts at every level.”

Mandalay is set to become the flagship of a broader fleet of restored windjammers that will sail to secluded anchorages and off-the-beaten-path harbors across the Caribbean. The long-term vision is to combine heritage, community, and adventure by bringing sailors aboard ships that embody the golden age of sail.

For US Sailing, the partnership represents an extension of its mission to grow participation in the sport while honoring its traditions. For The Windjammer Way, it ensures that historic vessels remain not just museum pieces but working ships, continuing to inspire new generations of sailors.

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The 2025 Classic Yacht Challenge Series (CYCS) closed its season last weekend with the Indian Harbor Classic Yacht Regatta in Greenwich, Connecticut. Over the summer, the series drew 262 classic yachts to 14 events spanning Down East Maine to Long Island Sound, with 17 boats qualifying by competing in at least five regattas.

“This was a challenging season, but it was marked by tight competition, strong camaraderie, and a thorough commitment to classic yacht racing,” said Timmy Dittrich, chair of the Classic Yacht Owners Association. “On behalf of the Classic Yacht Owners Association, I want to extend a heartfelt congratulations to our winners, and plenty of gratitude to all the sailors who participated in this summer’s season.”

Top Honors Across Classes

In the Vintage class, the 1938 Sparkman & Stephens Black Watch secured a perfect 500-point score to take first place. Peter McClennen’s 1925 Herreshoff R-Boat Gamecock placed second with 490 points, followed by Ben Sperry’s 1936 NY 32 Gentian with 433 points. Paul Koch’s homebuilt daysailer Ponyo earned a perfect score in the Spirit of Tradition class. In the Classic division, American Eagle, an A. E. Luders Jr. 12 Meter owned by Alexander C. Valcic, claimed top honors. Øivind Lorentzen’s Brooklin Boat Yard–built Jax won the Contemporary class, and Steve Frary’s Herreshoff Narwhal led the Modern Classic fleet.

“Qualifying means dedicating the logistics and the time to get around New England,” Dittrich added. “We know this is not an easy feat to be stewards of these pieces of history and we appreciate all those regattas, owners, and sailors who travel to celebrate the classics all summer long.”

District Awards and Milestones

District awards recognize boats that sail at least three events in their home region. In Southern New England, McClennen’s Gamecock clinched the Vintage division, marking 100 years of the R-Boat on Narragansett Bay. Stephen Antaya won the Classic division aboard his 1959 Alden yawl Mariner, while William Hubbard’s 1969 Tina One Tonner Lively Lady topped the Modern Classic fleet.

The winners will be celebrated at the CYOA Annual Meeting and CYCS Awards Ceremony on October 24 at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island. Members and sailors are invited to RSVP by October 14 on the CYOA website.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Despite light conditions in the season finale, the fleet delivered a memorable finish to the summer series. Full results from the Indian Harbor Classic Yacht Regatta and the complete CYCS standings are posted on the CYOA website.

The Classic Yacht Challenge Series will return next summer for another slate of events celebrating the enduring beauty and spirit of classic yacht racing.

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The Classic Yacht Challenge Series (CYCS) fleet marked the end of summer in Newport, Rhode Island, with the Newport Classic Yacht Regatta, presented by IYRS, over Labor Day weekend. The event closed out the Narragansett Bay portion of the season before the fleet shifts to Long Island Sound for its final two regattas of the year.

Saturday brought only light air, and despite best efforts from the Ida Lewis Yacht Club’s Race Committee, racing was called off. On Sunday, however, the breeze filled in stronger than forecast, allowing for a spirited finale to the Bay season.

“We are coming down to the wire in this year’s CYCS and we could not ask for more exciting competition,” said CYOA Chair Timmy Dittrich. “The Newport Classic Yacht Regatta marked the traditional end of summer with gorgeous sailing and great camaraderie.”

The regatta produced standout performances across divisions. In the Vintage class, Chris Culver helmed the 1926 12-meter Onawa to victory, also collecting the Atlantic and Sappho Trophies for best elapsed and corrected times over distance. Among the Classics and Modern Classics, Steve Eddelston’s newly refit 12-meter Weatherly and Jack Curin’s Intrepid took top honors. In the Spirit of Tradition division, Don Smith’s Falcon won in its debut outing.

Centennial celebrations were in order for Peter McClennen’s R Boat Gamecock, refit by IYRS students in 2011. The 100-year-old yacht placed third overall for the weekend, held its lead in the RI/CT/NY division, and narrowed the gap on overall leader Blackwatch. Both yachts were further recognized for designer distinctions, with Gamecock taking Best Herreshoff performance and Blackwatch named Best Sparkman & Stephens performer.

The weekend’s racing was joined by festivities ashore and afloat, including a patriotic parade of boats and a fleet of women sailing Herreshoff 12½s, who trained together all summer. Their presence added both competition and camaraderie to the regatta, which closed with a lively afterparty at IYRS.

Next, the CYCS heads to Sea Cliff Yacht Club on Long Island Sound for the Heritage Cup Regatta and Rendezvous on September 6. “The picturesque surroundings of the historic Sea Cliff Village offer a stunning backdrop for spectators to witness the thrilling competition,” said event organizer Michael Emmert. “Hempstead Harbor allows us to start and finish the regatta less than five minutes from the mooring field, which allows us to showcase these magnificent yachts from land and sea.”

Results and current standings are available at classicyachts.org/results.

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