Teak a T


long hard look


Durable, low maintenance and visually pleasing, the new synthetic alternatives to traditional teak superyacht decking are beginning to show their advantage over the natural product they seek to emulate Words: Frances and Michael Howorth


here are many good reasons why teak has, for so long, been the owner’s choice of decking material on board superyachts. They like the look and the feel of it underfoot. It is extremely durable, visually pleasing, reasonably low


maintenance to say nothing about being hugely traditional. It is easy to clean providing you do not want that orange look of new decks because all it needs is the dousing of fresh clean seawater to do the job.


In recent times, green, eco warriors have cast their voodoo over the use of the real deal and, together with some unscrupulous misdeeds regarding the importation of illegally sourced product, the shine of pride associated with owning a teak deck is beginning to lose its lustre. What was seen scornfully and referred to as fake teak some years back, has now lost some of its counterfeit cred and manufacturers of synthetic teak are beginning to find that business is coming to them now rather than being the hard sell of a decade ago. Companies who supply and fit talk of great strides forward in technology aimed at making their products look attractive to the yacht owners and the crews that swab the decks.


But for the past few years there has been no real argument to suggest that real teak is in any way superior in quality or lifespan. Today modern synthetic decks look every bit as good and


have similar anti-skid qualities to teak. Add in the cost savings in installation and ongoing maintenance and teak loses out to the modern synthetic deck.


Even the way the superyacht industry refers to synthetic decking has changed. No longer regularly called fake teak even the terminology of ‘teak replacement’ is beginning to disappear.


This


fact alone is music to the ears of Marcel van der Spek the Commercial Director, of Esthec part of the Bolidt Group, specialising in the flooring solution since 1964 and active in a wide range of industries such as the Cruise Ship Industry. Marcel says, “I don’t even really like talking about a substitute because that suggests having to choose an alternative because the first choice is not available. I prefer to refer to Esthec as being the future. It is sustainable, extremely durable, full of design options, easy to maintain and was never designed to be a ‘fake teak’. He adds Esthec is much more than a teak imitation product. One of his many satisfied clients suggested that Esthec is not really an alternative, but is in fact, the solution. He added, “It is just


130 | SUMMER 2021 | ONBOARD


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