The teak deck remains a must for yachting. This material provides an inimitable colour and feel underfoot. But all owners who have been lucky enough to have this type of wood on their boat will tell you the difficulties in maintaining it, the problems in keeping it clean and beautiful. In order to avoid all these inconveniences, Flexiteek offers an alternative solution that is now widely acclaimed.
Durable and easy to maintain
Flexiteek are PVC slats whose colour does not change with UV light. No more wood that gets grey with time. And for cleaning, Flexiteek supports the high-pressure cleaner. Just pass it at the beginning of the season and the bridge is back to its former glory. What's more, the Flexiteek is easy to clean, whether it's greasy or otherwise.
Workshop welding
The flexible battens are welded together in a workshop at Bonaventura Yachting (French distributor of Flexiteek) before being glued to the deck (without any drilling or screws). This assembly provides a perfect seal between the slats and avoids water infiltration (and therefore delamination).
The assembly is done from templates made directly on the deck of the boat. Once the template has been drawn on a transparent film, it is unrolled on the floor in the workshop at Bonaventura Yachting, and the deck is built completely flat.
We visited the workshop, in the suburbs of La Rochelle, while the deck of a 60-foot (18 m!) sailboat was being built. An impressive piece in terms of its dimensions... Once fully welded, the deck is rolled into a tube to be delivered to the boat.
The assembly is done entirely by hand by the 13 people that make up the Bonaventura Yachting staff. Once cut and adjusted, the slats are welded with a hot iron by melting a PVC wire. The junction is therefore completely watertight.
The design of the battens can be more or less complex to adapt to the shape of the deck or cockpit.
A touch very close to wood
The particularity of the PVC used by Flexiteek is its feel. Flexiteek arrives by sanding the battens with coarse sandpaper, to reproduce the wood grain. Hard to tell the difference with a teak deck by touch.
In addition, the range of colours of the products available gives you the choice between a new teak colour (original colour) or a teak that is already slightly grey. The seals are also available in white, grey or black.
Ideal for renovation
This type of bridge is suitable for both sailing and motor boats. Especially on "old" boats. Choosing to install a Flexiteek deck gives your boat a whole new look. It's like being on a new boat. You can choose to cover only the aft skirt, the cockpit or the entire deck. Flexiteek already has a number of templates for large series boats.
