How one sailor used AquaTeak to create a luxury look for a once plain cockpit

David Larner improves the appearance of his yacht’s cockpit

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My previous, and more expensive boats, had teak-laid cockpit seats, but not so for my recently acquired Hunter Ranger 245, built in 2000 and called Pipedream. Its plain white GRP cockpit was too glaring for my liking and difficult to keep clean. So I set about finding a teak product to cover the seats and the cabin step.

I didn’t fancy EVA foam material – it’s too thick and cushiony for my application, and more at home on power boats. Real teak of course would be very expensive.

the cockpit of a boat

Pipedream’s standard cockpit was functional but not very inspiring. Credit: David Larner

Many years ago I’d fitted the popular diamond-style Treadmaster to deck areas of my 1976 Nantucket Clipper yawl. It was in good shape when I sold her 20 years later, and still looked great in photos taken when she changed hands a few years ago.

I’d got wind of a new material in prototype production at Treadmaster. So I explained my needs for a lined (not diamond pattern) material and Treadmaster kindly sent me a 2.4m x 1m sample roll of their new AquaTeak product.

A yacht moored in a marina

David Larner’s Hunter Ranger 245 Pipedream. Credit: David Larner

It proved a lovely material to work with – flexible enough to be delivered in a roll, thick and robust enough to lay flat when being fitted, but easy to cut with scissors or a craft knife. The photos show the finished, attractive, authentic result – much better than bare GRP.

Fitting AquaTeak

First I sanded the GRP and thoroughly cleaned it before application to improve adhesion. The underside of AquaTeak is covered with an adhesive and a peel-off protective film.

AquaTeak being fitted to a boat cockpit

Carefully placed in position, the front edge is taped securely to stop it moving. Credit: David Larner

Once the film is removed, the panel has to be positioned perfectly on the boat first time: there’s no opportunity to slide it around into its final position or to lift it and try again.

AquaTeak being fitted to a boat cockpit

The panel finally glued into position in the cockpit. Credit: David Larner

Here’s how it’s done:

  • Once the panel is cut to shape, leave the backing film in place and fix the panel exactly in position at the front edge with gaffer tape.
  • Lift the rear edge of the panel and remove a slice of backing film along its entire length.
  • Push the back edge down to stick it down into position along its length.
  • Now remove the gaffer tape.
  • Lift the front edge of the AquaTeak and remove all the rest of the film.
  • Working from the back edge, gradually and evenly lower the panel down to glue it into position.

I’m really pleased with the finished result. The new Treadmaster AquaTeak product (not to be confused with their indoor product called TKC) is priced at about £119 per square metre. It has been designed to plug a gap in the market between Eva foam and ‘real’ teak products.

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