An Easy DIY Flooring Project With OrthoDek

Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2018
By: Erik Kyle, Publisher, Great Lakes Scuttlebutt

At the Cleveland Boat show this year, I came across a new product called Orthodek. Curious, I inquired what made this flooring unique and wondered if I could use it for the swim platform on our 411 Beneteau. The reason we needed to change it out was simple - the natural teak we had in our 20-year-old boat was starting to buckle on one side, and I’ve seen this type of product out there for years but hadn’t yet found one that sold me. So, my main interest was to find out how this product would stack up compared to other similar products on the market.

First and foremost, the new Orthodek flooring did have rich looks and I was told it would provide a cool, non-skid surface. Being a very durable material, with proper care it would last a long time plus it comes with a three-year warranty on fading. Since it was also a new product on the market, I decided to give it shot and test it out.

Available as a DIY project, my thoughts began to run away with me until we actually got started. First, we had to remove the old teak decking. Using a simple razor knife down each seam, we followed it with a TeakDecking Systems reefing hook to remove the existing rubber-type sealant on both sides of a single panel. Using a simple heat gun, we heated the teak to activate the adhesive underneath and pried out that panel. Once it was out, a putty knife and the heat gun helped to pop out the rest, and we scraped away the glue residue, then cleaned the area thoroughly with acetone.

OthroDek had provided us with a template material to trace the area, which was then sent to Vepo (parent company) for digitizing. Once we received and confirmed the “dry fit” sample - to ensure the proper fit - the Orthodek was produced and provided with a proprietary self-adhesive. With a perfect fit, we simply removed the release paper from the bottom of the panels, carefully positioned them into place, and pressed down to ensure a good seal. Due to the nature of our inlay, we caulked the edges using a latex-based marine caulk. This was simply a matter of taping off the areas, using the caulk gun, and removing the excess caulk with our fingers, followed by the tape. Voila - we were done.

My new decking looks great and made our boat the talk of the dock! Our friends with Jet skis, SUPs, other sailboats, and lots of powerboats are using this product and have fallen in love with the results!

You can explore OrthoDek at www.vepoco.com today!