Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Drift boat wood protection question

Earlier I decided to finish the interior of my Don Hill style drift boat with Teak oil. I chose oil because of the ease of maintenance. My concern is mold/mildew that could form on wood that was oil finished living out here in a rainforest, located across the cannal from the Olympics. The interior bottom and sides will receive a coat of 6 oz. glass w/West System so a coat, or more, of a good marine varnish w/UV will be in order.

Questions:

1. an I stuck w/varnish on oiled wood to protect it from mold/mildew?

I refinished the handrails, teak, with Cetol, 3 coats, on my big boat, looked great. After a good day of fishing with sloppy guests the stern was covered with blood and fish scales. The scales dried by the time we reached port and would not wash off. Every scale that was missed caused a black spot on the teak.

2. will varnish have the same kind of problem with fish scales? I know that there are many variables but how does varnish generally perform under the onslot of finish eating fish,Coho, scales?

Thanks for any input,

John

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Frank R on March 12, 2014 at 1:59pm

You can periodically apply antifreeze as a mildewcide. It will penetrate oil, varnish, and paint, but not epoxy.

Get the new kind that has a bittering agent added so that animals, like a dog, will not lap it up and die. It has a very sweet taste.

I doubt this will have have any effect on existing stains but it will prevent the mold/mildew from growing enough to compromise the structural integrity of the boat.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Z on March 13, 2014 at 8:51am

Entering an area of varied opinions...

Good problems to have in my book. Fish slime and fish scale on your boat is kinda why I have a boat. Oiled wood ages gracefully with time. Personally, 4 or 5 years of hard use on an oiled boat looks absolutely fantastic even with its battle scars fish slime and dings. You can buy this stuff to spray on you rhouse "mold be gone" and it works liek a charm. I used it on a part of wood deck and vynil siding on a side of the house with mildew problems. Stuff worked great and didnt damage any finish. store the boat dry, let it get some sun and youll be fine. I had a meranti boat with oiled interior and it had an area of mold on the surface. i hose dit out, reoiled it and let it sit in the sun, no issues. I certainly wouldnt worry about handrails.

Varnish is a hard surface finish. It will certainly clean up better. One thing to consider is that when it comes time to refinish a varnished boat, you will have considerably more work on your hands.

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Permalink Reply by Lee E Washburn on March 14, 2014 at 6:29pm

IVE BEEN CLEANING FISH SCALES OFF Yahtzee for the last 50 years maybe more but anyway it's part of the deal if you want to eat fresh fish and play around in varnished boats.
Last year we ran in to a good wahoo bite as we aproched Antigua. We where still finding scales as we did the varinsh. Panama. Many moons later. I know for fact that as the boat sets in S.D. today if I were to go back to do the varnish I will find more scales. A but we eat good. Clear coat over varnish. Works well. That I know. It will yellow over time in the sun. Boat covers are must. I was raised on a varnished hull sail boat. But made a living fishing.stink pots. I LOVE MY LITTLE DRIFT BOAT. . Thank you all. Lee

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Permalink Reply by Mark Stuberr on March 14, 2014 at 7:46pm

Living out on the Peninsula defiantly has its downs as well as its ups. As a good finish i like boat sauce, mix 1 gal Sea Fin Teak Oil, one quart cheap ass varnish, and pine tar to taste. This has been used in our area for a long, long, time. Its easy to apply, clean, and reapply if necessary. A great way to get rid of mold etc is warm salt water, it also prevents rot. If you want to see the original recipe search boat sauce on my blog, http://shoelessmusings.blogspot.com/.