Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Boat interior finish?
My info: Retired contractor, finish carpenter, project manager. Boating since 1975.
I have had five boats, 2-fiberglass, 3 aluminum. Building my first wooden boat a 16' Don Hill drift boat.
Question: as I am building/planning the boat I am contemplating the pros/cons of interior finishes for my boat. Requirements are: 1 - looks like a million bucks, 2 - easy to maintain.
Materials materials to be finished: Okoume sides and bottom with Ash ribs.
Options: varnish vs. oil.
appreciate any input.
John
Views: 1101
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason Knight on
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Oil.
It's easy to apply, cheap and looks good.
The interior of a driftboat gets pretty hard use and dings, scrapes and scratches are going to happen. With oil, just slap some more on, with varnish is becomes a project.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Elder on
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Hi Jason,
I'm with you all the way until you get to the "looks good" part. Oiled interiors soon oxidize until they become a drab brown with little of the wood character visible. On the other hand, Okoume is bland to begin with, so why not oil it.
If you want a beautiful Sapele or even fir interior that will take a lot of abuse, scarf your panels full length and put a layer of glass cloth bedded in UV resistant epoxy on the inner side. Then flow coat them, filling the weave and sand to a mirror finish before assembling them on the boat. Epoxy and sand your ribs before assembling them. When it is all together brush on a coat of 2 part polyurathane clear. As long as you keep your boat under a cover when not in use, your total maintenance over the years will be less than an oiled interior.
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John: Jason is right on the mark. The following mix has worked for me. 1 Quart Turps, 1 Quart Boiled Linseed oil,2-4 oz Japan Drier and 8 oz or so pine tar. Add as much to get the color required. I love the smell of the stuff. Get hull out in the hot sun- lay on a generous coat , let sit for 20-30 min and wipe off any excess with a dry rag. If you leave any on the hull thinking it will "soak" in you will end up with a sticky mess-don"t ask how I know this.
Good luck
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OK, I use boiled linseed oil on my turnings and I like the look. I figure that the turp is used as a thinner for penitration into the wood. What is the pine tar for, color? I have no idea what Japan Drier is, what it does or where to find it.
I appreciate your responsis,
Thank you,
John
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Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on
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Another nod for oil. I am in the minority though as I hate the smell of home brew, the turpentine smell never seems to go away. I am a big fan of Daly's sea fin products. I use ship-n-shore & Teak oil. I have done the math and I get the Daly's at a paint store and it is actually cheaper than home brew. Japan drier is a chemical drying agent, I ad it to the Daly's in cooler weather.
Mike
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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I chose a third school of thought. I laminated 6 ounce S-Glass to the insides of my panels to add resistance to puncture. My philosophy was to build a boat that would resist most damage or could be repaired enough to get through a trip. Since the chine caps take most of the damage the secondary areas will be the sides and finally the floor.
Since I laminated the inside of the panels with epoxy I had to cover it with a UV resistant finish. I chose General Finishes 405 exterior water based poly with UV protection. I applies easily with brush or spray. Visit my page here to see photos of the parts I sprayed. It has held up well and I would use it again. Eric L has also chosen to use it.
I also have chosen Daly's Seafin Teak Oil for gunwales and my outer chine cap. I helped Steve Putnam apply Daly's to the interior, gunwales and chine cap for his restoration.
Good luck on your build. We love pictures too.
Rick N
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Permalink Reply by Rojo on
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Follow up question for the oil clan, do you finish seats and thigh bars with oil too? Does it end up on clothing? Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Rojo
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Rojo: After it soaks in for a while you MUST wipe the whole thing down with rags such that there is no more oil getting on the rags. The wood should be "dry" to the touch. Then when it sets up with the Japan drier it will be a hard finish and should not get on clothing. A few summers ago I was re-oiling the mast on the Peapod and a nextdoor buddie came over. We got in a conversation with Jack Daniels and forgot the mast. When I got back to it the thing was one sticky mess as I forgot to wipe it dry before leaving it. Had to strip the mast down to bare wood and then do it all over again. Rick Newman's technique is great and gives a beautiful finish but a lot more work than oil. A lot of the guides use the oil method as they don't have time to fiddle with boats and want to be on the river. I think this is the way AJ finishes his boats.
GoodLuck
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I actually think the "patina" of an oiled boat that has been in the the sun with the darker dings and scratches is a beautiful thing. That look is only achieved over time and experience...
I also varnished all of my seat tops and fly deck though, just because I was not sure if the oil would rub off on clothing.
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Another plus for BLO/Turps mixture: If at some later date you want to varnish over some parts as Jason suggests- gunwales etc the mixture can act as an oilbased primer and is compatible with "normal" varnish as well as oilbased paints and probably water based latex "porch and deck" enamels since they say to prime with oilbased primers.
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If you use epoxy it must be top coated with a UV resistant varnish to prevent it from getting cloudy.
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I want to thank all of you who have responded. I have pulled the trigger and started with the first coat of Teak oil on the ribs. The plan is to apply 2, maybe 3, coats of the T-oil to the ribs. I will be applying epoxy to the sides and bottom and a coat or 2 of varnish to protect everything. I know that this will be more upkeep than I wanted but it's wood.
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