Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Refinishing questions.

20 years ago i finished my boat with paint on the outside and varnish on the inside. Through the years I have kept with this scheme as I maintained my boat. However the plywood on the inside has checked - someplaces more than others (I had been told by someone that the checking had to do with the varnish finish and the fact that the boat sits outside under a Sunbrella Cloth cover - 99% waterproof - in the summer months).

Currently it is time again to do some maintenance so that this boat will last another 10years or until I decide to give it to my son. My plan at this point is to use a orbital palm sander with finishing paper and sand down the plywood inside. Then treat the plywood surfaces with an oil finish. All the maple and teak surfaces I would apply Spar Varnish again. I don't plan to sand all the varnish off the plywood surfaces - this to me to be overkill even though I realize that the oil won't penetrate those areas as much.

With this brief background and before I start my effort, I have a couple of questions for some of the "experts" on this site. It is my expectation that not everyone will agree with each other but please give me your opinion and data you may have to back up your opinion.

1) Is it a waste of time to try and change the inner finished surface of the boat? That is, once you start with a surface finish you shouldn't change.
2) What type of oil can be used? Favorites?
3) Other suggestions?

Thanks alot to all who offer their thoughts and opinions.

Tim

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on December 1, 2008 at 4:46pm

Tim,

Here's my opinion.

1) No, it's not a waste of time to change your interior finish. Scrape and sand the areas that are checking to expose the dry wood. Now apply your oil with a brush or rag then use that oil soaked rag to wipe down the entire interior. This will brighten the areas were the varnish is still good and protect those areas where it is not. As varnish checks, peels or burns away do the same. This will protect the wood and will still give a nice bright finish to the interior. After a while it will be hard to tell where the varnish/oil edges are. I like oil because there is no need to strip, scrape or sand between applications. We oil our boats at least 3 times/ summer, sometimes more when we want to make them look their best.

2) A couple of choices here. Seafin Teak Oil is excellent and can be found at West Marine and many other marine supply companies. Any type of Teak oil from the hardware store might do just fine as well. A gallon will give you several oilings. A mixture of 50% boiled linseed oil and 50% turpentine also works well and is a bit cheaper. Some guys like to add a bit of pine tar and Jap dryer to this mix. I like the teak oil but have used both with good results. Be sure to apply the oil when it's warm out and wipe it down with an old towel. The wood will tell you how much it wants and wipe away the excess or it can get sticky.

Good luck and happy boating

AJ

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Permalink Reply by Tim Wagner on December 1, 2008 at 7:57pm

thanks AJ for the great advice. Since I was going to use the next few weeks to do the refinish job I may have to burn a few btu's in the garage to get the temps increased to apply the oil.