my sailboat---what to use...

[druidking]

hay every1 i just got my sailboat home from its previous owner
i just need to know:
on the wood work (mast, gunwales, rudder,etc) can i use a couple coats of waterproof wood sealer inn place of marine varnish
i want to get my boat in the water as quick as i can and it will take me a while to get marine varnish, but i already have some waterproof wood sealer
tell my what you think...

[gonzo]

It will protect the wood

[Petros]

anything you put on it will protect the wood. The light sealant will not last very long, nor would any inexpensive hardware store type paint, but it would still protect the wood. The real issue is will it be compatible with the evenutal quality finish you intend to apply later.

If you are going to strip all of the paint off of it anyway, than it would not make much difference what you apply now. However I would stick with oil based sealant or finish since they tend to be more durable, and you can apply any new oil based paint over any residue from any old oil based paint (presuming it is not peeling off) without compatibility issues.

Hardware store type oil based polyeurethane floor finish does not make a bad boat finish, and it is inexpensive and tough. I have used it on a number of smaller boats that do not get stored in the water and are out of the weather most of the year in a shed. They tend to crack if left in the sun year round. I would not used the water based polyurethane.

Good luck, and enjoy your new boat.

[Brent Swain]

Try cetol. Does the same job and doesn't need a lot of prep.
Brent

[PAR]

If you use something like Thomson's Water Seal or other home improvement store product, designed for the front porch to a house, then you regret using it later. These use wax as the water repellent, which make an subsequent coatings very difficult.

Use a fast drying polyurethane spar varnish. They dry in an hour or less, what more can you want. If you use the cheap Min-Wax stuff, it'll flake off pretty quickly, but it's better then nothing.

[Zed]

I used the predecessor to this on a wooden mast...

http://www.intergrain.com.au/dwd.html

Not the same finish up close but looked great anyway and lasted much much longer than varnish... got sick of the constant varnishing but didn't want to lose the timber look.

[alan white]

You live in New Hampshire... what do you mean a while before you can get marine varnish? i'm sure it's available in Portsmouth, or Kittery, or Salisbury Mass., or drive up to Hamilton Marine in Portland, ME.
If you live in western or northern NH, that's one day by UPS I'm sure, from Hamilton's in Portland, where it's about $25.00 a quart for Captain's Varnish this week.