The state of my boat !

[Dave-Fethiye]

Hello,
I bought my 12m motor cruiser 3 months ago and finally got it into the water three weeks ago.

The above water line wood look pretty horrible becuase the varnish is all peling off. The boat next to mine has a dark stained varnish and looks pretty good - see picture below. It made me think that maybe I should use the same product that I used on my house - its a mahagany colored stain with wood preservative - see picture.

Now should I sand the varnish or use a gas flame to remove it and prepare for stain/preserver ?

What do you think ?
Heres some pictures
- you can see that the white paint is also in bad condition - again - sanding or flame ?

[Bergalia]

Scraper and sanding every time. Use flame only to light your pipe. And while you're at it - check out the fitness of that timber...some of it looks 'soft' and may need replacing.

[USCGRET/E8]

I would use a paint and varnish remover, then sand smooth. Not sure about the house stuff taking a topping of marine varnish though. An oil base stain topped with several coats of Helmsman Spar Varnish (or equivalent) would be my choice of materials on a nice old wood boat. You might get more input from these folks:http://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/

[USCGRET/E8]

Originally Posted by USCGRET/E8

I would use a paint and varnish remover, then sand smooth. Not sure about the house stuff taking a topping of marine varnish though. An oil base stain topped with several coats of Helmsman Spar Varnish (or equivalent) would be my choice of materials on a nice old wood boat. You might get more input from these folks:http://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/

To be more exact, it is Spar Urethane, not varnish.

[longliner45]

I must say ,,,,,staining mahogony??????? why ,,you stain wood to make it look like something else ,,you got mahogony,,,,,what more could you want?,,,,,,start sanding your ass off and apply varnish ,,a good outdoor varnish with uv protection is good ,,many marine products available,,,,,,,also looks like teak deck,,,lot of sanding there,,,,but use teak oil....longliner

[longliner45]

one more thing ,,,,,,I see dows,you have pearls in your lap ....and dont know it

[Dave-Fethiye]

Hello again,
Thanks for your comments.
Longliner I wrote:
"same product that I used on my house - its a mahagany colored stain with wood preservative"

"mahagany colored stain" means it stains cheap wood like pine the color of mahagany - ie dark brown. Maybe I should have written "dark brown stain with preservative" to avoid confusion.

Anyway - what are "dows" ?

[longliner45]

dows are wooden pegs,,it is almost a lost art to build with them anymore,,,screws and nails have taken their place,like I said the deck looks like teak,,sand a sample of the wood you have on the cabin,,,wet it ,and see what it looks like ,,you may be pleasently surprised,,,longliner

[Dave-Fethiye]

Longliner,
Don't you mean "dowel" sometimes spelt "dowl" as in:

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/Dowe...2&albch=google

The deck is teak as you say and is no doubt screwed and finished with small covering bits of wood - these might look like dowels but are just cosmetic.

The cabin is pine, actually the picture of my house eaves shows that they have a nice mahogany look - but they are just pine as well. Thats why I am thinking of using the same stuff, I am just not sure how it will survive the salty sea water.

Probably I'll give it test

[longliner45]

yes ,,yes ,,yes,,,my spelling is terribleas for my own preferance,,I like the natural wood color of each ,,its different,,good luck to you ,,show us some finished pics,longliner

[PAR]

Tunnels are the correct term for wooden dowels to hold boat pieces together. It has been basically replaced by modern fasteners, but there still is a call for this well proven fastening method. Bungs are the term we use for "bits" of wood used to cover fastener heads in natural finished surfaces. They are dowels or plugs, cut to the proper diameter and typically are painted or use varnish to seal them inside the hole. The top (standing proud) is chiseled off and then sanded flush. If done properly (like not glued in place) they are easy to remove (with no surrounding damage), seal the fastener hole and look great under clear finishes, if the grain is matched and aligned correctly.

Dave, there are a few methods to remove the finishes on your boat. When the wood is in that bad a state of UV damage, it's often the best course to smooth the surface as well as you can and paint it. Sure, natural finishes look great, but they also require a whole lot more effort to keep looking good.

Heat will likely leave a fair amount of damaged wood behind (burned) which will further increase your surface restoration requirements. Chemicals can stain or discolor the wood and sanding is tedious and effort consuming. Pick your poison so to speak as all have good points and bad to consider.

[eponodyne]

Originally Posted by PAR

Tunnels are the correct term for wooden dowels to hold boat pieces together.

Sorry to rain on your pedantry, but the CORRECT correct term is "treenail," pronounced "Trunnel" for Crom only knows what reason.

[PAR]

My spell checker must have gotten me while I wasn't looking. Trunnel is correct and is believed a time worn, homogenization of treenail. Thanks, Eponodyne . . .