Rubbing Strakes - Varnish, Oil or Go Naked?

[erbster]

Hi Toby,

my CC19 is from 2004. As I loathe varnishing, I simply waited for all the varnish to peel off (I loathe sanding as well) and then gave the rubbing strakes - and all other timber - just a few coats of decks olje. Now I use sadolin. Both products seem to do their job very well. I cannot see anythings that would make me worry.

As the appearance of my wood-treatment is somewhat duller than varnish it may not be for the showboat people. I however prefer sailing to servicing, so I probably treat the wood a lot less often than I should. Based on that I chance to say that even without any treatment the hardwood seems to stand up quite well to the elements.

Stephan, did you later apply sadolin because you didn't get on with deks olje? Read some bad comments elsewhere about that product? I hate rubbing down and my impression is that oiling the wood and then giving it a quick rub down with an oiled rag a couple of times a season is less effort than the fiddly rubbing down of strakes and coach roof woodwork.

Bob at Honnor was adamant that varnish is the only way to go, but he's a craftsman and someone else is paying for his time.....?

[seasickwhale]

Hi Charles,

Stephan, did you later apply sadolin because you didn't get on with deks olje? Read some bad comments elsewhere about that product? I hate rubbing down and my impression is that oiling the wood and then giving it a quick rub down with an oiled rag a couple of times a season is less effort than the fiddly rubbing down of strakes and coach roof woodwork.

Bob at Honnor was adamant that varnish is the only way to go, but he's a craftsman and someone else is paying for his time.....?

Nothing wrong with Deks Olje, we used it for years. BTW - we only used DO1 which soaks into the wood and not DO2 on top, which forms a skin - that means sanding again.

We only changed to Sadolin after an article in PBO comparing wood treatments. Sadolin is quite a bit cheaper and seems to be just as effective.

[erbster]

That's reassuring; thanks Stephan. Which Sadolin product do you use?

[seasickwhale]

Hi Charles,

That's reassuring; thanks Stephan. Which Sadolin product do you use?

I do not know exactly - a friend bought the stuff. But I suppose our german brand description wouldn't match the english name anyway.

See if you find the PBO-article (I guess about a couple of years ago) or maybe someone else can help.

[Dennis]

Hi Charles and Stephan

Nothing looks better than varnish, BUT, It is very high maintainance especially on the rubbing strake. I am one of these perverse people who love varnishing, but only when I can control the environment, i.e. in my garage. Unfortunately, Mary Ann does not fit inside my garage, so I have moved away from varnish for the rubbing strake.

I have tried Sadolin quick drying woodstain (for two seasons), because it dries in 30 minutes, giving a reasonable chance that it will dry before it rains (again). It does the job but looks like brown paint .
Also like varnish, if it gets physically damaged (inevitable on the rubbing strake), it does crack and peel (like varnish) but is easily repaired by local rubbing down and recoating.

Consequently, I am considering removing the Sadolin from the rubbing strake and replacing with a micro-porous or oil based system. I have Deks Olje at the top of my list, but am still open to other suggestions.

I am considering using Deks Olje No.1 only for the rubbing strake and No.1 and No.2 for the toerail.

As I understand it the No.1 soaks into the wood and does not provide a waterproof skin. The No.2 coating can be applied on top of the No.1 and will (with sufficient coats) give an attractive gloss finish. The No.2 coat can be repaired by local rubbing down (wet using No.1 as the lubricant) and recoating.

I assume Stephan that your Sadolin product must be one of their varieties which does not form a surface skin, possibly intended for garden decking!

To get around the inevitable rain problem, I will get HM to do this work for me when Mary Ann goes for some TLC in about one months time.

Anyone else any other suggestions?

[erbster]

Thanks for that Dennis. As my boat does not spend he entire season afloat, it should be easy enough to "top up" any oil treatment quickly. I'm leaning towards the Deks stuff too. I'm wondering how much I'll need. Nothing worse than doing all the prep and running out....

[Ru88ell]

I recently came across this on the Collars website:-

http://www.collars.co.uk/info/44/recent_articles/45/our_own_varnish_test

These guys know a thing or two about masts and spars.

[bellalistair]

The practical Boat Owner article came out with not a lot to choose between

Sikkens Cetol Marine now called International Woodskin but same stuff
and
Sadolin Ultra

Cheers

Alistair

CC092 - Tystie

[Ru88ell]

Zephyr is now sold, but my last act is to varnish the wood before delivering her to the new owner on Saturday. I want to send her off looking fantastic for years to come. I've scraped and sanded the rubbing strakes back to bare iroko, and it really is a beautiful wood. I'll be putting 3 coats of 'International Original' back on, as it would be criminal to hide the grain behind a darker finish. I've already done the mast and bowsprit, and they look fantastic.

[SimonW]

Russell

Congratulations and commiserations on selling zephyr. I have gone for International Woodskin on spars, rubbing strake and handrail, primarily because it is easy to touch up as it doesn't crack like some varnish. I believe that Crabbers use it for all their boats now.

Simon