[Rhodes22-list] Varnishing Virgin and tiller covers

[JAY FRIEDLAND]

Folks, I'll throw in my 2 cents to affirm what's been
said, plus a few extras. I have more than even the
standard older boats, adding teak toerails, ladder
steps, pop-top slider rails, etc. I've used Armada for
4 years, after Cetol for 3 years. If I had to start
now Honey Teak is the current rage here for long term
holding power on teak. In all cases here, early season
work is light sanding and 3 days of an hour and a half
per day application. I lose NO sailing time.

On the tiller mine is 10 years old, replacing my
original factory issue that split along the laminates
at the rudder head. Based on my situation, the new one
was reinforced with oak dowels  set in epoxy throught
the layers from the bottom just shy of the top layer
so it never shows. The tiller was covered with 2 thin
coats of West System epoxy to permanently seal it, and
then 10 coats of an old standard, Z-Spar's Captain's
Varnish, cheaper, easier, and more effective than
most. Compared to most northern boats, my boat has an
extended season, typically 10 months and hot, baking
shore sun. All the wood looks new and is most often
the main highlight of an otherwise classic sailboat.

I'd be happy to supply more details if needed, but the
aversion most people have to wood on boats and
maintenance is purely unfounded. In fact, many people
find working with wood therapeutic, so as Bill says,
enjoy it.
Jay

--- Mary Lou Troy <mltroy at verizon.net> wrote:

> Mark,
> Bill's advice on varnishing is excellent but if you
> don't want to do it 
> every year the tiller cover recommended by others
> really does work well. It 
> even protects the varnish from the line or bungee
> cord if you lash your 
> tiller when you leave the boat. We use a bungee to
> lash ours to the 
> traveller. We have a bit more wood on the boat than
> some people - trim on 
> the edges of the cockpit seats, the companionway
> slides for the hatch board 
> and a piece of mahogany that serves as the kickplate
> holding the line for 
> the centerboard pennant. We use the West Marine
> version of Cetol/Armada on 
> the trim but use varnish on the tiller and the
> mahogany.
> 
> Mary Lou
> 1991 R22 Fretless
> Ft. Washington, PA / Swan Creek, MD
> 
> 
> At 05:49 PM 1/19/2006 -0500, you wrote:
> >Mark,
> >
> >I've posted this so often I'm bored with it.  If
> you look, the dates go 
> >back a few years.  But, of course, it keeps coming
> up.  I still hold these 
> >views, enjoy the varnishing, look forward to doing
> it each year, find it 
> >protects the tiller very well in my climate, and
> remain proud of my 
> >ability to produce this product.  I don't stain,
> and I don't use "Cetol" 
> >or like products that have superior UV protection
> but impart a yellow cast.
> >
> >All varnish seems to work.  More expensive varnish
> is easier to apply.
> >Lots of very thin coats seems to work best.  A can
> of varnish could last 
> >me a lifetime.
> >
> >Bill Effros
> >
> >Old post follows -- Subject changed to original
> subject line.
> >
> >This topic seems to always come up at this time of
> year for understandable
> >reasons.
> >
> >Never having varnished anything in my life, I filed
> everything in "Does Not
> >Apply To Me" (read "Delete") the first year I was
> on the list.
> >
> >Last year Rummy brought it up again, and after a
> dozen replies went to West
> >Marine and bought whatever the pretty sales girl
> told him to buy.  I thought
> >it was just another example of that song "When The
> Little Head Does The
> >Thinking", but Rummy reported he was very happy
> with the outcome.
> >
> >The only exterior wooden brightwork on my boat is
> the tiller which, by that
> >time, was so ratty-looking I had ordered another
> from Stan.  Figuring I had
> >nothing to lose, I decided to follow the advice on
> the list, and attempt to
> >strip down and varnish my tiller.  I was astonished
> at the results.
> >
> >If Raz's work rates a 10, and Rummy's is a 9, then
> mine would be a 7.  When
> >the tiller arrived from General Boats its varnish
> rated a 2.
> >
> >I loved my tiller every time I looked at it or
> touched it.  It was simply
> >magnificent in my humble opinion.  The project was
> perhaps the most
> >satisfying thing I did all year.  It still looks
> and feels great.  I can't
> >wait to put on a fresh coat of varnish as soon as
> it gets a little warmer.
> >I'm looking for other things to varnish around my
> house.
> >
> >The single most useful posting came from Raz.  I
> followed his directions,
> >and wound up feeling enormously relaxed. Following
> is his post from last
> >year:
> >
> >"I highly recommend thinning oil based varnish with
> marine Penetrol, which
> >is
> >a polymerized boiled linseed oil. The mix that
> works well for me is about a
> >tablespoon of Penetrol to 1/4 cup of varnish.
> That's about the right amount
> >to do a real good coat on a tiller and it brushes
> out like a dream. Unlike
> >solvent thinners this will not degrade the varnish
> coat. Pettit recommends
> >thinning their varnishes no more than 10% with
> solvent and that only for the
> >first bonding coat on bare wood. I use straight
> Penetrol for the first coat.
> >The instructions on the Penetrol can outline the
> whole process. I have never
> >had a varnish finish lift from moisture penetration
> using their process. The
> >trick to a good varnish coat is to use a premium
> chinese boar bristle brush
> >well loaded with varnish and thoroughly brush out
> each coat. Any slight
> >brush marks will level out and disappear as the
> varnish cures. It takes at
> >least 3 coats of undiluted varnish to build a thick
> enough finish to last
> >through a couple of years of marine exposure.   If 
> I am starting with bare
> >wood I do at least 6 coats, allowing each coat to
> completely dry for at
> >least  24 hours, sometimes several days if the air
> is humid.The penetrol
> >does lengthen the drying time between coats. I
> lightly wet sand with 220
> >grit wet or dry paper between coats using water
> with a few drops of dish
> >washing detergent or Murphy's oil soap added. Wet
> sanding is faster and
> >keeps the varnish from getting soft from over
> heating due to the sanding
> >friction. The object is to just remove the gloss
> without taking off any more
> >varnish than you absolutely have to to get rid of
> rough spots and
> >imperfections.  A few minutes before you are ready
> to recoat, wipe the wood
> >down with a rag wet with thinner and allow that to
> completely dry off.
> >Before the very last coat, I wet sand with 400
> grit. It took 3 weeks last
> >year to do 6 coats on my Compac tiller, but its
> only a couple of leisurely
> >hours per coat including the sanding and cleanup.
> The end results were
> >spectacular. I'll have to start over this year with
> a new tiller for the
> >Gloucester, sigh. Actually I really enjoy this
> process, its sort of like Zen
> >meditation to me."
> >
> >Thanks, Raz. I'll follow the maintenance
> instructions to the letter.  I
> >really did enjoy the process as much as the
> outcome, and it was a lot like
> >Zen meditation.  I've been looking forward to the
> maintenance all year.
> >
> >Bill Effros
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "David Rasberry" <cinetics at acsinc.net>
> >To: <rhodes-list at sailnet.net>
> >Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2001 11:31 PM
> >Subject: RE: [rhodes-list] Exterior Wooden
> Brightwork
> >
> >
> >Personally, I find the aesthetic appeal of wood to
> be worth the upkeep. All
> >it takes to maintain a good premium varnish job is
> lightly wet sand with 400
> >grit sand paper and put on a single fresh coat once
> a year. To my mind it is
> >a less onerous task than buffing out and waxing
> dull fiberglass.
> >
> >Razz
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Alex Bell [mailto:alexbell at coastalnet.com]
> >Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2001 10:08 PM
> >To: rhodes-list at sailnet.net
> >Subject: Re: [rhodes-list] Exterior Wooden
> Brightwork
> >
> >
> >Roger,
> >
> >Boat improvement labor and time is not the same as
> work, 
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