[camaraderie]

Eryka...I've tried oil in the past and find that it starts looking ugly and holding dirt quite quickly. I'd vote for either natural (with regulat sea-water washdowns) or sanding things down and going with Cetol Natural coats followed by Cetol Gloss coats. I think you will like that look a whole lot better than the original Cetol and since you just touch up with gloss, you don't add more darkening color each year. In the tropics, just go around every 90 days or so with a scotch brite pad and some gloss and do touch ups wherever you being to see wear. The trick is to stay ahead of the deterioration. Lack of simple maintenance causes major work later.