tired of cleaning my teak

[VIEXILE]

P.S. If I had my choice right about now, I''d own a B-40 here in the Caribbean. Just so there''s no misunderstanding. Hinckley builds great boats and the stainless, joinery and ergonomic detail is outstanding....hopefully it will continue. The B-40 molds are pretty well shot, I believe, but wouldn''t it be nice if they''d crank out something a little more financially manageable than a Sou''wester 42? I''ve seen old Sou''wester 30s that were beautiful. That mold has to be laying around somewhere.....

[Bobola]

Viexile, So true. Varnished teak looks great, but who wants to maintain it?
Sailboats are made for sailing.

[Snap]

Viexile,

A ''72 Bristol huh? Wonderful! My B-40 was built in 1972 also. That must make us sort of bros-in-years or something. We got ours in late ''94 and spent the next 4-5 years redoing her. If you''re interested I put some pics on www.picturetrail.com under the member name jacobsladder and in the album entitled Willow. I''m new at computer stuff so forgive the unprofessional errors there.

OK, I''m convinced. Tomorrow I''m heading to the nearest West Marine candy store to procure a ration of Cetol. Perhaps it was the comment from Bobola in addition to your messages that have finally shaken me into this century but regardless I must give it a try. Several years ago I flew out to San Diego to help a friend apply numerous coats of varnish, and I do mean numerous coats, to his brightwork before he brought his boat through the canal and up to the Tampa Bay area. I returned to FL and kept in contact with him via email (Inmarsat C). Some time into his trip we got an email from him that he needed a large supply of fuel filters, another long story, so my wife and I got the filters, jumped aboard a commercial flight and met him in Acapluco to deliver the filters. When we boarded his boat we were in disbelief at what had happened to the varnish. He said most of it had been eaten away by the seas and wind blown salt spray. It was truly an eye-opener to me since I''d never experienced what that type of environment can do to a meticulously applied varnish job. I pride myself on my varnish work but I was shocked at what was left after only a few weeks he had spent sailing from San Diego to Acapulco. Of course one doesn''t encounter that sort of torture coastwise sailing around FL and the Keys as I have spent my sailing life. That said varnish in the type sailing we do is still a time consumming chore. The rewards are nice but as Bobola so aptly put it, "Sailboats are made for sailing." Maybe it''s time that I get back to sailing and if Cetol can get me more time on the water then I may just have to, as you say, "get used to the look." Needless to say I have the scrapers and files and sandpaper galore and I''m not so stubborn that I won''t try something new if it''ll buy me more time at sea with my wife and my dog. Well, OK maybe I am little too stubborn...but I''m trying.

Snap

[ccscott49]

I have for a few years now used a german product, it may be avail;able in the US, I don''t know. Its called Coelans, <www.coelans.de> It is a polyurethane system, which seals the teak deck, buit is breathable, same as waterproofs, its flexible, you can add non slip to it and it survives in the meddy sun for up to 10 years! Which is fabulous! I use it on my spars and all exposed wood (teak) which I don''t cover with my big awning. I''ve seen it used on decks all over the place and it looks great. You use a primer first, which is nuetral in colour, slightly yellow, but not enough to stain the wood. Frankly its the best stuff I''ve used in 30 years of owning wooden boats.

[joseph53p]

No one has mentioned the best of all--Honey Teak. (www.signaturefinishes.com, I think). It is a two part process, can be done in one day, and looks like ten coats of varnish, and lasts forever. Temperature is not a factor. Excellent, accessible customer service and hand holding. They also make fantastic paints--I just redid my nonskid with it. I was skeptical, but it is what they say it is. I have lots of varnish (8-10 coats in my cockpit, and you can''t tell the difference.

[RichH]

Do you know of a USA distributor of Coelans products (or english website)? thanks

[RichH]

Agree totally with Honey Teak !!! I have a ''traditional'' boat with lots of exterior teak. Now approaching my fourth year with Honey Teak applied and it still looks as good as varnish and hasnt lifted, cracked, etc. I''m also using the clear overcoat to protect buffed exterior bronze.
I have several applicions of Honey teak which I have flat sanded with 2000 grit Wet & dry and then hand rubbed with rotten stone and water, for even more brilliant gloss (a Hinckley would turn green from envy). Once I found Honey Teak I quickly became a reformed varnish addict.

[bmcald]

I am planning to start the spring touch up work this weekend. I checked the Honey Teak web site (signaturefinish.com)and didn''t see anything about applying Honey Teak over existing finishes, and assume it is not recommended as it would be best to apply to bare wood. I''ve queried Signature Finish on this too but wanted to ask a customer as well.

I used Cetol on all my teak (coaming, toerail, other trim) and Epiphanes on the spars (mast, gaff, boom). The Cetol looks great but docking lines have chafed it away in parts despite use of leathers; the Epiphanes also looks great but the gaff jaws and blocks have dinged it to the wood in places on the mast.

What do you think? Could Honey Teak be used for repairs and additional coats? Or must it be taken to bare wood?

By the way, on Cetol, I think Sikkens has improved it so it doesn''t leave a muddy finish. After two seasons, the Cetol still looks great, just like varnish. I''ve seen some older applications that look terrible, giving the wood an artificial, plastic appearance.

[Denr]

Sikkens makes a "light" version of thier Cetol product. I''ve used it on bare teak recently and it looks quite good. It does not obscure the grain nearly as much as the original formula does. Check it out and lets close this never-ending topic.