[Rhodes22-list] Varnishing Virgin and tiller covers

[Bill Effros]

Jay,

Please provide more details.  Your knowledge of wood working is 
disappearing from the general population.  Anything you write down will 
be used by someone in the future.

I always admire the wood on your boat, every time I see it, even if I 
never believe my skills will progress beyond one tiller, once a year.

Bill Effros

JAY FRIEDLAND wrote:

>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, 
>>    
>>
>=== message truncated ===
>
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