I have a 1997 Hunter 376 which had rain water leaking down the mast pole into the cabin. It damaged the table top and the floor. I have now stopped the leak and would like to properly refinish the varnish as well as repair the damage to the panels. Does anyone know the proper varnish to use, as well as the bleach/sand/stripping procedure to get it to come back and match the rest of the floor in the boat? It also seems obvious that the shiny thick varnish on the table top is a different "glossy" type, and needs to be sanded down around the edge where the water did it's distortion! Not sure how many coats to put back on to match the rest of the table top (80% is still like new). Appreciate any guidance?
Water damage on cabin floor and table
- Thread starter jeffschulz
- Start date
Unless you know what the original finish was you'll never get a perfect match. Many manufactures nowadays are using a conversion varnish which cannot be spot repaired without showing witness lines, I think best way would be to completely strip the damaged part, using a card scraper, Finish off with sanding starting with 150 up to 220 grit. I would shy away from any interior finish that is not formulated for the marine environment There are several quality marine varnishes on the market. I'm partial to the Epifanes products and Total Boat's Lust .
Good Luck and keep us posted how it comes out
Good Luck and keep us posted how it comes out
Yes there was a recent post here where the owner attempted to refinish the table top only to find out that the veneer was paper thin and he sanded through. It is almost like the grain of the table top is a photograph, be very careful or just get a wood grain table cloth. The cabin sole is similar I know there is some instructions in the Hunter owner resources that lines out repair of cabin sole, I believe its in the owners manual under maintenance.
Here is an article on refinishing the table top attempt
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...ble-while-refinishing-the-cabin-table.194499/
Here is an article on refinishing the table top attempt
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...ble-while-refinishing-the-cabin-table.194499/
Thank you all for the input. My brother sanded the one sole (floor) panel and I understand that the vernier is quite thin. There are a few spots that the off-white lines seem to be low and dark. Maybe they are worn through, and I was looking for some kind of fill to bring back their color and get them flush with the wood grain. Does anyone know a smart way to make that fix?? Also, there are U-tube videos of putting resin down for a couple coats then the varnish on top of that! It would seem to be more durable but quite a PIA ((-8. I believe the table is high gloss and the floor (sole) looks to be more Satin. Pretty sure the previous owner did some refinishing just before I bought the boat when it was 20yrs old, although don't see any real mismatch. Oh PS - the boat listed is a Catalina which is my North Office. South Office is a Hunter 376 in LA Harbor, which has the varnish needs. Thanks again!
The "restoration", from and appearance standpoint is dependent on NOT removing the veneer. If you have the veneer left, you have something you might work with to color it using a bunch of "make-up". If you cut thru the veneer, you're going to have to either re-veneer or ...
If you have the underlying color fixed with an acceptable coloring and have "wood left", then you can probably re-varnish. Again - watch out for any aggressive sanding, chemicals, or (God forbid) scraping. Gentle as working "baby's skin" work.
If you have the underlying color fixed with an acceptable coloring and have "wood left", then you can probably re-varnish. Again - watch out for any aggressive sanding, chemicals, or (God forbid) scraping. Gentle as working "baby's skin" work.
Here are photos of the 3 places where it seems to be too thin or missing. I was going to head to the Lowes and see if they have some kind of filler I can match the color, then varnish (and maybe epoxy first) over the whole panel. Any comments are well appreciated!
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Given your apparent inexperience level, I suggest you consult with someone locally who does furniture refinishing professionally.
I doubt you will get a good partial refinish to blend with the original. So if you go it alone, your options are to either sand the entire areas then stain and varnish (or paint), or put down a new veneer then varnish. I’d recommend the latter for the table. Not sure about the sole because I don’t think your pics are good enough for me to judge.
I bought teak veneer at Rockler.com. I also have some left over from a project and if you post the table dimensions I can tell you if it’s a big enough sheet.
I doubt you will get a good partial refinish to blend with the original. So if you go it alone, your options are to either sand the entire areas then stain and varnish (or paint), or put down a new veneer then varnish. I’d recommend the latter for the table. Not sure about the sole because I don’t think your pics are good enough for me to judge.
I bought teak veneer at Rockler.com. I also have some left over from a project and if you post the table dimensions I can tell you if it’s a big enough sheet.
Thanks Captain Larry! I will first attempt to build up the bad spots, then try to decide which varnish makes sense. Seems like the Marine Satin is best on the floor. There are probably 3 other sections (out of about 12-15 total) that have some water damage. Certainly don't want to have to varnish them all. I will post some more photos next time I am down at the boat. The table is just bad on about 40% of the perimiter. Appreciate your guidance.
Jeff- Sorry for the late answer, but I needed to check my supplies to be sure of the answer. For my 1997 h40.5 I was given two finishes by my dealer for touchup. The floor finish is Daly's ProFin Oil and the walls and all woodwork is Daly's SeaFin Teak Oil.
The table finish is another matter and I don't know the finish on it. Mine is a deep, thick-looking finish and I think there are readily available wood products that will produce a comparable finish to the OEM presentation. I refinished my table many years ago because it had developed many surface cracks. I simply used 3-4 coats of polyethylene. I'm certain it wasn't the "right" product, but it produced an acceptable finish that has held up very well.
BTW, I would be very interested in how you managed to stop the mast pole leak.
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Rich, it was quite a saga to stop the water leak! First I went up on the deck and looked for where the water could have possibly gotten under the mast?? there are 2 seams between the plates where it mounts (and all the blocks for sheets and halyards are attached). I put a couple large plastic bags up against the mast and duct taped them to the deck. Did the best I could to prevent rain from coming in off the deck, but had concern that it still might puddle where the lines feed out of the cockpit?! Then next rain it leaked just as bad. Then I removed the plastic, put silicone caulking around both of the deck plates and replaced the plastic with better "tightness". Also put plastic between the dodger and deck to keep water out of those two channels. Now the funny part. It rained again and about 5 gallons of water came in and filled a tub and bucket I had put on the floor and table under the mast. Why you might ask could this be possible?? Well when I was on the boat it began to rain, and I took off the little Velcro patches to see it was only coming from one source; a 1 inch conduit where all the electronic wiring comes down from the radar/lights/instruments on the mast. My conclusion was that this conduit must come from the top of the mast and I will need to go up there to fix the problem! So I called SailboatOwners.com to get their feedback. Turns out I should have called them sooner ((-8. The 1 inch conduit is only a few inches tall and goes through the two plates I have tried sealing. Typically it is tightly caulked when the boat is built. And in fact the Hunter Factory usually runs the wires back up slightly and zip ties them inside the mast, just above the deck. This allows the water (which always gets inside the mast since it is not sealed from outside rain or moisture) to drip to the deck plates and run out onto the deck, with the rest of the rain coming down. Obviously at this point it was quite embarrassing to learn I was just trapping the water and giving it no place to go but down into the cabin through the 1 inch conduit. The Sailboat Owners "coach" recommended I caulk the inside of the conduit from the bottom, after pushing the wires best I could up into the mast! So that is what I did next, and what do you know the leaking completely stopped during the next rain storm ((-8. It did take twice as long to remove the silicone as it did to put it down, but at least now I am ready to repair the water damage on the table and sole of my cabin. Hope this helps.
There were 3 fairly strong rain storms in Long Beach over a two week period, and the rainwater that came down (inside the mast) had no way out so it ran down the conduit inside.