To varnish or resin rudder?

[AXEL]

I have a Phantom (similar to a Sunfish). The rudder and center board are both wood and I would like to finish/seal them. They currently have a very thin coat of varnish (or poly). I'm thinking of just putting a couple of coats of 2 part poly resin and sanding smooth. Would there be any problem just using resin (without glass) for this application? I'm looking for a hard, durable, water tight coating. What do you all think?

 

[tommays]

Nothing is forever and if by resin you mean epoxy its a PITA when its time is up

 

[Ed Schenck]

If your rudder is like my Highlander rudder it is a gorgeous piece of wood. It looks so good with a fresh coat of varnish. And it stays that way all summer long. I don't think you can get that nice finish with epoxy. I tried a test patch on some nice wood that I am using to make a new hatchboard for the big boat. Just did not look like varnish.

 

[sandpiper10471]

For keeping the water out of the wood, polyester won't do you much good. If you want to seal it up, you need to use several coats of epoxy resin. However, every square micron must be coated thickly. If finished smoothly, it can be varnished and the end result should be rich and deep. However, to do it properly is a huge amount of work. Note - epoxy and UV are totally incompatible. You will need enough spar varnish on the surface to keep the sunlight out. If the wood is not remarkable in appearance, then do the epoxy treatment then paint with an epoxy enamel. Note - the film finish must always be maintained.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Phantom is a nice little boat. Much improved Sunfish. I would varnish it with a regular varnish (not a polyurethane varnish). Epoxy would seal it ok, but doesn't hold up to sunlight very well, so it will get cloudy. Polyurethane (even two parts) aren't recommended underneath the waterline. The manufacturer (Homar) varnished it when it was new. And, I recommend you do that and then pull the rudder when not in use to keep it looking good (rather than having it submerged all the time).

 

[AXEL]

Both the rudder and center board will be under water when the boat is in use. When not in use these parts are kept in the garage so UV is not and issue. I've worked with epoxy resin many times doing fiberglass repair. It's pretty easy to brush on and build up a thick, hard coating. Varnish looks great but will take many coats and even at that if I ding the rudder on something hard I can easily break through varnish. Once water gets under the coating it defeats the whole purpose. Sandpiper mentioned varnishing over the resin, if thats a possible way to get a good looking finish I'm up for it. I just don't have confidence in varnish being hard enough on it's own to provide a soild, water tight finish.
The look is not as important as the function in this case. As I said, both these parts are either under water or in the garage.

 

[zeehag]

resin will make vanish stick better, i have been told. resin needs uv protectant. varnish is that. have fun and goood luck with this project-- smooth sailing.

oh yes--use clear penetrating epoxy.....

 

[peptobysmol]

Forgive me for saying this... but what is the point of preserving the looks of a nice looking piece of wood if all you ever see it is when it is in the garage. I'd just do what works as long as I'm protecting the wood. I'm thinking epoxy over making it look nice. Now if it is topside, sure make it look nice. My 2 cents.

 

[AXEL]

Forgive me for saying this... but what is the point of preserving the looks of a nice looking piece of wood if all you ever see it is when it is in the garage. I'd just do what works as long as I'm protecting the wood. I'm thinking epoxy over making it look nice. Now if it is topside, sure make it look nice. My 2 cents.

I agree. I did not know resin was UV sensitive. So I may give it a couple of over coats on top of the resin but, again, I agree. No one will ever see the finish on the rudder or center board. When the boat's in the water, both these guys are under water. I am coating them strictly to protect the bare wood from damage and water penatration. I'm not concerned about appearance but in general I like to keep things looking as good as possible on my boats.

 

[Mormandeus]

I've done the resin varnish thing on all my wood on the boat. Works very well...been three years and I'm going to have to put a few coats of varnish on this year. Just make sure you give the epoxy coating a good wash to get rid of the blush, A good wet sanding will do this and roughen the epoxy for better varnich adhesion.

 

[kenn]

Our boat has a nice mahogany rudder, but when we got the boat it had nicks, prop-bites and hadn't been kept up. I sanded it down, filled the imperfections with epoxy + sawdust, then two even coats of epoxy, and finally two coats of Epiphanes 2-part clear finish.

This has stood up to 4 seasons so far without requiring recoating. The finish is still glossy and sheds water like a duck.

As long as the Phantom's rudder is handled carefully, this sort of finish will stand up. On the other hand, if it's going to get bashed around, grounded/beached, tossed into the trunk, etc, then maybe you'll be refinishing every year, so regular spar varnish or urethane would suffice.

 

[AXEL]

Our boat has a nice mahogany rudder, but when we got the boat it had nicks, prop-bites and hadn't been kept up. I sanded it down, filled the imperfections with epoxy + sawdust, then two even coats of epoxy, and finally two coats of Epiphanes 2-part clear finish.

This has stood up to 4 seasons so far without requiring recoating. The finish is still glossy and sheds water like a duck.

As long as the Phantom's rudder is handled carefully, this sort of finish will stand up. On the other hand, if it's going to get bashed around, grounded/beached, tossed into the trunk, etc, then maybe you'll be refinishing every year, so regular spar varnish or urethane would suffice.

All good advice, thanks to everyone!
I will be doing the varnish over epoxy treatment. I take good care of my stuff. I sail a '77 C30 that often gets complements for being a lot younger than she really is (recently a boatyard thought she was of "90's vintage). A friend gave me the Phantom last year. It had spent the last 15 years or so on its side propped up against a fence in his yard. It was filthy and was much in need of TLC. I cleaned her up, took care of any leaks and rot, put on a couple of coats of urethane (top & bottom) bought a trailer, and had a lot of fun sailing this little boat last year. I'm looking forward to the upcoming season.