Varnish for the tiller???

[bobby stone]

I keep a line around my tiller as kind of an autopilot, and it's worn a lot of the varnish down.. expectedly.. What do I use to re-coat it? Varnish? Polyurethane? Also, what's the best way to finish the woodwork on the boat. I don't think anything has ever been done to it. It's all gray and looks pretty dry. I'd like to spruce it up, but don't know what to do.It's an Oday 23 by the way..

 

[kevin]

"staining" tiller

I'm not sure about what you can do with the tiller. I have not even begun to think about refinishing my tiller. (I have soooo many other things to do on my boat!!)However, as far as the teak goes on the boat you have many options. Some people like that grey look, they just sand the teak down so it's nice and smooth. I have heard of people even rubbing in salt water using a green scrub/scuff pads to bring out the grey?!?! Others use teak oil to preserve. As for myself I like the look of stain. There are 2 products that a lot of people use, one being cetol and the other is west marine's version of cetol. I forget the product actual name you can easily find it on their website.I used West marine's product on my boat and the teak is now nice brown and "varnished" looking. My freind used cetol and the finish has an orange hue to it. I prefer West's product over cetol b/c of this.The downside to cetol/west is that I have to do this every year, possibly twice a year depending on the wear/tear.Out of curiosity, do you have an oday 23 or an oday tempest?

 

[Mike]

Arrgh, varnish

I have an O'Day 23 too, and all I do with my teak is wash it a couple of times a year. I picked this boat at least partially because it has very little brightwork to contend with. I love the look of all that varnished wood, but I don't have the time to deal with it, and I don't have the money to pay someone else to do the work.For my tiller, I sanded it down to bare wood, and then used polyurethane. I used stuff made for the outdoors. It lasts all season. I have never used real varnish, but I hear it is very labor intensive. By the way, I did this tiller work over the winter in my basement.

 

[Tom Ehmke]

I second Mike

I sanded the tiller for my 272 a few years ago and gave it three coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane. Every winter I bring the tiller home as Mike does and I sand it and varnish it in the basement. The key to keeping the varnish looking good is to buy a tiller cover and use it. By the way I use a tiller lock (Tiller Tamer). There is no abrasion from lines or bungee cords tied or wrapped around the tiller.For the teak, I recommend Cetol by Sikkums. The debate about which is better varnish or Cetol is endless at this site, but I think Cetol is definitely a lower maintenance product. Check out the archives to get all opinions on this Tom

 

[Don]

Cetol for me

I used Cetol on my teak after giving it a nice cleanup with fine (120) sandpaper. After giving it about 4 coats (I think they recommend a minimum of 3), it's lasted through at least 3-4 seasons. I was going to give it a quick sand and a couple more coats this spring, but it still looks pretty good and I got anxious to get in the water.