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Faithful,
My new vessel has a gunnel cap that is made from teak-- it is in really nice shape and I want to keep it that way. It has Sikkens on it(according to the previous owner) I run over 100 charters year and I am looking for the easiest way to maintain it.
Options:
Epoxy? varnish? 2part poly?
I am looking for input on this one-- I am willing to take some time to strip it down and do it right so it can handle the abuse of long term exposure and use.--FYI--boat is in Michigan-- little bit easier on it than being down south.
Thanks

1) Strip the Sikkens Cetol off the teak.

2) Sand it down with 80 grit, then 120 grit, vacuum clean

3) Saturate w/ high quality teak oil, let sit a few minutes, and wipe excess clean. After a few hours have elapsed, re-apply teak oil.

Oiled gunnels are the only way I'd go, especially if your charter fishing.

With cetol, varnish, epoxy, or any product that encapsulates the teak under a dried film, you'd be refinishing the teak way more often than you'd like... Everytime someone wacks the gunnel with a rodbutt, or a downrigger lead, pliers, etc.. the finish will get damaged. And it is much, much more time consuming to refinish the gunnels ... as opposed to lightly scuff sanding w/120 and re-oiling them.
Also, if they're oiled then your customers (and you) are much less likely to take a fall getting in and out of the boat. Them varnished covering boards are slick... especially when wet.

That Cetal actually peels up in strips over time if not maintained. If you want low maintenance, then teak oil is the ticket.

One caveat, try not to let blood dry on the teak, it may stain and will need some elbow grease to clean. Just get in the habit of dumping a bcuket of cold Lake Michigan water on the gunwale when you need it.

How does the season look this year? Will be up your way and may be looking for a charter.

Buju is dead on target...

teak oil!!!

brew...its what most guys use. works better than fish blood.

A friend of mine bought a sailboat that had all the teak varnished beautifully. had to be 1/16" thick of varnish. He left the boat uncovered and on the hard for a few seasons and that varnish peeled off and fell onto the cockpit sole.

After a particularly good rain he called me and asked if I could check on his boat for him. I did, and I needed my high water boots inside the cabin. The varnish had blocked his cockpit drains and all that water had to go somewhere. A real disaster.

He left the boat uncovered and on the hard for a few seasons and that varnish peeled off and fell onto the cockpit sole.

Did he expect anything different? I mean, come on...that's out of sight, out of mind neglect, in an extreme scenario.

Dana, if you're really dead set on keeping the teak varnished and glossy, there are a few products that I'd recommend which offer both good durability and ease of application.
1) Bristol Finish 2part acrylic urethane ( http://www.bristolfinish.com/ ) ... High gloss, traditional amber finish. Excellent UV rersistance. No sanding between coats (optional) and can recoat in a hour or two. Good product to acheive a quick film build of say 8 to 10 coats. Not too sure about it's abrasion resistance though... seems a bit soft to me.
2) Epifanes Rapidclear/Rapidcoat topcoated with Epifanes Wood Finish... ( http://www.epifanes.com/home.htm )
The rapidc. line also offers quick recoat times and sanding is not necessary between coats, so long as it's done within the alloted time frame. Once a desired build is reached a coat or two of the standard Wood finish varnish will add increased abrasion and UV resistance.

Of course you could go the epoxy encapsulation route, and then topcoat with clear Awlgrip, it'd be beautiful (on the first couple trips anyway)... but a lot of work AND you'll shit a king salmon the first time one of your customers scratches the holy hell out of it.

I'd like to reinterate that the oiled teak is a NO BRAINER for a charterboat, in means of appearence, maintainence, and safety.

i have mahogany cover boards and this is what i do. as per cap' tpatrick i gave em the epoxy prime...then i used 3 coats of MATTE varnish. has the deep rich color and is non slip and dosent show every nick. very light sand and another coat at the start of the season and presto....new again.

Randall,
Difference is:

#1 your boards are mahogany, and thus must be fully encapsulated to have any sort of real longevity... Mahogany is a great, attractive, very hard and durable wood, but it just doesn't have the resistance to moisture/rot that teak has. I've applied teak oil to bare mahogany to see how it'd hold up in the exterior marine environment... it worked out ok for a while, but requires much more attention (resurfacing & reoiling ) than teak does.

#2 Dana is running charters... My experience working on charterboats is that the customers are handing the capt. a decent sum of $$ to go out and do what they please. Meaning the average "sporto" doesn't give second thought to chunking up a ballyhoo right on the gunnels when the capt or mate aint looking, or stepping on board with pearock in the treads of their shoe- gouging & scratching everything, not returning rod/reels to the rodholder but leaning them against gunnels, etc, etc. Worst I've seen was on my good friends 37' Merritt. We were using an anchor ball and ring to retrieve the hook, I had the line, chain, and anchor in my hands, and was struggling a little in the big seas with the chain. The customer grabs the anchor, saying "lemme help you with that" and then full on drops the whole 9yards right on the teak deck. CLANK! Big gouges in the deck, chain on the boards, and some scratches on the hull, ughh. It was my fault for letting him "help", and the capt sure as shit shot me a "death look"...
My point is, it only takes one offense and your back to refinishing...Now imagine 100 fishing trips a year, with an average of four guys on ea. trip... Probability dictates a issue will occur, usually within the first month.

All that said, I do (as stated before) love the look of your mahog. boards. And yes, a matte varnish is much less slippery than a gloss, but it's still much more slippery than bare, oiled teak.
Out of curiosity, what make of varnish are you using?

Brewster Minton wrote:teak oil!!!

When did you ever use teak oil?

Brew prefers fresh cod liver oil...

Buju wrote: Did he expect anything different? I mean, come on...that's out of sight, out of mind neglect, in an extreme scenario.
....

Yes, he did.

Buju- Let me just say this, the guy is a banker who worked for the Fed Reserve with Tim Geithner until three years ago st which point he went to Goldman Sachs. Given what has been going on for the last year and a half, I'll leave the level of common sense available there up to your imagination.

Love him like a brother, but calling it neglect is polite, especially since he allowed the lovely little diesel engine to be submerged by rain water.

Sorry for going off topic guys. Capt D- I can't tell you enough how much time and trouble you will save going with teak oil.

only mentioned it cause we were in the "if you really have to" part of the discussion. if you really have to matte is a better choice. personally i would never put anything on teak. however...contrary to popular opinion...they dont last forever in a marine environment....mine were completely shot (teak) when i bought the boat.

I used Sikkens for seven yrs. What a job getting it off. Took hours and hours of sanding. I have nothing on now but might do teak oil like Walter does.

Guys-
Thanks---Teak oil it is--- I agree-- customers get drunk- drop rods- downrigger weights on the gunnel--etc so forth---

I won't beat this dead horse-- I am going to start a new topic with everyones 2cents on what oil/cleaning system.

Harv--About the Brewster comment-- Brewster catches too damn many fish--it gets oiled naturally.