Yacht Force Blue

If you are an old yachting traditionalist like me, a yacht is not a true boat unless there is some exterior bright work (varnished teak) on the boat. But the tendency of today's boat builders is NO teak if at all feasible. The modern consumer does not want to be bothered with such routine chores as maintaining teak.

How sad. I even hear buyers say "if there is any teak outside, I don't want that boat". To me, the high gloss brightwork give a yacht character.

The key to brightwork is to perform yearly upkeep before its actually needed.. Don't let it start to crack and peel; you have waited too long. But for discussion sake, let's assume you are looking at an older trawler you are thinking of purchasing from me. The owner has let his bright work go and it needs revitalizing. Would it just be best to avoid that boat? No, not at all but lets talk about how we can get her back in shape.

The first thing to consider is if we should simply sand down the existing varnish or strip it down to bare wood.

If we need to get the old varnish completely off we need to go to our preferred hardware store and get a heat gun and a 2-3 inch metal putty knife; look in the paint department. This method is better than using chemicals. Don't even think of using a vibrating sander! Using the heat gun on full power, hold it about 4 inches from the surface at an angle, you'll see the varnish soften and with a little help from your putty knife, it comes right off in long thin sheets. Don't get too close or you will singe the teak. When you have removed the varnish, sand with 120 and 220 sandpaper to get a smooth surface.

So how about varnish that does not need removing but needs some upkeep?I did my annual upkeep last weekend and here is the rundown. My trawler has 94 feet of teak handrail to give you a feel of what we did and how long it took.

My choice of finish is Sikkens Cetol. It's a product produced for teak by the manufactures of Awlgrip.

Shopping List

· Heat gun (if you are taking off the old varnish)

· Sandpaper 120/220 grit

· 7-day blue painter's tape

· Mineral spirits

· Tack rags

· Soap

Step 1 - Clean the Teak

The first thing you want to do it get some soapy water and really clean the dirt off your teak. Get the dirt and crud off. Wipe it down and let it dry. Next, very important here, moisten a cloth with mineral spirits and wipe the teak down again. The solvent will remove any silicon or wax that might lift your varnish later on Sandpapering with these substances left on there will force them into the surface which will lift your finish later on.

Time - 30 minutes

Step 2 -

After the brightwork is clean, we will need to roughen it up some to make the new varnish adhere. Using medium grit sandpaper, 220 grit, we want to gently scuff the surface of the finish. Not enough to go through to the wood mind you, but just to knock off the gloss and flatten the surface. Using a tack rag, remove all of the dust. Next, tape up any adjacent metal to keep varnish away from those areas you do not need varnished. If you spend a little time using 7-day blue painter's tape to hide those places it will save you lots of time later.

Prep Time - 2 hours. In our next article, we'll start laying some varnish.

Mike Dickens, the author is a trawler owner, liveaboard and Broker/owner of Paradise Yachts

Paradise Yachts is a Yacht Brokerage offering used yachts to customers worldwide. Visit our website to view our selection of Used Trawlers, Motor Yachts, and Sailboats.

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