My new found career as a stripper

No, not THAT kind of stripper. That kind of stripper would ostensibly have a lot more cash and not be covered in a mixture of sweat and teak dust. I have been spending far too much time stripping the little bit of teak we have around the companionway hatch and cockpit in preparation for a brand new coating of varnish.

See, Mark started the fabrication of a navpod to fit over the companion way. This will allow us to see our instruments easily, not block our view and not give us the claustrophobic feeling that a big navpod attached to the binnacle in a small cockpit would. Well since Mark was improving things around the cockpit, I thought I would continue the theme by doing something about our peeling, flaking and tired looking teak hatch trim and companionway doors.

Mark and Kitty work on the navpod mounts

The interior of Ceol Mor is kitted out in beautifully finished teak. The small bit of exterior teak was not quite so beautiful. Flaky bits of varnish lifting off the teak to display bits of weathered grey here and there to contrast with what once was beautifully finished teak. A decision had to be made. Either let it all go grey, live with a hodge podge mess of finished and non finished teak or get busy redoing it all.

We have friends who have left their teak to weather naturally. I can understand the appeal of taking the path of less resistance because redoing the brightwork is a pain in the butt. This is probably the smartest route to take but when have I ever claimed to be smart?

 Ceol Mor does not have a lot of exterior teak so just letting it go felt a bit lazy. I also have an ulterior motive. One of the totally-not-necessary-to-cruising items that is on my wish list is to have the hull painted and have our tired canvas replaced. It will be easier to make a case for going to the expense and bother of repainting the hull eventually if the teak is in beautiful, shiny condition to contrast against the aging hull paint. Always thinking ahead....

And so I have begun this project in earnest. Step one- strip off the old varnish.

Since this is my first go round of redoing the brightwork, Mark and I thought it would be a good idea to try to different methods of stripping the wood to see what worked best.



My first attempts were using Circa 1850 stripper . Now this is indeed, powerful stuff. It will strip off any old lacquer, stain or varnish. It will also eat through reputedly chemical resistant gloves and despite your best attempts to work in a meticulously tidy manner, there will be a tiny drop of stripper that will be launched by a brush stroke which will land on your skin, raise a blister and burn like a m@#h3r. This will happen more than once. If you are going to use this stuff, you MUST use heavy duty neoprene gloves. A hazmat suit would also be a good idea. Personally, I would try every other method first. This is nasty, nasty stuff. Also when they tell you it will only take one coat they are lying. Lying lying lying. There is a use for it , in small areas where you just can't get a heat gun and stripping knife in there but the toxicity of the stuff coupled with the huge, gooey mess it makes makes other methods much more appealing.



I found using a heat gun and knife MUCH much more enjoyable. Except for that one time Kitty came running up and I pulled the hot gun away to be sure I did not burn her. Instead I gave myself a brand right above my knee. That was less than ideal. Still, the heat gun is a much better method and aside from burns you don't have the worries of chemical burns or bits getting into the water killing every fish for a mile.

Mark asked me how I was getting on with the gun and was I managing to not scorch or burn the wood? See, here's the thing Mark... What you call "scorching" and "burns" I call patina. I did accidentally add a bit of patina to a thin, raised bit of teak trim on the companion way door panel but that should just buff right out. *ahem* Just a friendly reminder if you go this route to keep the gun moving on those small, tinder sized bits of wood unless you love um, patina. That's it, patina.

Once the old varnish it was time to sand.
And sand.
And sand some more. Day 4 or sanding and I am beginning to rethink my previous conclusion that Ceol Mor only has " a little bit of teak". I also begin to rethink my love of old wooden boats with gorgeous brightwork and start to think all the newer production boats with no teak whatsoever are starting to look more and more attractive.
Change to a finer grit paper and sand some more.
And sand.
And sand.
Whoopie! We are up to 320 grit paper and again with the sanding.

Once I had gotten everything sanded smooth, cleaned and degreased and stained, it was time to move on to the really scary part- varnishing. Why was I frightened? Because I am very aware that if the humidity does funky things or my application is not just so I have to go back and strip everything again and start over. Not a thought I wish to entertain. Like, ever.

After much debate we decided to go with Interlux Perfection Plus. This is after everyone near and far suggested their personal favorites. In the end, we decided to trust Practical Sailors recommendation for longevity based on their testing. We will see how it goes.

I've gotten the first coat on the companionway hatch trim. Coats 2 and 3 will be applied today, then 4 and 5 tomorrow followed by 6 and 7. Then it's on to the doors, then finish up the stripping of the hatch on the boat. I doubt it will all be done until after we return from an upcoming trip (to escape the heat) but fingers crossed it will all be done by mid Sept at which time I will post photos.

Until then, I am off to sand some more.