Floorboard Finish Advice?

[hriehl1]

1968 DSI with original (structurally re-furbed) floorboards. Boat is strictly trailer-sailed and barn-stored so it sees very little exposure to the elements.

I think the floorbaords are some sort of mahagony, and have no finish on them now. They're very clean (just scrubbed them with TSP which seemed to extract some oil) with a light brown color tending perhaps a little towards gray.

The question is, what type of finish to use? While they look OK now, they look nicer when wet (bringing out a deeper brown "woody" color). So I'd like to finish them.

My main worry is anything I put on them may make them slippery underfoot. Hi gloss varnish looks great, but seems as though it would be slippery as heck. Oil would look better than nothing, but not as good as varnish while still being potentially slippery.

For those who have put some sort of finish on floorboards:
1. What did you use?
2. How has it lasted (how much periodic re-work is needed)?
3. How does it look?
4. Is it slippery?
5. What would you do if doing it again?

Many Thanks

[GreenLake]

I'll take a shot
1. What did you use?
waterborne PU, satin
2. How has it lasted (how much periodic re-work is needed)?
between one and several seasons, stored outside under tarp;
3. How does it look?
nice when new, but when it failed it failed by flaking, sometimes much too soon
4. Is it slippery?
no, was just out in the rain yesterday, didn't notice anything, although I always take care when moving about any wet surface
5. What would you do if doing it again?
I would use an epoxy (ClearCoat or Laminating Epoxy from System Three or their equivalents from other makers) as a base, and I would switch to a crosslinked LPU for the final coats.

I've done thwarts and coamings that way. The result is a deeper look, and they can definitely take more abuse than before. The epoxy base coat eliminates any swelling / shrinking by totally sealing the wood, so the LPU doesn't crack / flake off.

Another alternative, which I think would work well and be easy to maintain, is to use one of the oils. Those can be touched up very easily (but also need to be touched up). Doesn't give you the wet look, but would work well for protected storage.

Finally, I've helped someone restore a plywood Dinghy and he used Bristol Finish for the deck/seats. Very wet look and appears to be durable (outside storage under tarp). So should be several seasons before touch-up.

[Peterw11]

Ahh, another timely thread.

I just refinished my coamings and thwarts with Bristol Finish, as I mentioned in another thread, but have yet to get to my floorboards.
Mine appear to be mahogany.

I'm hoping to launch this weekend, (can't wait any longer!) and as the boat will be on the water (about 10 miles from home) all summer, will have to do the floorboards piecemeal, a section or two at a time.

Bristol Finish looks great on the coamings, (high gloss, wet look), but it's not what I want for the floorboards (plus it's 65 bucks a quart!!). I'm thinking something more durable, satin finish, more like they were originally, both for traction and appearance reasons. Also, a bit less pricey.

I also need guidance in this area.

LPU=?.....something polyurethane?

[K.C. Walker]

After I did my core project, reinforcing the hull, I thought I would put the wood floorboards back in, I have them all stripped and sanded. Last year I just used the nonskid texture of the fiberglass and it feels really good and secure.

I had a gloss finish previously and without rubber deck shoes it was not as secure as nonskid when wet. Oil alone doesn't really last very long and needs to be replied at a fairly regular intervals. If you don't leave it on the surface it's not too slippery after a day or 2. What I was considering is deck stain. The pigment in deck stain makes it last quite a bit longer. It wouldn't be like unfinished teak but I still think it could be pretty attractive. It should be really easy to maintain with just a touch up every once in while. I would think it should be the best finish for nonskid on the floorboards.

KC

[Baysailer]

For the DS floorboards and coamings I used Epiphanes clear. I did them the begining of last year and so far it looks as good as when I first did them. I leave the boat out and mostly uncovered on a mooring but do garage it in the winter. It has a somewhat glossy amber finish (much like a freshly poured beer). It is not slippery at all that I notice. I would use it again.

For the Rhodes I did the floors a number of years ago with Bristol finish. It has also held up pretty well but I did have to rework some parts and redid the coamings after a repair. For both the repair and the coamings I used Rustoleum marine varnish. The bristol has a darker brown color (talking dark ale now). It is not slippery either. I wouldn't probably do it again but mostly because of cost and I think the rustoleum works pretty well with a similar look to the bristol.

Baysailer