Rubbing Strake - to maintain or not?

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SeaStu1

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On my Leisure 20 l have a rubbing strake around the hull and grab handles located on top of the cabin presumably made of something like iroko or teak. All this wood has been previously varnished to quite a good standard, however its all starting to flake and needs some attention.

I'm thinking, does it need varnishing and looking after in this way or should l sand it down and let it be natural as l see other boats? My preference would be the latter, l would rather not have to find the time but l can see the appeal in being all shiny and varnished. What do you do (aside from not having one or having a rubber one!)?
 
Danish oil

Slapped on two or three times a year satisfies the boaty geek in me, helps me maintain the fantasy of owning a traditional clinker gaffer but does not take more than 1/2 hour to put on and looks nice and cared for.
 
The previous owner of Taringa had varnished the rubbing strake, and it looked great - for about a six months when bits had started to bubble and peel off.

Stripping it all off would involve too much work, so I applied Teak oil and will continue to do so until the elements have removed the rest of the varnish.
 
When the boat starts looking a bit messy i rub it down and revarnish . Its actually quite a nice job bobbing around in a dingy with a can of varnish and a radio . All part of owning a boat .
 
I personally prefer my teak rubbing strip and handrails bare. But they do need periodic scrubbing with something like a nylon sponge pad and over the years you can gradually wear away quite a bit of teak. First thing you notice is the plugs covering the fixings falling out.

Vic
 
SeaStu1 said:
On my Leisure 20 l have a rubbing strake around the hull and grab handles located on top of the cabin presumably made of something like iroko or teak. All this wood has been previously varnished to quite a good standard, however its all starting to flake and needs some attention.

I'm thinking, does it need varnishing and looking after in this way or should l sand it down and let it be natural as l see other boats? My preference would be the latter, l would rather not have to find the time but l can see the appeal in being all shiny and varnished. What do you do (aside from not having one or having a rubber one!)?
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Personal choice - as always of course.

I hate the maintenance and have given up scraping every other year.

With our weather we need to get all the sailing time possible.

I renewed my toe rail with mahogany which was a big mistake . It needs something to preserve it - that's the beauty of teak.

Personal choice again, but aluminium serves many useful purposes on a boat and will be my choice on the next.
 
For years I used teak oil after treating with teak cleaner, but it faded and wore off after a few months.
This year I tried Danish Oil and it has been a great improvement. It does tend to chip a bit but can be touched up easily.
 
Previous owner varnished everything in sight on KS (and there's a lot of it) but quite a lot was in a bad way by the time we got her. Apart from the masts and spars (which absolutely require varnish, kept in good nick), I stripped the cockpit seat slats and the rubbing strake and re-varnished the handrails and other deck wood. I oiled the rubbing strake, but left the seats bare because I didn't want oil on clothes and didn't have time for it to soak in.

Can't see any point whatsoever in varnishing a rubbing strake - the name ought to be enough of a clue! Oil is easy to touch up when it gets a bit scuffed, and it doesn't need doing immediately anyway on teak. Varnish would need to be repaired quickly before water got behind it and blew the whole lot off.

Pete
 
I've done both on similar size boats.
Nothing in it really, time wise.
However Danish Oil is better if on the water all the time. If you can get undecover (in a reasonably warm period) varnish is nice.
 
As a pro varnisher I have never seen a varnished rubbing strake
that stood the test of time well.
If it is teak then leave it bare, just clean it when required.
If you must varnish it then I would suggest covering with epoxy first.
However, as someone said earlier, any misses/holidays give
a chance for water to get underneath and start the quick decay.
Cheers,
Chris
 
If you varnish you have to keep on top of its maintenance.
If water gets beneath the varnish even teak can go soft as it really needs to breathe.

I'm surprised people don't go over to using Tufnol on toe rails and hand holds. It's so tough and yet has a near timber appearance. You do see a few boats made in the 30's to the 70's with cleats and pully blocks made in the suff and very little seems to wear it out and it certainly wont rot.
For a varnish like finish, a rub down and a thin coat of grp resin painted on gives a gloss if req'd.

I just stopped for a mo to look up Tufnol prices.... that's probably why not!
 
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Nothing quite beats the look of a deep gloss varnish on wood however the reality is that if you use your boat (or even if you don't) the varnish will soon loose its shine and the hours spent on its preparation will have been wasted.

I used to sand down my teak rubbing strake and hand rails once a year and then give them two coats of teak oil after which they looked glorious. After only a few weeks though even that look didn't last. I now use a hard scrubbing brush and fresh water which cleans the wood well although without the smoothness of sanding. I still apply two coats of teak oil and then refresh this once or twice during the summer. It will never look quite as good as varnish but will, I hope, make the wood last much longer.

I use the term 'I' loosely as this is now a task I have delegated to SWMBO who is quicker and better at it than me leaving me free to do things on the boat she won't touch (clearing blocked toilets, cleaning the bilges etc)
 
> I applied Teak oil

If you look at the teak oil label it obviously says teak oil. However, look at the contents label and it also contains castor oil which eventually goes black with UV damage, making the teak look awful. When ours did that the only way to remove it was to sand the teak. I did consider reporting this to the Trading Standards folks but I suppose you are supposed to read the detail label. Pure teak oil is available but more expensive, worth it IMO.
 
Loving the alternatives to varnishing. Essentially l don't have the time to spend on varnishing - but would do if it was the only option, clearly it's not. The other factor is that at the club where l keep my boat they are all lifted in around March / April and then out again October / November so there rarely decent weather when she is ashore to get jobs like this done.
 
Still quite liking the sump oil treatment for the rubbing strake and toe rail. Toe rail goes deep brown, rubbing strake grey/black. I assume this is a difference in the timber. Both were neglected teak.

Since sump oil is carcinogenic I used fresh motor oil on the wood that is likely to be touched (cockpit coamings, tiller, grab rails and coachroof "eyebrows"). These are quite variable too, but if anything have gone blacker than the sump-oil-treated timber did, which is a bit odd.

I wonder if the high base number of this diesel motor oil might risk alkaline hydrolysis of the wood?
 
Decking Stain .... its water based .. soaks in and UV stable ... easy to apply .. quick sand and wipe on another coat later in year ... The stuff you use on a patio deck .. buy it in local DIY B&Q etc.

I use it on all seat slats, cockpit gratings, hand rails, rubbing strakes ....

I hate bare teak that goes silver ... some seem to think that oxidised layer is protection - its not.
 
Refueler said:
Decking Stain .... its water based .. soaks in and UV stable ... easy to apply .. quick sand and wipe on another coat later in year ... The stuff you use on a patio deck .. buy it in local DIY B&Q etc.

I use it on all seat slats, cockpit gratings, hand rails, rubbing strakes ....

I hate bare teak that goes silver ... some seem to think that oxidised layer is protection - its not.
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If its water-based I'm surprised it soaks in to teak, unless the teak is very weathered.

Mine was very weathered, but now I've oiled it probably cannot be treated successfully with a water-based stain, since water tends to bead on the surface.

I may try boiled linseed on the contact-timbers, once the engine oil has eroded a bit.
 
KellysEye said:
> I applied Teak oil

If you look at the teak oil label it obviously says teak oil. However, look at the contents label and it also contains castor oil which eventually goes black with UV damage, making the teak look awful. When ours did that the only way to remove it was to sand the teak. I did consider reporting this to the Trading Standards folks but I suppose you are supposed to read the detail label. Pure teak oil is available but more expensive, worth it IMO.
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A common misunderstanding, it’s oil for teak, not oil of teak. Danish oil is “teak oil” with extra tung oil for durability.
 
ducked said:
If its water-based I'm surprised it soaks in to teak, unless the teak is very weathered.

Mine was very weathered, but now I've oiled it probably cannot be treated successfully with a water-based stain, since water tends to bead on the surface.

I may try boiled linseed on the contact-timbers, once the engine oil has eroded a bit.
Click to expand...

I really would never use any engine based oil ..... my opinion. using such has now removed other viable products from use.

Decking stain is specially formulated for teak and various woods specifically to counter weather / UV etc. When I say 'water-based' - that is based on fact that brushes / pads / rollers etc can be washed out in water ....

Linseed Oil ..... on ship - as a Cadet - I was taught to use Linseed oil on Wood and Boiled Linseed Oil on metal .... but I am also aware that some do use BLO on wood as it dries better and quicker ....
But I would not use it on a yacht TBH - as in the sun it can leach out ... staining clothes etc.
 
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