Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by BobL on 02/10/10 - 6:30 PM

There is always some variation in the color of fine woods like mahogany. The stain will obscure the beauty of the wood. Boston Whaler never used stain so that the wood’s beauty would not be hidden. Use your favorite high quality marine spar varnish. You will find that the amber hue of the spar varnish will help to even out the color. A little variation just adds some character. I had some different shades in the mahogany of my 15’ Super Sport that I refinished this past fall. The mahogany came out great with just the varnish (12 coats). I had some thoughts of staining too and I’m glad I didn’t.
BobL

Posted by MW on 02/11/10 - 1:22 AM

I use "ZAR" Marine rated stain (Dark Mahogony color) on my Mahogany, then I use "Poly" over that. The stain evens out the the wood tone to give it an older appearance and uniformity (it's just something that "I" like), it also adds more protection from water and more importantly harmful "U.V." rays. I round off the corners so that the poly sticks better (corners wear down first when using poly or varnish). Another thing that I like to do is, if I'm adding a new piece of wood to the boat, I let it fall on the garage floor a few times before I sand and finish it. This put's a few "Dings" and "Dangs" in the wood (something thats gonna happen anyway with my salty dog crew) I like my bright work to look a bit worn, glossy but, worn. "I" feel that it looks more "in line" on a 34 year old hull. The part that I love about redoing the wood on Whaler's is that their are no rules, everyone has little tip's and tricks that they like to use ( look at some of the W/C member's personal pages, there's some really nice work there), you can experiment and try all different ways to re-finish the Bright work. You can go "Traditional" or get "Creative", I feel that the wood on a "Boston Whaler" is what set's them apart from any other boat, to "ME" it appears to be a real "New England" boat builder's signature, it looks so "Classy", again, please note that these are "MY" personal preferances, and everybody does their woodwork a little (or a lot) differently than myself. It's what ever "YOU" like to do, and the "look' that "YOU" desire. have "FUN" !

Posted by Achilles on 08/22/10 - 2:05 PM

HI,
Judging by the date on your post, you've probably long since completed the job. However, for future reference - if indeed you are working with mahogany, the best approach is to remove all varnish, sand all the wood smooth and get out as much of the old stain (if any) that you can. The only way to ensure uniformity of color is to bleach out the wood before applying stain. Kleen Strip wood bleach is a two-part system that works great - just follow the directions. And before you ask, yes - you also need to bleach out the new mahogany. Once thats done, use any of the marine type filler stains made by Interlux, Sandusky etc. Their tints are a little different ranging from browns to reds so experiment a little. If you are bleaching out a piece of mahogany that is veneered over marine plywood, be very careful during the sanding process. Veneers tend to be very thin and you could easily sand through the veneer. After the stain is wiped and you are satisfied with the intensity of the color, give it a few days to dry out well before applying varnish. If your boat is trailered and kept indoors, 4-6 coats of varnish will suffice. If kept uncovered and kept in the water, at least 9. If your in a hurry, Epifanes no sand wood finish is great stuff - no sanding between coats and it layers up nicely and flows out nice and flat if you're using a good badger bristle brush. It contains UV inhibitors as well.
Hope this helps anyone else facing the same project.