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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" !