varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Hi,

does anyone have experience with oiling the spars? Maintenance seems a lot easier with oil than with varnish because one does not have to remove the old varnish one can just oil over it. 

Would be great to hear of your experience such as how to apply, prepare the surface, how the oil interacts at the epoxied scarf joints etc.

Thanks!

Reinhard

 

 


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RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

I don't think it should create any problems. At worst it might temporarily soften the epoxy right near the surface until the solvents evaporate, but this would happen with polyurethane too. The surface shouldn't need any special preparation beyond a quick sanding and maybe a wipe with alcohol to get rid of any dirt. Here's a link to the chemical resistance of epoxy.

If it helps here's a recipe for spar/deck coating I came across years ago:

for 100 square feet,

1 qt. Turpentine

1 qt. boiled linseed oil

1/2 pint pine tar

1/2 pint Japan dries

Makes a dark amber finish. Add more tar for a darker finish, or less for lighter.

 

You do have to be careful about the ingredients though, since the stuff you can buy at most big box stores has additives that prevent the finish from drying properly. In particular, you have to make sure that you get genuine boiled (heat polymerized) linseed oil as opposed to the chemically modified stuff usually sold under the same name.

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Be advised that most oil finishes never really dry and will stain your sails where they come in contact with the spars.

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Plus they have to be completely removed before you apply new epoxy.

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Hi,

thanks for your help! So it seems once oil forever oil. I don't think one can get if off again - well all depends how deep it soaks into the wood. I was also wondering how does the mast react to air humidity? Does it twist or bend with humid summer air after being in very dry air in wintertime? Does an oiled mast react differently compared to an epoxied and varnished mast?

The mast I epoxied together before XMAS was quite bent and also had little bit of a twist when I started with tapering last weekend. With tapering and rounding I got rid of this very well. Wonder how it will behave once it is exposed to humid summer air. I guess the surface preparation will have its influence.

I haven't made up my mind but at the monent I think more speks for epoxying and varnishing.

Reinhard 

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Owatrol has a system with the light oil (D1) that does penetrate deep into the wood. It dries and leaves a matte surface. If you want it more shiny, you just have another go with the D2. Just check it out on the web. I`m planning to use this on my mast and spars on my NE Dory. I have friends who uses this on their traditional rigs, and it is really easy to brush up, and maintain beatiful. There has been no problems with the epoxy joints.  I have an old boat that is oiled, and it dries in two to three days time, once it is exposed to sun and wind in the spring. The time spent on maintenance is far less than by varnish.

Oddbjorn Larsen

Norway

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Another product which consistently gets good reviews is the Interlux Sikkens Cetol range.  Easy to apply, good protection, easy to maintain.  I'm planning to use it on the akas (crossbeams) of my CLC Sailrig.

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

I'm interested in the idea of using an oil for the spars for my dory and not epoxying or varnishing them, from a pure ease of maintenance perspective. I've had my fill of appying finishes (Cetol, teak oil, Bristol, all of them) to lots of teak on Catalina sailboats and all of them and they all either chipped or wore off. That was teak, which is an oily wood and I wonder if that is a more difficult surface to hold coatings than what we have from CLC for our spars? What wood do we have for spars by the way in the CLC kits anyway?

Do you guys think that maybe a simple teak oil on CLC spars would work? Realizing a simple wipe of teak oil to freshen the surface a couple times a year would be needed, but painfully easy and never need sanding or refinishing.

Thanks

Curt 830/997-8120

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

 I have a greenland paddle made of solid western red cedar that is finished with 100% pure tung oil.  Tung oil does completely dry (it solidifies/pplymerizes) if you give it enough time.  And for something you are holding in your hands all the time, it is way more comfortable than a varnished or epoxied item.  And if it gets dinged you can indeed just sand the ding down and put more oil on it. BUT it took over a month to get it finished properly, I have to re-oil it periodically,  and it has even less of a "shell" for hardness than even a spar varnish would provide.   I don't see any advantage to oiling the mast and yards.  Spar varnish is easy and it works.

RE: varnish or oil on mast, boom and sprit (of Skerry)

Excellent, thanks!   Do you recommend just varnish on the spars, or a coat of epoxy first?   And, does 3 coats of varnish sound about right on the spars?

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