Calling Wooden Boat Owners

[Boatchick]

We are going to pull the boat out during the off season and have the bottom exterior sanded and repainted. Is there an option where we can use a clear coating to keep the wood exposed vs a marine paint?

Thx!

[Big D]

Curious, why do you want to leave the wood exposed/clear under the boat?

Where I am, I find I need anti-fouling on the bottom, keeps the growth off. In my opinion, the best antifouling you can use on a wooden boat (and fiberglass depending on boating style) is the ablative type. When I first got my boat, I scaped off the hundred layers of hard paint that was chipping away, and used ablative paint ever since. Ablative wears off (that's how it keeps off the growth) and never peels away in chunks. You never have to scrape again. The more coats you put on, the longer you can go without recoating but eventually you'll have to. If you were to never recoat again, you'd simply end up with a bare bottom! When time to recoat, simply wash and paint. Great stuff but it doesn't come in clear!!

[Boatchick]

Hey Boat Twin-
We are a car family first and foremost (it was actually through a car concours that we feel for wooden boats).
Anywho, my husband likes building hotrods and leaving them in primer, stainless, or flat black finishes. So he was thinking it might be cool to have the wood on the exterior (where yours and mine are white now) exposed and glossy like a hardwood floor.
I didn't know if there were finishes that will properly protect the wood that were transluciant.

C

[wowzer52]

I think she means the hull sides.

[Big D]

There are products out there to do that.....but I'd think twice. Marine environment is totally different to what you may be accustomed to on the road. The clear products require much more maintenance than solid colours do. You may have your hands full maintaining other things that are the norm on a woodie, the last thing you want to do is add another huge regular maintenance task to the list. My advice is don't do it. While maintaining the traditional look of the vessel, I would minimize the clear finishes and keep what is already white etc. The solids last much longer with less maintenance. Having said all that, to each his/her own!!

[Captain Blast Off]

Gotta agree with Big D ...

[boatman2100]

Just my opinion but I really dont think should remove the white paint and clear coat the hull.
#1, Screw holes on the hullsides are filled with a white putty not wooden bungs as are on the transom.
#2, any old patches or fills will be highly visable.
#3, Hull planking was not sorted for color match and vary in color tremendously.
#4, Hull seams have a white compound in between the planking.

I think you would be very disapointed in the results of you hard work.

[prowlersfish]

Stay with paint for sure.