Trojan Boat Forum

SWEET

Only thing wrong with that job is that it is too nice to walk on....

So what did you use? I'm about to do my teak swim platform, probably in Cetol light marine, or something like that.

I use Captains Varnish by Z Spar. Get it at West Marine. As can be expected, it's like an ice rink when it's wet. When we are out and kids get in and out of the water we put down a lot of towels to get some traction. When the girls bitch about how slick it is, I tell them it's like high heels for women. They're a pain and uncomfortable but they look way better than anything else.

I've heard people have had good luck with creating non-slip areas by sprinkling sea salt on the wet varnish in the area you want to be non-slip (tape the other areas). Once the varnish is completely dry, wash off the salt, and it leaves a stippling and retains the gloss of the varnish.

dockedwages1 wrote:As can be expected, it's like an ice rink when it's wet.

The decks look so great, I decided not to rain on your parade by saying Varnish is not the best thing to use on surfaces people will walk on... but since you already know that I don't feel so mean... As long as everyone is aware of the risk when wet and precautions are taken, at least you are taking steps to be safe (you would be surprised how many don't. I tend to use varnish to make things look pretty, and Cetol products (not Gloss) for walking surfaces.