A couple of years ago I’d never heard of a Dorade box. Then we buy our first sailboat and we remove them and I find myself getting an education on refinishing tired teak. The wood was in pretty sad condition and I remember arguing that we needed to replace them with new, because the crumbling finish was exposing mold and the wood underneath looked dyer than the Sahara. Surely it had breathed its last breath and would fall apart in my hands.
But then I stripped them with the heat gun, cleaned them with a teak product and after only one coat of varnish, I had to tell hubby he was right. That doesn’t happen often, well not as often as it should, but he just smiled and reminded me that he had 50 years’ experience with boats and I barely had a couple of months under my belt….point taken.
So I stripped the boxes, the cockpit table, cockpit floor, cup holder, the wheel, the swim ladder steps and the handrails and made them look brand new. It was magic. Teak is hard and tough and amazing wood and working with it has bumped its way to the top of my list of things I like to do. It gleams of gratitude.
Twelve coats of Epiphane later, the boxes were installed and looked good as new and will last our lifetime with a light sand and recoat every couple of years. This year I hope to have canvas covers made for them to slow the sun damage and cut down on the work needed to keep them looking fresh. One disappointing thing I have learned, nothing lasts forever on a boat, maintenance is ongoing, the sun and salt guarantee it.
The deck under the boxes was a sad sight. Forty years of grime and hardened sealer took a while to remove. The sealant now dried and hard, had filled in the dips of the nonskid surface that would need a lot of gouging out with a small chisel. There were a few broken fingernails, scraped knuckles and a bit of cursing, the air a sickening shade of blue under the canvas cover. Our Nonsuch 33 has two boxes so that meant double the work but there is a deep satisfaction knowing these newly rejuvenated boxes sit on top of a pristine area. Call me crazy but I wish the boat had more teak items to refinish like a lovely combing top that I drool over on other boats, but hubby thinks I might change my mind over time so we could use less.
But then I stripped them with the heat gun, cleaned them with a teak product and after only one coat of varnish, I had to tell hubby he was right. That doesn’t happen often, well not as often as it should, but he just smiled and reminded me that he had 50 years’ experience with boats and I barely had a couple of months under my belt….point taken.
So I stripped the boxes, the cockpit table, cockpit floor, cup holder, the wheel, the swim ladder steps and the handrails and made them look brand new. It was magic. Teak is hard and tough and amazing wood and working with it has bumped its way to the top of my list of things I like to do. It gleams of gratitude.
Twelve coats of Epiphane later, the boxes were installed and looked good as new and will last our lifetime with a light sand and recoat every couple of years. This year I hope to have canvas covers made for them to slow the sun damage and cut down on the work needed to keep them looking fresh. One disappointing thing I have learned, nothing lasts forever on a boat, maintenance is ongoing, the sun and salt guarantee it.
The deck under the boxes was a sad sight. Forty years of grime and hardened sealer took a while to remove. The sealant now dried and hard, had filled in the dips of the nonskid surface that would need a lot of gouging out with a small chisel. There were a few broken fingernails, scraped knuckles and a bit of cursing, the air a sickening shade of blue under the canvas cover. Our Nonsuch 33 has two boxes so that meant double the work but there is a deep satisfaction knowing these newly rejuvenated boxes sit on top of a pristine area. Call me crazy but I wish the boat had more teak items to refinish like a lovely combing top that I drool over on other boats, but hubby thinks I might change my mind over time so we could use less.
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