Semco sails to the rescue
Those who do own a boat probably look at it and shudder, thinking “thank god I don’t have to deal with all that wood” and walk smugly on with no comment.
But many people who have teak on their boat are curious about the finish on our wood. It doesn’t have the rich colour and bling of gleaming, beautifully varnished teak. It looks rather like newly installed unfinished teak, or teak that has been sanded and cleaned to look like new, ready for the recommended 12 coats of varnish.
When we bought Silom in 2013, all that beautiful wood had been recently varnished and was a big drawing card for me. Not so much for Jim, who had serious misgivings about it, warning me that we’d become a slave to it. I countered all his arguments: “I love working on wood, I’ve refinished lots of furniture. It’s like…Zen… for me. I’ll take care of it, you’ll be doing all the electrical, plumbing, mechanical.”
By the next summer, bubbles and lifting had already started in places and I eagerly started on the meditative work, stripping the dorade boxes with a heat gun, cleaning them with two part cleaner, lovingly sanding them and applying 6 coats of varnish. That Zen feeling soon started to fade.
I figured I would do the hand rails next year as they were showing signs of flaking in places. Well, by next spring there wasn’t a piece of teak left that didn’t need work, and the dorade boxes already had a few bubbles. I could see that enslavement was indeed a real possibility, and I started to research alternate options that would release me from the bondage of this vicious cycle and the looks suggesting I told you so, when I complained to Jim.
We could leave it and let it go grey. Teak has natural preservatives, and a regular wash down with salt water would keep it clean. Neither of us particularly like the look, but it certainly would be a lot less work. I wasn’t ready for that look just yet.
Teak oil was suggested in many forums. Jim used it on the limited teak we had on a previous boat which we bought in the tropics, but many warned that in the wet winters on the Salish Sea, oil was food for mold and would turn black. There would be a lot of cleaning required before re-oiling every spring. In places like hand rails, it would also wear off quickly.
Cetol is supposedly easier to apply than varnish, with only four coats required, but we read that it needed reapplying every two years. The sun in summer and wet in winter causes peeling and flaking quite quickly. Many people like the look, while others are not so happy with it, our dock neighbour being one of the latter, saying it looks like brown paint.
I stumbled upon Semco, a teak sealant, and after some research decided to strip all the old varnish; a big job. I used Semco’s two-part cleaner to really get it clean, which I have to say was a very satisfying task.
Applying the Semco sealer was easy; it goes on like water and just soaks in, no brush strokes to worry about. I use a one-inch brush and have figured out how much to apply so I have virtually no drips to clean up as I go along. Two coats initially, then just reapply every spring and fall, after giving it a quick wipe down with a green scrubbie to remove the dirt. No sanding required. One tip is always make sure the wood is completely dry before applying new coats. Trapping damp under a coat will cause black spots to appear.
It comes in five shades, we use natural.
Next year will be nine years since we first applied it. I think we’ll wash it all off in year 10 with two part cleaner and start again, as there are some black spots forming under the sealant.
Jim now even does it with me, and we can do the whole boat in one and a half days. Last weekend we spent a day doing everything except the butterfly hatch which we keep covered most of the year. It was a sunny, but very blustery day, which made it challenging to have him agree that it was a Zen experience, but as we were tidying up, a dock-walker told us what a pretty boat she is with all that wood, and I didn’t feel I had to say “thanks, but it sure is a lot of work to maintain it.” I’m definitely in the love it camp.
Oh, and I should say we are not paid by, or affiliated in any way with Semco. Any questions, just contact us; I will be happy to reply.
While I like your experience with Semco, I am a fan of Cetol. I, too, have exterior teak that I want to look good. After removing the previous owners flaking varnish, I sanded the cap rails down to bare wood. Then I applied a coat of Cetol Natural Teak mixed with 10% thinner. After that, I applied 5 more coats of full strength Cetol spaced 24 hours apart. I did the same last year with the handrails. The cap rails look as good as I did them 2 years ago and I love the orangey tint to them. I will refresh this year and tackle more exterior teak.
Our boat had already been stripped of Varnish when we bought her. Semco was the finish. I have used Cetol in years past. My experience is that the formula changed over the years. It did act simulate to Semco. It takes roughly 3 days to hit all the outside brightwork with Semco. Toe rails, cap rails, and more than enough wood on the pilot house on our Nauticat 44. We redcoat twice a year. Most of the brightwook is covered in the winter. Love Semco!