Brightwork is the Woodwork on Your Boat

Brightwork is the Woodwork on Your Boat.

Why the varnished wood on your boat is called Brightwork I have no idea, but the saying go’s “ Bright it should … and Work it is. I wanted my Dad to get a wood decked runabout, but my Dad’s comment to that was “ An owner of a boat like that has to have too much money or too much time or both if he wants the boat to stay looking nice.”

My little sailboat has only a small amount of bright work that can all be done in one day. My wife’s boat has about 10 days’ worth of bright work. Both boats are easy to maintain in that respect. I built a small wooden schooner. It takes at least 3 weeks if I am lucky to do the deck and all the rest. But I do it slow.

For the sake of the environment, major bright work should be done off the water. Dust from sanding and the use of solvents and varnishes are not good for the water or the life in it.

You can use a product like Sikkens Cetol that does not require major prep work to get a nice finish. If you do a full preparation like what is described below, you do get a much better finish. Cetol can give you a durable, nice looking finish with a minimal amount of preparation. Cetol has a tint in it that blends the wood shades and gives nice over all color. Two or three coats give good protection and a nice looking finish in a short time.  I have heard it called a paint and go sailing finish. You do a light sanding and varnish and you are ready to sail.

A boat show finish requires a lot more work. The preparation is the most important  partof doing bright work. First you start with removing all the oil/varnish that was originally on the wood. This is done by wood stripper and sanding and a lot of elbow grease. Sanding with 100-grit sandpaper will remove most it. A sanding block should be used to keep the sandpaper level and should always be sanded with the grain. A sponge sanding block can be used for curved surfaces. Once sanded with 100-grit, re sand with 150 -180 grit to smooth all surfaces. Multiple coats of varnish are then put on with a light sanding with 220-grit between coats.

The surface needs to be cleaned of dust from sanding before putting the finish on. A 75/25 mixture of liquid dish soap/chlorine bleach is an effective cleaning solution to wash the wood and boat off with.  Wet the surface, add the solution and then scrub the wood with the grain. Rinse thoroughly and let dry.

A wood stripper may be needed in areas where the old finish was not removed by sanding. Clean areas that wood stripper as used on with mineral spirits to get rid of all the wood stripper residue.

Use the blue safe-release masking tape to tape off the fiberglass so the finish you pick will not get on areas you do not want it on.

Follow the recommendations for application of the finish you pick. Put on multiple coats of finish with light sanding between coats. A high quality brush, not a cheap one, makes getting a good finish much easier. A good quality brush makes a world of difference and is worth the cost. (A badger brush can cost $30.00 or more.)

Some experts say you need to have 6 to 10 coats of varnish. The result is a head turning finish that is so nice you may not want to put it in the water and get it wet.

I would consider this power boat...What Lotto Numbers should I try this week!

Some day when I have too much money along with way too much time, I still want to get one of those wood runabouts to run around in.  8-)