I’d like to see your wood (gunwales that is), plus a question

I use a lot of spar varnish on my boats that have been coated with an epoxy. I do not enjoy working with varnish, but I feel it's necessary in that instance. I hate redoing the varnish, but unfortunately it's a frequent task for me.
Anytime I have wood without epoxy, I use some sort of oil. For years I used tung oil on all my paddles and wood trim in canoes and other boats. Since purchasing a new Northstar Seliga with wood trim two years ago, I have been introduced to Watco Exterior oil. I can't say how Watco compares to other oils for long term protection, but it's easy to apply and looks and feels fantastic.
I enjoy the process of oiling wood, I find it very satisfying, not a chore. A couple times a year I grab a good cotton rag and a can of oil and I oil every paddle, the wood trim on the Seliga and older Bell Northwind and any furniture and wood handled tools I can think of. As a matter a fact I see the coffee table in the living room could use a coat of oil, maybe today's a day to oil everything that's not stored out in the cold.

I've used a lot off 100% tongue oil over the years for all sorts of projects, especially paddles and the like. I had intended to try some Watco because I see it positively referenced all over this forum, until I read @gumpus's post above, which was news to me:

gumpus said:

I stopped using Watco since it's toxic and takes forever to dry...

Click to expand...

I'm ok with long dry times but looked up the Safety Data Sheet for Watco and figured it was worth sharing with the group because, Gumpus is right, it ain't good for you:
https://www.rustoleum.com/MSDS/ENGLISH/67741.pdf

I like to do oiling maintenance indoors during the winter time. It can be a real pleasure to spend some time in a warm shop with a pile of paddles, a set of disposable gloves and some good tunes. Doing so with a respirator is a lot less fun, so I think I'm likely to stick with tongue oil for now.

@Pseudonym - Well, that report is sobering. Thanks for sharing that. I've used Watco oil for years and never realized the hazards it could contain. I always thought of it as pretty benign stuff. Guess I'll need to reconsider that.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper

You’re likely not going to be exposed to the watco teak oil enough to worry about any side effects or toxicity issues.

I would think 99% of us come into contact with unleaded gasoline on a regular basis and the MSDS sheet for it isn’t great either.


You likely get gas on your hands or clothing and inhale the vapors much more consistently than you would be applying watco oil. Just thought I would add that perspective.

I use Watco. My canoe is canoe is 16 years old, and I've owned it for 12 years. I paddle 80-90 days a year and store the canoe inside.
I see my canoe is a work boat and the gunwhales aren't pretty, but there is not a spot of rot anywhere, and that's all I care about. Maybe once a month, I just rub some oil on. The gunwhales look better than the bottom of the canoe.

I have seven canoes with wood gunnels, the newest of which is 18 years old and most are over 30. All have been treated with Watco at least annually and all are in excellent condition. Maybe 5-10 minutes per boat per year- no big deal. Another thing to consider is the feel of varnished vs oiled wood particularly for paddles. I really like the feel of my oiled paddles a lot better than those that are varnished. It is easy and actually enjoyable to rub in some hemp oil on the paddles as needed. They look pretty new afterward. The photos below are of a couple of boats that I bought used. I rehabbed the gunnels with sanding and Watco Teak oil. The Bell Wildfire was in really bad shape (the owner only wanted $250 for it 2 years ago) and now it is one of my favorites. Personally, I prefer wood to aluminum or vinyl gunnels.

Wow, @Halpc ! You got that Wildfire for $250 and sweat equity? I would have immediately ran out and bought a pocket full of lottery tickets!

It was a stroke of luck. I didn't "need" it, since I already had a NS Phoenix IXP (the only canoe I have bought new since 1992), but I have never regretted the purchase. I gave a buddy a ride down to look at two Bell Royalex Yellowstones which had been advertised and there it was, looking forlorn. We drove off with two boats on my truck rack.

Based on the comments here, I decided I should go ahead and purchase some Badger Paddle wood oil. I have a Badger paddle that I picked up late last summer and that I really like, and figured I should go ahead and oil it this winter, plus it would be good to have the oil on hand for when my new boat gets here in March if I decide I want to try it on the gunwales. Unfortunately, it is seemingly hard to come by. It is out of stock on Badger’s site, as well as at Rutabaga and there’s not a lot of other options. It is available through Swift’s website, but with shipping to the U.S./Missouri, it is over $60 for a quart. That seemed too steep for me so I started researching alternatives and came across the below food-safe Tung oil:


It is readily available many places (including Amazon), seems like it should be pretty good stuff if the marketing is to be believed, and is half the price. As a bonus I discovered the company is actually based in Missouri which is an odd bit of coincidence but pretty cool I thought as I do like to support local when I can. I figured based on all of that it was worth trying.

Anyway, I finally got around to oiling my paddle today so I’ll try to report back on how I end up liking this brand/product. If anyone else has used this particular brand before I’d be happy to hear others’ opinions on it and how it holds up or if there is anything I should watch out for.

Just another gunnel pic.