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Appraisal
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Repair and Maintenance of a Drascombe Lugger

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Coating Teak
In Retrospect April 2003

This page describes how well the coating method adopted for the teak on my Lugger has survived a year on from the initial application. In March 2002 I decided to use Burgess Marine Woodsealer for coating the teak and I promised to post up some photographs to see how well the coated teak had fared after a season's sailing and a winter outside in our back garden. It is now April 2003 so here is the appraisal.

The mizzen mast thwart and the teak transom board have been selected to show how the coating has performed a year after application. The following two pairs of photographs show the teak immediately after treatment and one year on:

	The Teak Mizzen Mast Thwart immediately after treatment in March 2002 This photograph shows the Mizzen mast thwart after gentle sanding, degreasing with White Spirit followed by coating with the Burgess Marine Woodsealer in March 2002. (Click on image for larger view)
	The Teak Mizzen Mast Thwart in April 2003 Mizzen mast thwart after a season's sailing in fresh and salt water and a winter stored out of doors. Apart from abrasion wear in the mast and rudder slots, the coating has survived very well. (Click on image for larger view)
	The Laminated Teak Transom Board immediately after treatment in March 2002 As with the other teak components the board was dry sanded on both sides and splits degreased with Acetone, coated with unthickened Epoxy and then filled with thickened Epoxy. Teak splints were cut to shape, degreased with Acetone and glued in with Epoxy to replace missing splinters. The board was then coated on both sides with Burgess Marine Woodsealer. (Click on image for larger view)

The laminated teak transom board and adjacent gunwales in April 2003 Apart from abrasion by the overcover at the top, the coating on the transom board is in good condition with no sign of flaking. The outboard engine mounting board can also be seen to have retained its coating. The good condition of the teak is in sharp contrast with the gelcoat which is in urgent need of some TLC! Restoration of the gelcoat will be the focus of a future project described on this site. (Click on image for larger view)

Conclusions

In my experience the Burgess Marine Woodsealer has so far proved to be an excellent and reasonably durable coating for the teak on the Lugger. One very important factor is the use of an overcover when the boat is stored outside at the sailing club and over the winter in the garden. If a cover had not been used, then the coating would have been exposed to a lot more sunlight and rainwater and may well have degraded significantly. A boat kept on a mooring for a long period of time would also expose the teak to a significant amount of weathering.

For maximising the long term value of a Lugger, the use of a good quality cover whenever the boat has to be stored out of doors is essential. As well as the teak, the gelcoat decking is particularly susceptible to degradation when exposed to the ultra violet radiation of sunlight. This makes the gelcoat oxidise, fade, lose its gloss and become very brittle. It is then susceptible to the unsightly cracking and impact 'star cracks' which are a feature of many older boats.

Project started March 2002 and appraised April 2003