Trojan Boat Forum

I was up at he lake easter sunday, and removed the swim platform of my F28. the previous owner or owners had applied what appears to be a polyuratane on the wood. well needless to say it was flaking off. So I brought it home and hit it with the sander. old stuff came off real easy. but here is my question?

Are the swim platforms teak?? Mahagony??

Am I better off applying a teak oil to the wood or sealing it with polyurathane??

Also the risers from the bottom of the transom to the platform are wood.

what hardware is used to hold the risers in the brackets on the transom?? Only on riser has nut and bolt that even resemble such. All the rest are rusted beyond reconigtion. Im assuming that they were also nut and bolt????

Any help would be great.

The swim platform on my 71 is Teak
the hardware should be stainless steel, including the support brackets, common carbon steel would not last very long
Im not sure if they use other materials, but I would replace the hardware with stainless steel and Teak wood is pretty easy to spot, I would never put polyurethane on a swim platform, oil is good, alot of guys here use something called Cetol, not sure if thats spelled right but Im sure you will get other responces

99.9% are teak

I used Cetol light on my swim platform but it's only been on there through last winter so I don't yet know how well it will stand up to the elements. However, I'm thinking about making a canvas cover for it for the winter months, like my railing.

i made one for my other boat and i couldnt afford to buy one ...12' beam.. so i made it and i couldnt afford teak so i made it out of a hardwood and cetroled it it worked great

do you use a brush to apply the cetol?? How many coats does it take?? the wood on the swim platform seems really dry. I did a test spot with the teak oil that I got from HOME DEPOT and it sucked it right up.

the bolts for the risers located at the bottom of the transom are completely rusted and a little gun shy to try and punch them out.

first strip it...I just used a water soluble marine stripper,took 2 applications,then used 2 part teak cleaner... [some like tide with bleach mixed to a paste],sand out imperfections,[save the saw dust for use as filler mixed with epoxy],then 3 coats cetol [yellow label] with a brush....looks really,really nice....


however....every one has a certain part of anatomy....as well as an opinion on refinishing...

thanks for the input, I completely forgot about teak cleaner!!

Even with Cetol you'll have to reapply yearly. I stripped mine, Painted on a good two part epoxy, adding sand to the first coat while wet, and then a second coat over that. It looks great, is durable and very nonskid. Best paRT IS in 3-5 years when I might need to redo it, I can paint over the existing even if there are cracks or bare spots.

I'll go out on a limb and say the platform is teak, as most are. I sanded mine down after years and years of former owners' applications of teak oil, etc. Then used 3 coats of CETOL Teak (new last year) finish. Then a final coat with non-slip. It's held up very well and if there is any touching up it will not require sanding etc, just another coat. The older CETOLs had a tendency to turn green, the new one does not and it looks really nice. Whatever you use to coat the teak (unless oil) be sure to use a non-skid additive.

using the cetol, what was the non skid additive that you used??? did you mix something with the cetol?? or is it another product?
I have the platform sanded down and cleaned the teak with tide and bleach, came out really nice. I'll let it dry a day or two before a put on the cetol.

between coats did you let it dry or put the second and third coats on wet?

let cetol dry between coats,do not have to sand between coats, I did not use non-skid. In my limited experience, you really only need to use non skid additive with multiple multiple coats with a very thick slick build up. [again, you'll hear arguments on both sides.]

I used 3 coats of CETOL Natural Teak. over sanded/bare teak. Light sand/scuff between each coat. Then I wetted it down with a hose and stood on it in my bare feet. Like an ice-rink.....

One more coat of Cetol, then spinkled Interlux anti-skid with a salt shaker. Let it dry and knocked off the excess with a shop-vac. It's not a shiney-smooth but I don't have to think about calling my lawyer every time somebody steps on the swim platform.

RandyP thanks a million for the input