Naked Teak and Holly Cabin Sole

[Ocean Girl]

How many folks out there have a bare cabin sole? maybe a little oil but no varnish.

My 30CD had bare wood and I loved it. Rain Dogs interior is unvarnished except the cabin sole. I want to strip the sole down to bare wood, season it a bit, but not revarnish. I will varnish the rest of the interior( cabin top, bulkheads, etc). I like the non skid properties of bare wood, feels great on your feet, looks good too.

I assume a nice oiling every month for 2-3 months should be enough of a season, it is over 25 years old. Or what about Semco? Uv breaks it down so should last rather well down below.


Anyone with experience going from varnished cabin sole to bare?

Thanks
Erika

[zeehag]

mine is becoming bare--i like it more than the whatever it was they slapped onto it for selling in 2002...finally i am having beautiful wood sole.....a lil orange oil on occasion --whenever i can find it anymore..lol.....and is gorgeous...

[Cheechako]

Bare with a good cleaning and minimal oil is great. You'd be amazed at how much dirt gets in the wood though. If you wash with detergent and a sponge you wont believe the gray water!
I gues the up side to varnish etc is the dirt doesnt go into the wood... slippery though!

[hellosailor]

More likely that you would have a dirt problem with an unvarnished sole. Whatever gets trekked into it, will be ground into the pores of the wood. I know, pioneer cabins had bare wood floors as a luxury upgrade over plain packed dirt, but wood floors even in the most expensive homes are usually varnished, to keep the pores sealed and the dirt out.

No reason you can't try it bare, but I suspect there's a reason it usually isn't done that way. In the worst case, you'll find that out and have to sand and clean before resealing it.

[Tony B]

It's all a matter of personal preference Naked or dressed to the hilt, they both have their pos. and neg. attributes.
I like the poly finish on my sole for the looks and for ease of cleaning. The down side "slippery when wet". I'm no longer on a sailboat so things stay a little bit dryer.

[redsky49]

32 years with an unfinished teak sole and still going strong. In my case the teak is about 3/8" thick, so that wear is not an issue. Go for it!

[Stonefloat]

we give Avalon a quick scrub with Murphy's oil soap ....then an annual swab of "seafin" teak oil . After 35 + yrs our sole has a wonderfully patina (varnish free) ...cheers, Stonefloat

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Bare with a good cleaning and minimal oil is great. You'd be amazed at how much dirt gets in the wood though. If you wash with detergent and a sponge you wont believe the gray water!
I gues the up side to varnish etc is the dirt doesnt go into the wood... slippery though!

[Ocean Girl]

Looove, Murphy's oil soap :-).
Thanks all
Erika