Refinishing Sitka Spruce Masts

[Sand crab]

I've seen aluminum masts that were painted to look like wood. I never got a real close look but from about 50' thay looked great.

[jrogers]

I've epoxy coated spars with System Three clear coat and top coated with varnish. I had trouble with runs and drips in the epoxy. I recently did a winch base with Smith CPES as an undercoat and liked it a lot. It's water thin with no build up or runs. I'll be using CPES and twelve coats of Epiphanes when we refinish September's spars.

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by heron237

what?, you varnish over epoxy, what is this amateur hour, epoxy doesn't have a uv component, all gloss varnishes do.

For clear finishes:

The reason one would "varnish over epoxy", (Like the base under this windlass that I installed a few years back), Is that the UV filters of the varnish will protect the epoxy from yellowing and eventually becoming brittle, from UV exposure. In this case I instructed the client that the varnish protective layer was essential, and must be maintained.

The epoxy, on the other hand, while lacking UV resistance, is a total vapor barrier, where as varnish is not. Varnish allows the wood to have a constantly changing moisture content, as it is not a water vapor proof coating.

For maximum wood stability and coating longevity, Varnish OVER a 100% solids epoxy (like West), is the way to go... AS LONG as one is willing to ALWAYS scuff and re apply the varnish regularly, to maintain a UV filter.

If not, they are better off with just varnish, and completely strip it once in a while, when they waited too long between re-coats...

Having said that... The problem with repeatedly stripping teak trim and the like, is that after enough "strips", the bungs become so thin that they pop out. Then the only fix is to remove EVERY fastener and countersink the holes deeper, so that it can be re bunged. It's a pain!

I avoid clear finishes on my own boat like the plague, but I suggest to my clients that IF they have and like varnished teak, they maintain it BEFORE it starts to fail, rather than let it fail, strip it, and re varnish, over and over, for the life of the boat.

Mark

[wolfenzee]

When I got my boat my mast (and the rest of the boat) were painted "alunimun grey" (actually called Seattle grey). I stripped and varnished the below decks part and when I saw how beautiful it was I knew I would never forgive myself for not varnishign the whole thing when I had a chance. My wood mast (6" diameter at the base 47' long laminated Sitka Spruce, stepped on the keel, tapered and cambered) is stronger, more flexible and has a natural curve that would be hard to get in aluminum. With the finishes available you can make aluminum masts look similar tto wood, as long as there are no wood masts to compare them to. If I had to replace my mast, I would use the same materiel that it was designed to have 75 years ago (though the technology in wood mast making has increased dramatically in only the past 10 years).

[wolfenzee]

If I didn't want to tend to varnish I would not have gotten a wooden boat, it is a piece of art, the sweeping curves and wide variety of woods used. Everything was painted, but after I stripped the paint and put on a couple coat of varnish, someone who had known the boat for 30 years said "Someone's got to dress the old girl up".
In a discussion about "silver grey wood" it was pointed out there is a fine line between maintenance and neglect...and that crosses the line. The skipper of a schooer here in town told me this about varnish "Try it, if you don't like it, put another coat of varnish on it, paint it, then before you sell the boat strip of the paint and revarnish it" .If the wood you are about to paint would look nice varnished it is a thoughtful gesture to varnish before you paint, I can tell you from personal experience removing every bit of paint that was applied to bare wood is a real bitch.

[vintageray]

I'm doing my masts now. Removed all of the hardware and used an inline air sander to remove the old varnish. Applied CPES and am varnishing using Z*Spar 2015 Flagship Varnish. If using CPES it's important to remove all of the old varnish because the CPES will lift it. I learned that the hard way.

[minaret]

I prefer WEST epoxy with tropical hardener and thinned with MEK to CPES. CPES or Smiths, essentially the same product, both take much too long to cure in my opinion. You cant coat over CPES with traditional varnish until its cured because the high solvent content will cause solvent popping down the road unless you wait for a cure. Cure time can be 8 days, and once cured if you sand it for tooth your'e likely to blow through it somewhere defeating the purpose. If you use WEST you can thin your first coat 50% with MEK to make a CPS like substance that will cure overnite to the touch but still allow 24 hrs for chemical bonding. Then you apply several coats of WEST only slightly thinned with MEK to improve its brushing characteristics, which fills the grain nicely even on teak. You can chemical bond each coat, so no sanding. Once you've done this, yes you'll have some hangers to sand out because epoxy doesn't brush nice, unless you've got loads of practice. But I find the sanding goes quick, and then you're ready for varnish. Since the grain is already filled, which would take at least ten coats of varnish on top of CPES which doesnt fill the grain at all, you can acheive depth in your finish with less coats of varnish. Heres CPES cure times, you'll see it's from 2 days to 8 days.

CPES™-Wood based epoxy products to repair and resist wood rot.

[myshkin51]

I've followed this thread, I am a new owner of a 45 year old Cheoy Lee Offshore 31 ketch. Previous owner did a horrendous job on sitka spruce spars. I'm ready to drop them and refinish, and looking for advice. Varnish over epoxy?

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by vintageray

I'm doing my masts now. Removed all of the hardware and used an inline air sander to remove the old varnish. Applied CPES and am varnishing using Z*Spar 2015 Flagship Varnish. If using CPES it's important to remove all of the old varnish because the CPES will lift it. I learned that the hard way.

I have always used Z Spar Captain's Varnish on my spars as I was under the impression it is loaded up with more UV inhibitors than the Flagship. This mind set doesn't make sense though because the Flagship is slightly more costly.

[Flying Monkey]

Hello hello,
This is a lively thread! May I throw my 2 sticks on the fire?
I am about to buy an old, 1982 Island Trader, Ketch Rigged. It has wooden masts that are supposed to be Sitka Spruce. Btw, it also has teak decks that are all kinds of leaky teaky. Normally, I would not consider this boat at all. It is way too much of a project.
Owning this boat is going to be like making coffee, but choosing to start with the bery on the tree, an old tree 😀
I want it, because of the layout, and it “sure is a pretty boat”.
It was owned by an East Coast, Coast Guard officer and, so they say, impeccably maintained, until he got ill. Then, sadly, the man died.
Overall, it has probably had poor maintenance for 10 years. It has sat with no care for about 5 years.
The varnish is mostly gone from the masts. It was about half gone back in 2018. The booms and gallows have also been left exposed. And numerous other water intrusion issues.
The main Point here is these masts.
What to do with them?
The riggers suggest just planning to replace everything with Aluminum and new rigging. I see there argument.
But that wood will be pretty if it can be saved.

I do not have great pictures just yet. But I have some that will be fairly useless from a mast inspection perspective, but not bad in showing a pretty boat.
She’s a good girl, who’s maybe made some bad decisions and fallen on hard times, but I believe will be a beauty again, with a lot of love and money. Maybe lawyers, guns, and Money? Rip Warren.

What do y’all think?

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

I have always used Z Spar Captain's Varnish on my spars as I was under the impression it is loaded up with more UV inhibitors than the Flagship. This mind set doesn't make sense though because the Flagship is slightly more costly.

In our experience being in the tropics for the past 15 years we find that flagship varnish far outlasts captains varnish. The only thing we have to use as a test is seeing the results of the varnish after being in the harsh sun for 6 months.

Chuck

[edlepera]

From viewing pictures the masts on an offshore 31 ketch appears to to mounted on top of the cabin. And the floor of the cockpit. I redone masts on 19 foot lightenings. Sanding, repairing minor cracks, varnishing. Back then (1980’s) I would brush copious amounts of raw linseed oil into the wood. Would treating the inside of a mast with linseed oil add life to the wood and Prevent wood decay