New floorboards

[Nessa]

The floorboards in the newly purchased waybarge leave a lot to be desired, so Tim kindly cut me some new ones from decent ply given to him by a boatbuilding friend. What should I use to treat the bare ply?

[sam mason]

2 coats of Reactive resins Timberseal PS then a couple of coats of decent 1 pack poly varnish. Bomb proof.
Sam

[Ian Malcolm]

.... but too slippery as-is!

You will need either a final coat of deck paint on the top surface or to use a non-skid additive. If you go with the deck paint, it may be worth keeping it 1" away from the ply edges and where the seat support struts rest so you can easily see if the varnish has been damaged and water is getting under it.

Keeping varnished bottom boards looking good is a PITA. You may prefer Danboline.

[Michael4]

Against all advice I have bare ply boards in a little motor boat I have. It is a good non slip surface and goes dull silvery grey with age and dirt.They have been there now for 9 years and regularly get wet. Apart from the occasional splash of diesel, suntan cream or red wine they are untreated. Edges are still OK. All I would say is that the ply I used was expensive when new. Scrub them hard and they tidy up nicely.

In the Tideway I have wooden boards that I treat annually with the stuff that you rub into wooden kitchen work surfaces (simply because I have a tin). It wears quite quickly but again the 'scrubbed' finish is excellent in use.