"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
One of the joys of owning a boat with a lot of exterior wood trim is
the maintenance work. With 29 years in the sun and salt air, the
teak in our swim platorm was getting thin, brittle and badly worn.
After several years of patchwork repairs it finally seemed time to do
the job right and rebuild the entire thing. No problem. In
exchange of about a boat buck for freshly milled teak strips and a few
new tools, the job is well underway.

Here's a picture of a new strip being sprung into place with clamps
and spacers:

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/921/swimplatformconstructio.jpg

Notice the reflections in that fine looking transom. :-)

The strips are 15 feet long, 1 1/2 iches wide and about 7/8ths thick,
approximately 25 board feet before milling.

Any suggestions for how to finish the teak when it is finished?

My suggestion is not to apply any coating leave the teak au Natural.

As you know the best way to finished a teak swimming Platform is

not to put anything on it. Wash and scrub with a soft brush the platform
when needed.

If you do not mind a slippery platform when wet Cetol light finish looks
nice.

It has to be redone every second year or so?

The oil contained in the teak wood does not facilitate the adherence
(sticking) of almost any surface coating for a long period of time.

The other coating that I used is a Tung oil finish BERH No 600.

Its formulated with Linseed oil, Tung oil, Wax and fortified with a

UV inhibitor. It looks very nice but will not last a season, re-coating is
needed every month? It's easier then removing a Cetol or varnish finishes
with a scrapper.