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Interior wood that's gone white?


NB DW

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I'm on the lookout for a new boat and having seen a lots of pictures of interiors I've noticed on a fair number of boats the interior wood has gone white...

 

It's not in an area where you'd typically expect to see water damage - so what causes it?

 

Picture attached.

 

Thanks

 

 

white 1.JPG

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Since we all got worried about high VOC varnish, the stuff has been mostly water based,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,in my opinion, rubbish in a boat, useless outside.

 

When it gets damp it leaves the wood slightly and it looks white. It is recoverable with sanding or scraping and re-varnishing.  Its better than it going dark, that is harder to rectify.

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8 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

Since we all got worried about high VOC varnish, the stuff has been mostly water based,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,in my opinion, rubbish in a boat, useless outside.

 

When it gets damp it leaves the wood slightly and it looks white. It is recoverable with sanding or scraping and re-varnishing.  Its better than it going dark, that is harder to rectify.

Agreed,  I will only use use spirit based varnishes and paints., even if I have to pay more to get them mixed.

 

Back to the OP , it looks like condensation damage to me. As already suggested , rectifiable by sanding down and re varnishing.

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21 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Still looks brown to me....

 

 

Gimme attention, gimme attention...

 

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Thought it might be the varnish but wasn't sure why it'd be so localised to small areas.

 

I'm supposing if it were to be sanded back and re-done it'd stick out like a sore thumb against the rest of the panels though.  I prefer a matt finish rather than varnish anyhow.

Edited by NB DW
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I love those two seater dinettes :-) Is that boat towards the longer end of the market? Nearly looked at something very similar myself when replacing my boat. 

 

Speaking of which if you like matt I've got a lovely Farrow and Balled one for sale - DM for details if you fancy a tug! (No dinette, folding table - also matt!)

 

Edited to add - newer boat has mostly bare wood. Will look terrible in a few years and 'vintage' in a few more if I don't bite the bullet and varnish or similar... Not a job for this year, but descion to be made!  

Edited by TheMenagerieAfloat
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21 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

Since we all got worried about high VOC varnish, the stuff has been mostly water based...... When it gets damp it leaves the wood slightly and it looks white. 

As a woodworker I agree that looks like the finish has gotten wet. My guess is that condensation on the windows would run down and then puddle along that trim strip.  

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Was a joke (because I'm assuming the OP meant matt wood not matt London (specifically Islington) style paint) but happy for an admin to remove as I'm beyond the editing time. 

 

I'm not actually doing viewings etc myself as don't want the hassle. So don't think I can post advert details on here. But haven't asked as don't particularly  want to.

 

Presumably from the number of things doing to new boat it is obvious that is the focus right now. Old boat is just for fortnightly pubs trips with friends and family at present! 

 

 

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Here's the boat:

 

https://www.venetianmarina.co.uk/used-narrowboats/details/5008.aspx

 

Shame, as otherwise it's decent.  Exterior paint looks badly faded for a 12 year old boat though.

 

By matt finish I mean wood that's not high gloss / varnished.  Can't remember what Aintree said they used on the oak ply finish on mine but the it looks oiled and isn't shiny.

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The layout is great though!

 

Stove in a sensible place

Sensible sized dinette for the length of boat

Head in a sensible place re public/private areas of boat and nicely far from galley

 

People (who aren't me) like those big cross beds too

 

And you'd be doing the exterior paint to remove the old owners' names anyway (presumably)

 

Think I saw something fitted out by the same people I guess. Wasn't that boat but very similar style.

 

Possibly it was used mostly in summer and windows closed in winter? But, tbf, the huge amount of dehumidifiers I've discovered I have come from someone who actually lived with mold because they were of a generation taught not to open windows becasue it was assumed there'd always be too much ventilation so could just be a lifestyle thing even if they did use it in winter.

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Personally I don't like the 'living in a box' feel of 360 degree wood anyway. New boat is wood floor and wood (untreated but it gets dirtier - I'm not sure shiny isn't optimal) to gunwales and then painted (tumblehome/walls/cabin sides)? and white panelled ceiling.

 

If you painted everything (except the roses on the hatch doors etc which are already painted) above the gunwales in this boat you'd have plenty of wood still and a more homely (albeit slightly less OAP boaty) look. More practical too.

 

Or you could follow @Boater Sam's suggestion of rectifying (I've given up on dark bits where I have the choice but light is, indeed, fixable) what is there and leaving a window or two open.

 

Edited to add: Really don't underestimate the scarcity of sensible layouts - everything has a flipping huge kitchen (I blame Bake Off) and stove stuck in a stupid corner. Decorating is decorating <> re-fitting.

Edited by TheMenagerieAfloat
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1 hour ago, NB DW said:

Here's the boat:

 

https://www.venetianmarina.co.uk/used-narrowboats/details/5008.aspx

 

Shame, as otherwise it's decent.  Exterior paint looks badly faded for a 12 year old boat though.

 

By matt finish I mean wood that's not high gloss / varnished.  Can't remember what Aintree said they used on the oak ply finish on mine but the it looks oiled and isn't shiny.

 

It's been moored under a tree for years at the bottom of Johnson's Hillock Locks on the L&L - at Whittle Springs oddly enough!

 

As far as I know, it's been a well looked after and well used and loved boat until last year - I think one of the owners was quite ill last I heard.  If the only thing putting you off about it is that bleaching on the woodwork, I'd say go and have a look at it.  A delicate hand with some light oak dye and a bit of satin varnish would probably make it disappear easily enough.

 

I clicked through to the advert out of idle curiosity, then started thinking hang on - I know that boat!

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"Go and buy the boat. Go and buy the boat. ..."

 

Seriously. I've not met the boat. But it does look really nice and liveable. The for and aft tents alone are worth £££.

 

Also edited to add: clearly the roller blind in the galley should be on the sink side to be less upsetting when you splash it. But really... looks lovely with the aide of a screwdriver and bit of re-varnishing/painting to taste.

 

Edited by TheMenagerieAfloat
wobbly spelling
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I'm still not fully decided on what the hell to do in terms of size of boat and whether new or old.

 

Situation is I have a 40ft mooring for my existing boat.  I was going to buy a bigger boat last year to liveaboard but decided against it.  Too many complications with renting out my house and not having a residential mooring where I could register for council tax etc etc.

 

I've come up with a compromise of taking on a lodger so nothing changes as far as having a permanent address and the problems in not having one brings.  Not quite as economically sound and definitely not profitable as renting it out might be.  But hey ho, it's an income I wouldn't have which would go towards the boat costs I already have and would make a nice contribution of £350-400pcm.

 

The idea was to buy a bigger boat than my 25ft Aintree Beetle to stay on for the most part, other than nipping back to my home to do washing etc.  There's less than ten minutes drive from my mooring to my home. 

 

Once my boat sells, by mid-summer I'll have around £45K to spend.  I could buy a new 30ft with a really decent spec.  Or opt for something a little older around 40ft.  A new boat really appeals but concerned a 30ft might be on the small side if I'm going to be on it as a liveaboard for the most part.

 

I'm only 5 minutes from Venetian Marina.  The layout of the boat I linked to is great, I agree, and the price is OK.  But I was ideally looking for something 50ft or under to keep costs down for licencing/mooring/blacking etc.  I think I'd fall into the trap of knowing it's not quite right and throwing money at painting it, nicer floor, new fabrics etc (none of what's on there is to my taste) and before I know it I'd have spent a chunk more and could've ended up with something closer to what I was looking for, for much the same money as I'd have spent on this one with the work done.

 

Really need to get out there and see some boats first hand.

 

Sad story about the owner and reason for sale.  I wish them well.

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4 hours ago, NB DW said:

I'm still not fully decided on what the hell to do in terms of size of boat and whether new or old.

 

Situation is I have a 40ft mooring for my existing boat.  I was going to buy a bigger boat last year to liveaboard but decided against it.  Too many complications with renting out my house and not having a residential mooring where I could register for council tax etc etc.

 

I've come up with a compromise of taking on a lodger so nothing changes as far as having a permanent address and the problems in not having one brings.  Not quite as economically sound and definitely not profitable as renting it out might be.  But hey ho, it's an income I wouldn't have which would go towards the boat costs I already have and would make a nice contribution of £350-400pcm.

 

The idea was to buy a bigger boat than my 25ft Aintree Beetle to stay on for the most part, other than nipping back to my home to do washing etc.  There's less than ten minutes drive from my mooring to my home. 

 

Once my boat sells, by mid-summer I'll have around £45K to spend.  I could buy a new 30ft with a really decent spec.  Or opt for something a little older around 40ft.  A new boat really appeals but concerned a 30ft might be on the small side if I'm going to be on it as a liveaboard for the most part.

 

I'm only 5 minutes from Venetian Marina.  The layout of the boat I linked to is great, I agree, and the price is OK.  But I was ideally looking for something 50ft or under to keep costs down for licencing/mooring/blacking etc.  I think I'd fall into the trap of knowing it's not quite right and throwing money at painting it, nicer floor, new fabrics etc (none of what's on there is to my taste) and before I know it I'd have spent a chunk more and could've ended up with something closer to what I was looking for, for much the same money as I'd have spent on this one with the work done.

 

Really need to get out there and see some boats first hand.

 

Sad story about the owner and reason for sale.  I wish them well.

I really like the boat, except the bench seating, I'd rather have a small sofa.

I have just bought curtain material for six windows, cost less than £200 the thermal lining cost more than the lovely fabric which was "end of roll", I also bought 7 metres of very smart FR for the [four seater] dinette under £100. Cost of paint plus ephemera, I would estimate at £500, but if rubbing down and varnishing a few sq ft of woodwork puts you off, well you are in for a shock :)

Edited by LadyG
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9 hours ago, WotEver said:

Spot on :)

I think you pair are getting confused with not wanting to get some light resoration done on the interior and me not wanting to go down the route of buying it and putting money into it.

 

Painting previously varnished panels white doesn't often look good.  It wasn't done out of design.  Instead it was done out of necessity because what was previously underneath was in a crap state.  That's what I often think when seeing a boat with a newly painted interior.  It's a whitewash in its truest sense.  It wouldn't be so bad if you could see the grain but that's not going to happen because of the varnish.  Paint the interior of this white and it'll be no different to a knackered old London liveaboard who's been forced down the same route for the same reason.  I'm sure it could be varnished again, whether it'd match is another matter, but as I said earlier, I don't like a glossy finish anyhow.  So in either case, it's probably not right for me.

 

The exterior paint isn't in great shape.  There's plenty of boats of a similar age that've had a repaint or don't need one.  I'd be throwing a hell of a lot of money at it to get it right.  And it's money I doubt I'd get back.

 

There's plenty of boats out there between 40-50ft not in need of any such work.  So why compromise?

 

Anything at any price isn't a sound buy if you know you're never likely to be fully happy with it.  Especially so when you're talking about spending £40K.

 

Hope it's clearer now.

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4 minutes ago, NB DW said:

as I said earlier, I don't like a glossy finish anyhow

So oil it. Or use a matt varnish, or lacquer, or whatever.  I never said you had to paint it white (or any other colour). 

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10 hours ago, WotEver said:

Spot on :)

 

4 minutes ago, WotEver said:

So oil it. Or use a matt varnish, or lacquer, or whatever.  I never said you had to paint it white (or any other colour). 

I thought you suggested spot on. That would only stop fleas wooden it?

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4 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I thought you suggested spot on. That would only stop fleas wooden it?

I’m getting ticked off here. Anyhow who mentioned wooden fleas? I don’t have a wooden heart. 

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