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Pole & Hook Maintenance...


robtheplod

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Hi All

 

I've got a pole/hook on the boat and these are painted the same colour as the boat and looking very sad and flaky having absorbed all the UV rays over the years on the roof of the boat. I need to paint them, but i thought if sanding/oiling them might be better?  Less messy in the future and can be done easily on the boat? The main issue is the wood dries so oiling might be better??  any thoughts on this?

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 I'll bite, its a nice looking boat and if the poles and boat hook are in keeping then that looks nice too. Frankly I think oil is a better way to maintain the wood. If you're going to sand it nicely anyway then its loads less effort to oil it  than paint it. The wood still looks nice and oil is much easier to apply and reapply. That said I just repainted all o mine. Time, time-y-time, is on my side. Yes it is. 

 

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8 hours ago, Phoenix_V said:

I was always told that wooden ladders were varnished because if they were to be painted it is not always possible to see if they are going rotten under the paint covering, don't know how true this is

Yes wooden ladders were always varnished, so any splits or rot could be seen.

Having seen a boat pole that was only held together by the paint, the varnishing any wooden object subject to stress makes great sense.

 

Bod.

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The forces that can be put on a pole in extremis are enormous. You really don't want it breaking with all some ones weight on it. Oiling does sound a good idea. Anyone here admit to actually doing this? Would the canal police come along with battery angle grinders and remove all the washers off your boat hull as punishment for going against tradition? "Boat poles should either be freshly painted, or with flaking paint and rot." ?

 

Jen

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My cabin shaft gets 2 coats of Ronseal wood preserver every year.  The hooky bit gets painted.  

The long shaft is aluminium, so it gets painted from time to time.

Ni

 

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14 hours ago, robtheplod said:

Hi All

 

I've got a pole/hook on the boat and these are painted the same colour as the boat and looking very sad and flaky having absorbed all the UV rays over the years on the roof of the boat. I need to paint them, but i thought if sanding/oiling them might be better?  Less messy in the future and can be done easily on the boat? The main issue is the wood dries so oiling might be better??  any thoughts on this?

 

Having got fed up of painting thrm and the poles eventually rotting where water gets under the paint through microscopic cracks, I am doing the same.

 

Last year I rubbed them down and stained them with a sprit based teak stain and began to oil them with tung oil.

 

I am currently 6 months through @Alan de Enfield's advice to oil them once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year.

 

So far so good, but it still early days.

 

 

Edited by cuthound
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1 minute ago, cuthound said:

 

Having got fed up of painting thrm and the poles eventually rotting where water gets under the psint through microscopic cracks, I am doing the same.

 

Last year I rubbed them down and stained them with a sprit based teak stain and began to oil them with tung oil.

 

I am currently 6 months through @Alan de Enfield's advice to oil them once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year.

 

So far so good, but it still early days.

 

 

Excellent thanks for that helpful reply.... will do the same, thanks to Alan as well!

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7 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Having got fed up of painting thrm and the poles eventually rotting where water gets under the paint through microscopic cracks, I am doing the same.

 

Last year I rubbed them down and stained them with a sprit based teak stain and began to oil them with tung oil.

 

I am currently 6 months through @Alan de Enfield's advice to oil them once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year.

 

So far so good, but it still early days.

 

 

Ooh, that sounds sensible advice!  I'm currently on the teak oil "once a year for a decade" phase, so I'm thinking I should probably walk that back a bit. Actually, every few months seems to fettle it.

 

I confess I'm down to just the one stout boat hook now though, having retired the forever unused long shaft a while back.  I don't think I've ever even seen one in use when I've not though it wasn't either a hindrance to the steerer or a danger to the user! There are occasions, I'm sure, so if one should ever come along I have my stout boat hook nicely oiled and poised...!  

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6 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Ooh, that sounds sensible advice!  I'm currently on the teak oil "once a year for a decade" phase, so I'm thinking I should probably walk that back a bit. Actually, every few months seems to fettle it.

 

I confess I'm down to just the one stout boat hook now though, having retired the forever unused long shaft a while back.  I don't think I've ever even seen one in use when I've not though it wasn't either a hindrance to the steerer or a danger to the user! There are occasions, I'm sure, so if one should ever come along I have my stout boat hook nicely oiled and poised...!  

 

The problem in having now, 6 months into the "once a month for a years bit, is the time the oil is taking to dry now.

 

At first it wad touch dry in a couple of hours, now it is taking a coue of days despite the warmer weather.

 

I think (hope) it is a sign that the wood has taken as much oil as it can.

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As an old dinosaur, I’m happy to use long shafts, and ropes, to help manoeuvre in tight situations, rather than thrashing about with a motor. Resolute carried a 16’ ash shaft for years which was used where necessary. I painted them in raddle red. Some modern shorter shafts sink in to mud and have little useful length left to push with. An 8’ cabin shaft, with hook, is more than handy too.

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On 25/05/2020 at 21:15, robtheplod said:

Hi All

 

I've got a pole/hook on the boat and these are painted the same colour as the boat and looking very sad and flaky having absorbed all the UV rays over the years on the roof of the boat. I need to paint them, but i thought if sanding/oiling them might be better?  Less messy in the future and can be done easily on the boat? The main issue is the wood dries so oiling might be better??  any thoughts on this?

 

Photo of partially finished poles.

 

 

20200530_144935.jpg

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57 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

That looks good.... I've only just started - removed the green paint and putting on two coats of Rustens Danish oil each day. I'll keep these inside the boat until its actually in use....

 

 

before.jpg

after.jpg

 

I found the oil dried quickly for the "once a day for a week and once a week for a month" bits, but 6 months into the "once a month for a year" bit is taking longer, 4 days outside in the current heatwave for the last coat.

 

As a result the dandelion and thistle seeds have stuck to them. ?

 

I have a spare set of pole & hook (don't ask, but I think the previous owner ticked every option offered to him ?), so i will see how the oiling performs before deciding what to do with them.

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37 minutes ago, cuthound said:

6 months into the "once a month for a year" bit is taking longer, 4 days outside in the current heatwave for the last coat.

Then I’d stop. There’s nowt soaking into the wood any longer and you’re just building up thickness. Move to ‘once every three months’ and if it still takes an age to dry ‘once every six months’. 

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