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Starting on the teak deck
Well I just spent about 4-5 hours on the teak decks. I started by washing and brushing, across the grain of course. Then I decided to test teak cleaner. It was amazing! I used Star bright teak cleaner brightner combo. And for all you haters out there just calm down. I don't intend to use this weakly. The decks had been left alone for several years. It worked exactly as advertised and took off much less teak than if I had used some other physical method to clean/scrape it all off.The question of how to treat your teak is a very difficult one. Everyone has an opinion. The bottom line is that UV light kills everything. Dirt and moss and mold and the elements in general are going to dry out crack freeze eat and rot your wood. If you leave it alone it will die. if you scrub it it will die. If you put acid on it it will die. If you varnish it it will be slick. And no matter what method you choose it's a lot of work.
I have decided that the best way for the wood is also the most work. I'm going to start with cleaning and oiling the wood. I'm going to varnish the trim and cockpit and boxes, but not gloss. I'm going to preserve the natural look of the wood and use an ultra thin varnish to soak in to the wood deeply to seal it. The wood right now is super dry and the first coat of oil I put on soaked up like a sponge.
I took 4 pictures showing some of the work. I think it's going to look amazing when it's finished.
And of course the bilge pump clogged/broke/doesn't work again tonight. This is the second pump we have lost since October/November!!! Cheap CRAP! West Marine is going to get a piece of my mind! We also defrosted the freezer and cleaned out the fridge with a hose (thus needing the bilge pump) So we have food sitting all around and the boat is a complete mess! UGH. Long day! I'm going to bed. We will deal with this mess tomorrow.