Refinish CD 10 Mahogany

[CD_Sailor]

I have an older CD 10 that was finished with mahogany thwarts and trim. What is a good quick-and-dirty finish once I get the old stuff off? This boat will be used moderately and not stored outdoors or exposed to extreme conditions. Also, I'm lazy.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Three (3) coats Cetol Marine Natural Teak followed by two (2) coats Cetol Clear Gloss.

[Steve Laume]

Maybe one or two coats of sealer and some nice paint job, Steve.

[Jim Walsh]

Here's a photo of a paint job I spotted on a boat hauled in my marina. Thankfully not a CD

[CD_Sailor]

It now appears that this CD10 (probably late 1960's, interior double hull version) may have teak for the rails and mahogany only for the thwarts and other trim. Is this a combination others have seen, or am I looking at some sort of repair made by an earlier owner? BTW, I think teak on the rails is more in line with my preferences, but ...

[Dick Villamil]

I just finished restoring a double hull CD10 from the 1960s. The seats were in bad condition and I replaced several with Mahogany (a lot less expensive than teak). I also replaced rub rail and gunwale with mahogany. I think the original was also mahogany because the po had used ferrous screws that caused rot in the wood - shouldn't have happened with teak. I used mahogany for both the new rails and seats. Since cape dory installed the seats so that the screws were to go through the raised areas on the fiberglass - but missed, a lot of water was able to enter the hull. I epoxied over these holes and drilled new ones then fully caulked the screw heads and area between wood and fiberglass to prevent standing water from entering the hull via the seat fastener holes. So far it works fine. I used Epiphanes varnish instead of cetol or paint. I also stained the mahogany with red mahogany stain so it would take on the nice dark color. First coat of varnish - thin with Epiphanes thinner 50:50. Lightly sand then add a coat of 25% thinner/varnish then 2 or 3 more coats of full strength varnish. It then should be allowed to sit for at least 2 or 3 weeks before using it to give the varnish time to harden/cure. Touch up any dings immediately before water gets to the wood and yo should get many years of use just by these touch ups. It probably would be a good idea to add a fresh coat after light sanding every 3 years. You will be able to show this boat to everyone with no holding back of your pride - instead of complaining that you should have used varnish! Good luck - this is a fine boat for rowing - haven't tried to sail her yet but the grand-kids probably will this summer.

[wsonntag]

I have posted some of these before, but what the heck, I'm very happy with this restoration of a dink that's been in the family since 1970. I stripped, scraped and sanded the mahogany seats as well as the inside of the transom and aft seat support. All then varnished with Interlux Schooner. I can't remember how many coats but over ten. It so easy when the seats are out of the boat, the transom and aft seat supports a bit trickier but really this is a small boat. Did it over the winter, whenever I had time. Light scratch between coats mostly. The exterior and interior gunnel rails are new. Probably only 6 coats on there. And, that's all new blue Interlux paint on the interior. We're making a new sail for her this winter, that's a new mahogany mast step, she almost ready to sail among the anchored yachts at sunset again.

[CD_Sailor]

Nice photos and fine job. It happens that this example used teak on the rails and mahogany elsewhere. This works well for me since I'd prefer to oil the rails rather than varnish. The mahogany of course leaves little choice other than varnish.

I owned a later model CD 10 in the 1980's that featured teak all around. It was also a model without a hull liner, and consequently quite a different animal than the present boat. Fun stuff.

[Steve Laume]

The exposed fiberglass on the CD dinghies you see between the gunnels always bothered me.

On my CD-10 it is covered by a padded rub rail. On the CD-14 it shows. To dress it up a bit, I used a sharpie marker to "paint" it black. The sharpie is very easy to control and does a good job of hiding the laminate. Once it was darkened, I then proceeded to varnish over it when doing the rest of the rails. It makes for a nice clean black line and adds a lot to the look of the boat, Steve.

[Jack in Norfolk]

I have posted some of these before, but what the heck, I'm very happy with this restoration of a dink that's been in the family since 1970. I stripped, scraped and sanded the mahogany seats as well as the inside of the transom and aft seat support. All then varnished with Interlux Schooner. I can't remember how many coats but over ten. It so easy when the seats are out of the boat, the transom and aft seat supports a bit trickier but really this is a small boat. Did it over the winter, whenever I had time. Light scratch between coats mostly. The exterior and interior gunnel rails are new. Probably only 6 coats on there. And, that's all new blue Interlux paint on the interior. We're making a new sail for her this winter, that's a new mahogany mast step, she almost ready to sail among the anchored yachts at sunset again.

Do you happen to recall which shade of blue you used? Boat looks great!