Finish for white cedar floorboards

[RickBetterley]

Looking for suggestions.
My lovely Penobscot Wherry had unfinished white cedar floorboards in an off-white painted hull. I oiled them when new, but of course they now have grayed out. With beautiful varnish on the gunwales and seats, the weathered cedar looks a bit seedy.
Not at all interested in varnish and probably not paint for the floorboards, and oil seems like a losing proposition. But it seems a shame to just let them go gray (or, maybe not).
any other options I should consider. Low maintenance, not slippery would be my wish.
cetol? Leave them gray?
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[Thad]

Nothing is best. Not slippery.

[wizbang 13]

This is one place I do NOT recommend Cetol.
As many here have learned, the highest maintainance wood on a boat is the bare stuff.
Sunshine,soap and elbow grease.

[David G]

If you're set on having finish on them... as Wiz hints, NO film finish. Tedious to maintain, and can be slippy. Unless other steps are taken to ameliorate it. So I'd suggest a polymerizing oil... or an oil/varnish hybrid... and renew it OFTEN!!

For the former, I've had some small successes with Sutherland & Wells Polymerized Tung Oil. For the latter, I've used a lot of Daly's Seafin Teak Oil and love it. Both are dead simple to apply and refresh. The former dries quicker and you need to move quickly. The latter has some UV additives, which is one reason why I tend to favor it. But, unless your boat lives outside, either should serve.

[johngsandusky]

On my old Friendship, I used nonskid compound in the varnish on the top of the bowsprit. It worked, and looked good.

[David G]

On my old Friendship, I used nonskid compound in the varnish on the top of the bowsprit. It worked, and looked good.

For floorboards, 'slippery' is just one reason I don't recommend a film finish. They take a lot of wear, so need refreshing often... and LOTS of nooks and crannies requiring fiddly brush work with many opportunities for runs and holidays. A finish you can put on with a rag is MANY times easier.

[willin woodworks]

Leave them raw. Naturally non skid, no scratches or dings in the finish to worry about. Scrub them with some TSP once in a while to brighten them up.

[RickBetterley]

Thank you for all of the suggestions - looks like my ocd will have to overlook my floorboards.
Unfinished and cleaned makes sense.
I’ll save my time and energy for the varnish.


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[Bill Perkins]

I bleached a weathered pair of spruce oars to good effect .Oxalic acid from Woodcraft, if the hardware store doesn't have it .

[TerryLL]

I know nothing about white cedar, but nonetheless I will chance an opinion.
My last skiff had Sitka spruce floorboards. Why Sitka spruce, you ask? Because it was available and free.
I slathered them with hot boat soup about every 4 years and they were wonderfully non skid, and did not absorb water in spite of being constantly wet. An additional benefit was the intensely yachty aroma of the boat soup.

[Bob Cleek]

What Perkins said. Keep them bleached with oxalic or citric acid diluted in water as needed to keep them bright. Wash down with salt water. They will stay "white" and be as good a non-skid surface as anyone could wish for. Oils will collect and hold dirt and eventually go black. Everything else is a pain to maintain. Leaving them bare with an wash and occasional bleaching as needed is quick and easy. (Just be sure to wear waterproof gloves and old clothes when bleaching. The bleach will take the color out of whatever you're wearing and if you soak your hands in the stuff, it will attack the quick under your fingernails and make you want to die for a couple of days. (Don't ask me how I know this!)