The Ultimate Sole!

I'm done! I'm done! Well...at least for now. I worked all last weekend doing the prep and got the first coat on. Then I went down every night this week to put on another coat. I ended up with 4 1/2 coats - the 1/2 coat was because I only had enough varnish left in the can to do a fifth coat on the high-traffic areas. I say "for now" because I've decided to do another round of coats. The problem is that the wood is so old and rough that I couldn't sand it smooth without taking off the thin veneer. Consequently, in some areas the rough texture of the wood comes through the varnish. So what I'll do is, once it's cured for a couple of weeks, wet-sand the varnish to get it as smooth as possible, then put a few MORE coats on. This should get it smooth and glassy.

As you'll see in the pics, in some areas the wood is still stained and discolored. I considered bleaching it out prior to varnishing, but was concerned that it would end up looking blotchy. I decided to go forward with the varnishing, stains and all. As it turns out, I actually like the way it looks - I think it has a nice antiquey, distressed kind of look.

So, here's the big reveal!

The bow - before & after:





















The stern - before & after


























Here's a couple shots to illustrate the rough texture I'm hoping to smooth out with future coats. The first shot is at the stern, right next to the hatch so it obviously saw lots of traffic and exposure. You can see the texture of the wood comes through the varnish. The second shot is at the bow under the v-berth - this area saw no actual traffic, so it's pristine and the varnish is glassy on it.
















I'm hoping that sanding these first few coats, and then adding more coats, will end up with smooth glassy finish throughout. But even if I stopped here, I'm truly ecstatic over the end result. What a difference!

Here are a few other interior shots, to show off some of the little decorative touches that I've added. Note that there's a carpet that will be covering a large part of my newly-restored sole - almost a shame, but it covers the floor boards over the bilge, so it's kind of necessary.