There is a member at our club that has helped us out more times than I can count with many projects, some boating related, some not. He is what I would call a "mechanic's mechanic" , a wizard of sorts with anything and everything mechanical and the go-to guy at the club. He is a hard worker, holds down two jobs to be able to afford this boating habit. He is also a self proclaimed black hole when it comes to anything related to wood other than maybe firewood.

He recently purchased a new to him dingy, a Zodiac I believe he said. He asked if I could help him refinish the floor boards and the seat which took me by surprise because it always seems to be the other way around. So, my winter project is to refinish the floor boards and seat! The problem is, I have never owned a proper dingy such as this and although have refinished more than my share of teak, I want to make sure I do this the right way. The floor boards look to be 3/8" plywood, very dense, maybe mahogany? They are showing some weathering and wear in a few places so I would like to take them back to bare wood to get a uniform surface, then put a nice looking but hard wearing finish on them. I was thinking West System followed by two coats of varnish for UV protection, but would like to get opinions from those of you that have done this project before.

The floor boards and seat are currently in my workshop.