Tabernacle treatment

[Gubby_uk]

Morning all.
My tabernacle was not much use. Fortunately my brother in law is a chippy and has made me a shiny new one out of teak. What is the best way to look after it please? Varnish, drench it in teak oil, Woodskin? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you

[dave_cawston]

Hi,

For decades I have been using Deks Olje on my WB.  The hardest job was removing the original varnish, but once that was off, applying the Deks Olje was so easy.  It comes as a No 1 for a satin finish and as a No 2 for high gloss.  I prefer the No 1, you apply it wet on wet 6 + coats and it really soaks in to the wood, so does not peel or lift like varnish.  Recoating requires a minimal rub down and a couple of coats to refresh.  The No 2, applied on top of the No 1 does not give as good a shine as varnish but again does not lift or peel, in my experience.   It does require a good rub down/scrape if you want to recoat.  I have no rot in any woodwork, but 'Markie' spends most of her life under a tarpaulin that covers all the woodwork. 

One little tip, I have fitted a thin 0.8mm thick stainless steel shoe under the foot of the mast, which saves the foot of the mast snagging and splitting when raising or lowering the mast and places less strain on the tabernacle (photo hopefully attached).