I have one more piece of advice, gleaned from recent experience. It's possible I did not put enough coats of varnish on the timber parts. Inspection of the toe rails, hatch trim rails, gallows, rub rails, and some other varnished parts showed that the varnish was gone and water had been seeping into the wood. I also noticed what appeared to be long patches of bare wood, even on places like the fronts of the hatch trim pieces, that do not get any wear (wear and tear on rub rails toe rails is to be expected).
I'm not sure why this is happening, but either the varnish is not as tough as the paint or else I did something wrong. I put on at least four coats of the recommended Interlux Scooner Varnish. Anyway, I've rubbed these areas down with Scotch-Brite "Between Coats" pads and added two more coats of varnish (will add at least two more in the near future). I haven't had any of these issues with any of the spars, but that is probably because I have a sail cover which protects them from the weather, along with the sails.*
So, please put plenty of varnish on the timber parts you decide to varnish (five or six coats perhaps), and keep a close eye on them. I'm not going to replace any of these parts (except the gallows, which was always intended to be temporary). My idea is their appearance "adds character," and I'm sticking to it.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
*I got an excellent custom sail cover from a craftsman in Arkansas for $250. Anyone who keeps their boat outside should add this. For information, contact Charles Huie, "captain charlie," a contributor on this forum.