Hi, Tom My hatchboards are varnished 3/8" teak plywood. I don't plan to change them out to starboard or anything because they can be brought into the house (where all the dog hair is) and varnished without any trouble. Bill, I'll try to get some better pictures than those after I get her spruced up a bit better. I have a few stains from the maple "flowers" this spring that I need to get cleaned up. Also, I'll put the hatchboards in and shoot in better light. Howard, Yeah, not so much varnish, but then not so much beauty either. Your woodwork is very enviable. Lessons learned: 1. Start with mar-free aluminum. The slightest flaws show up just as well after anodizing as they do before and while scratches can be removed pretty quickly with a polishing wheel and polishing "rouges", it is difficult to remove them without blemishing the finish by leaving a sort of polished wave on the surface which looks nearly as bad as the original scratch. 2. Don't mar the aluminum. 3. Do use a stop on the drill press as it is very easy otherwise to have countersinks that aren't evenly deep. 4. Stack drilling is fine, but more than two pieces thick risks even tightly clamped pieces vibrating and gradually shifting with respect to each other during the drilling process. Tod M17 #408 BuscaBrisas -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces+htmills=bright.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces+htmills=bright.net@mailman.xmission.com ] On Behalf Of Rotortom2@aol.com Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 6:49 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: M_Boats: aluminum companionway strips In a message dated 5/22/2006 16:46:05 US Mountain Standard Time, billamicasr@gmail.com writes: I noticed your companionway strips your hatchboards. What are they made of? Tom Woodworth M-17 "Wild Hare" I don't know what happened to my message, but I was inquiring about your hatchboards. Sorry for the confusion. Tom _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats