How to protect your boat deck

How to protect your boat deck from the elements

Protecting your boat deck is an important aspect of boat maintenance. It is not only a satisfying job that leaves your boat shining and gleaming in the sun, but it also helps the longevity of your boat deck. Regular deck maintenance will contribute to keeping your boat looking good and functioning well for many years to come, without expensive trips to the boatyard restoration team or, even worse, replacing your deck.

Unfortunately, the elements do not treat boat decking too kindly. Humidity and the sun’s harmful UV rays can cause the wood to fade and become grey and dull. Salt and rain can also cause damage, ingraining dirt and cause corrosion.

To keep your boat looking shiny and new as well as protecting and maintaining the deck for prolonged use, it is fairly straightforward and one of the least labour-intensive jobs you will need to undertake on your boat.

Three Simple Steps For Protecting Your Boat Deck

Strip the Stains

To ensure an even protection across the deck, first, remove any old solid or semi-transparent stains. A solution such as Prepdeck can help to remove stains, grade stamps, mill glaze and surface contaminants. Prepdeck can be applied using a light synthetic brush for ingrained stains, or a roller for light work. If you’re already an Owatrol customer using Owatrol oils you won’t need to do this step – the beauty of Deks Olje D1 is no stripping or sanding for maintenance!

prepdeck strips a boat deckClean and Neutralise

After stripping the old stains from the deck, the wood must then be neutralised to stop the stripper from reacting with the new coating. Use Deck Cleaner to fully remove the Prepdeck from the wood. Deck Cleaner helps to rejuvenate the surface and bring the wood back to its natural colour, making it the perfect base for an oil treatment. It’s a very useful product to have handy for boat maintenance, as well as cleaning your deck; Deck Cleaner also works wonders on removing rust stains or cleaning plastic elements.

Coat with Hardwood Oil

Now you have a clean deck, use an oil that fully penetrates the wood so that it protects your wood from the inside. Deks Olje D1 is a penetrating wood oil for hardwoods that will fully saturate the wood to replace the oils that are naturally lost, feeding the wood from within and protecting it from the elements.

Deks Olje D1 is an ideal product for easy maintenance, it is easy to apply and doesn’t require you to sand the wood beforehand. The hardwood oil is applied in wet-on-wet coats until the wood is fully saturated, to fully penetrate the wood and to enrich and stabilise the deck. It leaves a clear matt finish so that you can enjoy the natural beauty of your decking.

How To Maintain Your Boat Deck

Once you have fed the deck with nourishing oil, it will help to keep your deck looking good for longer. To keep your deck looking its best, make sure to wash it regularly to get rid of dirt.

D1 boat at sea

As the elements do their work, your deck will lighten to a light grey colour. When this happens, simply repeat the second and third steps of the process to restore and rejuvenate your deck. There’s no need to strip or sand. With an oil such as Deks Olje D1, it is easy to reapply to restore the wood.

Make sure to maintain your boat regularly for a beautiful looking boat, with a deck that will last longer.


We hope you found this post on how to protect your boat deck from the elements helpful. If you have any other advice or top tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. We love hearing from you!

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest at @OwatrolUK or find us under the hashtag #OwatrolUK

Owatrol Team
About Owatrol Team

Our team are ready and willing to support you with your requirements whether it is protecting your newly laid deck or renovating a luxury yacht, whatever the application Owatrol has the solution you are looking for.

9 thoughts on “How to protect your boat deck from the elements

  1. I just purchased a new treated wood deck car hauler trailer. I would like to treat the deck with something that has UV protection and is not slippery when it gets wet. Also, should I treat the underside? or just let it breathe?

    1. Hi Michael,

      Depending on the wood your deck is made from we would recommend D1 Pro or Textrol which are both saturating wood oils, or Tropitech for a semi-transparent finish. If you’re particularly concerned about slippery surfaces you could use Antislip instead. We would definitely recommend treating the underside of your wood too if it’s accessible.

      If you’d like any more help please let us know,
      The Owatrol Team

      1. Hello, we have just purchased DEKS OLJE D2 to discover that this is a varnish and not a penetrating oil. I just thought it was a gloss version of the D1 product. We are looking for a gloss oil finish and have been reading reviews of the D2 product before using it. Based upon these reviews we will be returning this product. Surely, you should not be suggesting it is an oil as this is misleading consumers.

        1. Hi there Richard,

          That is correct – Deks Olje D2 is not a penetrating oil but rather a varnish-like, high-gloss, tough, flexible and durable oil finish. The product information states that it must be used over the top of an application Deks Olje D1. We recommend using Deks Olje D1 before application of D2 to give the required outcome that you are seeking, as it is the D1 that is the penetrating oil and the D2 will provide the gloss finish on top.

          Please feel free to give us a call on: 01582 592707 or send us an email to: sales@owatroluk.com if you require any further assistance.

          All the best,
          The Owatrol Team

  2. We are Just purchasing some oil for our boat deck, the D1
    wonder do you sell the caulk to put in between the wood ?

    1. Hi Angus,

      Unfortunately we do not sell any caulk. Apologies to not be able to help you on this occasion.

      Many thanks,
      The Owatrol Team

  3. I am thinking about using D1 on my boat decks but I am concerned that the product will attack the polyurethane caulking.Any advice please? Cheers Steve.

    1. Hello Stephen,

      Thank you for your query.
      I can confirm that D1 does not cause issues for caulking.

      All the best,
      The Owatrol Team

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