[Bowtie468]

Hey Mike. Here are the results of the Minwax stain (ebony) with Cabot semi-gloss marine spar urethane. The last pic show an area that simply refused to accept the stain beyond the first application. This was the same case with most of the boards. If your mainly trying to duplicate the look of the boards from the factory with the linseed oil/coalblack finish, i think this would work nicely. Even a satin finish urethane may match a little better than the semi-gloss.Oh, i also used a pre-stain conditioner on the boards before the stain. Its a Minwax product also.
Although i think they look nice, its not quite the look i'm after. So after all this.. Yep, i literally spent time ruining a perfectly good set of boards. Since i recut them for wider wheeltubs. Oh well... i went ahead and ordered a set of red oak boards yesterday.
Good luck with whatever you decide !