wooden floor type and finish ??

What a horrible idea! If you're really considering oak, why not just use oak and oil it? Staining oak is really unnecessary, since it's beautiful in natural colour. Varnishing it is just evil.

How possible/likely is the water spillage? If this is likely to be a regular event, then I'm not sure a wooden floor is the right choice. If it will be rare, and cleaned up straight away, then an oiled finish will work fine.

Pitch pine resists stains and it's very difficult to get rid of the reddish grain. If you want to darken it chemically, caustic soda is pretty good. Walnut crystals work well on oak. I think you can still get them online. Go for the Rustins 2 part floor varnish if you want a hard finish

its for a new canal boat. my existing one has a standard pine floor which has lasted well (with a varnish finish) more concerned about the amount of wear and tear it will take without a hard varnish

interesting. thanks. would rather keep it all natural but have white walls with wood surround so am aiming at a darker wood contrast

Ah...

Sure, I take it back. My comments were really aimed at a house floor situation.

I'd say if you can afford oak, do it in oak. Then apply a hard polyurethane varnish.

thanks for that - like the idea of wax/oil but will probably have to compromise to varnish. thanks for the advise