This article appeared in the July/August issue of
Good Old Boat.
Anyone that owns or is considering the purchase of an older boat that is in need of some renovations has wrestled with what to do with worn or faded non-skid surfaces on the decks. There are several options including artificial materials glued to the decks, paints and coatings. Our Mariner 40 ketch,
Sea Trek, has just had the 30th anniversary of the laying of her keel. We lived aboard and cruised her extensively for 17 years and the
repairs and renovations were ongoing from the beginning. While she had not been abused, she had not been used and was allowed to simply sit at the dock uncared for. Simple cosmetics like redoing the extensive teak trim was easy although time consuming. Our plans were two fold; first to bring her back to like new condition, and second to make her as safe and comfortable as possible for offshore and coastal cruising.
After a few short term cruises on the Chesapeake Bay, we came to several conclusions. One that stood out was the fact that th
e non-skid was non-skid no longer. Also, the finish was badly faded and worn, despite the lack of use. So we began our research of just how we might do this without spending serious dollars or hiring a professional. One of our goals was to do any repairs or renovations ourselves to save money, to improve our skills and knowledge, and to know that the boat was done to our liking and expectations. Our first attempt was to try the easiest and most obvious. We decided to paint the surface close to the original non-skid color and not change the surface texture. This first try was done using Awlgrip paint for it toughness and ease of application. We used a flattening agent to
take the high gloss out so it would not be so slippery. This looked great but the reality was that underway with rain or seas breaking on the deck, we still had to crawl down the deck to go forward because you had a hard time keeping your footing. So it was time for plan B, and there is always a plan B.
With more research came several expensive and very labor intensive choices. If we went this route, the cruising would have to be delayed and we would have had to plan for a fair amount of our free time to complete the project. Almost by
accident, we came across a post on a cruisers web site about a product called Tuff Coat by Ultra Tuff Marine www.tuffcoat.net that could be painted on the deck, came in different colors and was touted as a true non-skid that would not break the bank. The manufacturer claims the product is used in industrial applications and is used by military and commercial shipping alike. It sounded like the answer to our dilemma and more web research brought very positive feedback. And also as important, it fit into the budget. While we waited for the product to arrive we studied the installation requirements and even began
preparations.
The first requirement was to thoroughly sand the surface to be covered with a 40- to 60-grit sand paper. Needless to say, this did a number on our painted surface and almost completely smoothed out the texture on the non-skid areas. We had to be very careful not to sand into the adjoining painted surfaces. Did I mention that we had completely Awlgripped the entire boat from the waterline to the masthead? Once the sanding was completed we cleaned all surfaces with soap and water and waited for the product to arrive.
For the square footage of our decks that needed to be covered we calculated three gallons and decided to order four. An epoxy primer recommended by the manufacturer was also needed so we ordered a gallon, plus the special roller applicators needed. The entire process was a bit more time consuming than we anticipated. As with any project like this the preparations are not only important but can take up the most time. The first step was to remove any deck hardware we were able to or felt that it would be more beneficial than leaving. There were some items such as handrails that would mean removal of interior headliners and such that we chose to
leave in place. Once the items were removed, the painted areas and whatever was left in place needed to be taped around securely. Rounded corners and odd shapes required a bit more effort, and then a strip of 9” paper was added to the taped strips to prevent splatter. Getting all of this in place took much longer than the actual painting of the coating.
Once all of the taping was finished, we laid on the first coat of primer. This was in two parts that need to be mixed in the correct proportions. Once mixed, it must be used, since it cannot be kept for
very long even in a closed container. We were able to mix enough to cover all of the decks on the first pass. A small paint tray and a 4-inch closed foam brush made applying the primer a quick and easy task. The primer is little more that the consistency of milk and only a light coat was needed. There is no need to sand the primed surface prior to the top coat. Once done, a 24 hour wait is required before the coating can be applied.
The final finish needs to be done in two coats. There is a special foam roller that is used for the
application to give the surface a uniformed textured look and an ordinary brush to “dab” the topcoat in areas that the roller won’t reach. The coating has suspended particles that require thorough mixing throughout the process. We use a mixer attached to an electric drill to get a good mix in the can. The first coat is laid down in strips of about 3 feet rolled on alongside each other but not overlapping. Complete coverage is not important at this point but keeping the roller moving in the same direction is. Once an area of about nine square feet is covered, the coating needs to be rolled at a 90-degree angle to the first application and worked in until there is a pretty
uniform coverage. Total cover is still not important yet, but a uniform texture is. In a short period of time, you get the technique down easily. This whole process is continued till the entire non-skid areas are covered.
Once the first coat is dry to the touch, the second coat needs to be applied. It is important that this be done quickly and not left until the next day. For us, once we were finished with the first coat it was dry enough for the second. The process is the same as the first coat, except that attention should be paid to getting complete coverage with this coat. To cover
Sea Trek’s decks with two
coats took us a total of three hours. Once the second coat is completed, the paper and tape must be removed immediately. Leaving the tape too long can pull the coating off of the edges when the tape is removed. As soon as the second coat was completed, we pulled first the paper then the tape around the edges. This can be a bit acrobatic while trying not to walk or lean on the coated areas. Once all of the tape and paper was removed, we had to just stay off the decks for several hours. After that, we were able to walk carefully on the surface in stocking or bare feet. Ideally we wanted to stay off for 48 hours to give it plenty of time to dry. The final step is to
re-install and re-bed the hardware that had been removed. Any time hardware is removed and re-installed on the decks, we soak the holes for the fasteners with thinned epoxy to completely seal the deck core so it can not leak or absorb water if the bedding fails.
One of the big challenges in this project is not letting the decks get wet for 48 hours. Careful planning for weather, keeping your dock neighbor from hosing it down and other considerations come into play. One of our concerns was evening dew settling on the surface. We waited until there was no rain in the forecast and the relative
humidity was projected to be low. This can be difficult with a boat sitting in the water. Perhaps done on the hard or in a shed with a controlled environment would be the best way to go. As it turned out we had no problems. The finished result looked fantastic and was better than we expected. Taking our time during the application process we were able to get a good looking uniformed texture that rivaled or bettered many factory finishes on the dock. But best is the entire surface was indeed a true non-skid which did not seem to be affected by water or the kind of footwear, or lack thereof, you might be wearing. It appears to be rugged and has held up to
anchoring, piling chain up on the foredeck and whatever else we have done in the normal process of sailing the boat. Our entire time invested to completion was about three days. How long the finish will hold up and how long it will continue to look great…only time will tell. But for now we are very optimistic and would recommend anyone contemplating the refinishing of their non-skids to consider this option.
First, a complete disclosure. I have installed a dozen or more SSB radios as a service technician over the years. But my first two installations were on our own boat and I started with no previous knowledge and only the manufacturers manual. To make matters worse, we had no internet to do any research on and most installers would have us believe that there was some kind of magic and mystery to installing an HF radio. We quickly found out that was not the case, and installing one of these radios was no more difficult than installing any other piece of equipment. Eighteen years later, we are installing the most current Icom offering, the 802, on Beach House in preparation for future cruising. And once again, it was not all that difficult.
The next step is to look for small modifications that can pay off in a big way. We found that there was space under the bottom step that actually would accept large flat plastic containers like those used to store items under a bed. By removing the step tread and the front of the bottom step, we found the plastic containers could be slid inside the steps and with very little carpentry work. The front and tread could be easily removed and replaced to gain access to this otherwise unusable space. Also, the space between the first and second step was deep and open. We enclosed the area just under the first step with a nice piece of teak with an opening cut in it to allow shoes and other items to be stored where normally there would be nothing. Because we cut this in an oval shape, we used split electrical wire loom that fit over the cut edges to finish it off. Large open areas such as under the forward v-berth can be sectioned off and allow much more to be stored than if it were a big open area.
First we had to remove the mirror, towel bars, soap dishes, teak racks, and whatever items were attached to the walls, and remove the sink, which slides out from behind the head and has a diverter in the faucet for the shower hose. The plumbing lines to the sink had to be capped off so we could use the fresh water system until the project was completed. Then the original wall covering could be removed. The old material was actually quite easy to remove with a heat gun and a wide scraper. With a few passes of the heat gun and the scraper behind the panel, as soon as the old adhesive warmed up a bit, the panel pulled loose. It was a bit tedious but the panels came off in large pieces with minimum effort and since the old adhesive that held them up was pretty thin, there was only a little sanding 
needed to get the plywood behind it ready for the new panels. Once the old panels were off and the plywood sanded, we used a two part penetrating epoxy to further seal the walls against water intrusion. The under-layer of plywood was in excellent condition and there were no signs of water leaking into it at any point. This was probably because none of the past owners had ever installed a shower on the boat in either head. With the walls now sealed, it was time for the next step.
Since there are no square corners on a boat, simply measuring an area and cutting the panels to fit would not quite work for us. So it was necessary to make templates for the three areas we would be covering with the panels. We needed something that would allow us to work in the small space and still be rigid enough to maintain its shape and size when we transferred the shape to the FRP panels. After a little thought and a walk through the local hardware store, we settled on using underlayment for Laminate Flooring. It is very inexpensive, comes in 48-inch rolls and has just the rigidity needed. By cutting sections just slightly larger than the area for which we needed to make the template, the material was taped to the longest straight run on the wall. Then, the material was marked off with a felt pen and cut to size with a pair of scissors. Once cut to size, the templates were placed back on the walls to be sure the fit was right. 
Next the templates were transferred over to the panels, placing them in reverse on the back of the panels and marking them with a felt marker. The panels were cut with our Ryobi battery operated circular saw and a saber saw, both with fine blades for cutting plastic. The circular saw made all of the straight cuts and the saber saw did all of the irregular cuts. Once the panel was cut it was held up on the wall and dry fitted. They usually needed a little adjustment depending on how complicated the pattern was. We had also purchased the inside and outside corner moldings for the panels so they were also cut to size. Placement of the moldings need to be considered, since they fit behind the panels, you have to determine when the molding needs to go on in relation to the panel already up and the next one to go up. Once all of the pieces of the puzzle were cut and their fit confirmed, it was time to attach them to the wall. There are a few options to glue the FRP panels to the walls, and we chose the Liquid Nails specifically for these panels. 
The Liquid Nails adhesive was removed from the can and smeared on the plywood with a putty knife and then spread out over the area with a notched trowel like those used to apply adhesive for ceramic wall tile. The notches apply just the right amount of adhesive as long as the entire surface is covered, being careful to not leave any bare spots. The adhesive requires that the material be set into it within 45 minutes or before the adhesive begins to skin over. With this in mind, we did each of the three sections, one at a time. In addition to the adhesive, all corners were thoroughly caulked with 3M 4200 to insure water would not leak into the corners. With good coverage with the adhesive and the panels in place, it 
was necessary to place braces made from 1”x 2” strips between the panels and the opposite wall, to hold the panels tight into the adhesive until it had time to dry. This was due to the rigidity of the panels and the tendency to pull away where the walls or panels were bowed.
All items attached to walls where sealed with caulking so that even the screw holes could not leak. We added a shower curtain slide system on the ceiling that would allow the shower curtain to slide easily but would keep it close to the walls. This gave us maximum space with the shower curtain in place and left a feeling of openness to the shower. Towel rings, teak racks, the mirror and a shower caddy for soap, shampoo, wash cloths, etc. all went in strategic locations. Everything worked out just as we planned and the shower turned out to be all we had hoped for. While we had the sink removed, we used to opportunity to paint areas that were hard to get to, like the inside of the hull behind the 
sink. We also painted the area under the head where the new thru-hull had been installed before we launched. Once the project was completed and we had our first shower of the season on board, we were very pleased with our modifications. And the entire shower proved to be very water tight as we had hoped. Now for the next project.
There may still be cruisers out there that light their way with oil lamps, use a bucket instead of a head and sail without a motor, but in 18 years of cruising we have not met them. Today, most cruisers are like us, preferring to take the comforts and conveniences of life ashore with them when they cast off the dock lines to sail off into the sunset. Long ago we made the decision to cruise in comfort and not turn our sailing trips into a camp out on the water. This meant we would need a means to power our small appliances, power tools and entertainment devices. There is more than one way to accomplish the same end depending on the level of your power consumption and what your budget might be. For us the requirements were simple. The cost needed to be kept down, the system needed to be as simple as possible, and we needed to be able to install and maintain it ourselves. Additionally, it should not interfere with our piece and quiet, or that of our neighbors. OK, maybe not so simple after all.
This article appeared in the July/August issue of Good Old Boat.
repairs and renovations were ongoing from the beginning. While she had not been abused, she had not been used and was allowed to simply sit at the dock uncared for. Simple cosmetics like redoing the extensive teak trim was easy although time consuming. Our plans were two fold; first to bring her back to like new condition, and second to make her as safe and comfortable as possible for offshore and coastal cruising.
e non-skid was non-skid no longer. Also, the finish was badly faded and worn, despite the lack of use. So we began our research of just how we might do this without spending serious dollars or hiring a professional. One of our goals was to do any repairs or renovations ourselves to save money, to improve our skills and knowledge, and to know that the boat was done to our liking and expectations. Our first attempt was to try the easiest and most obvious. We decided to paint the surface close to the original non-skid color and not change the surface texture. This first try was done using Awlgrip paint for it toughness and ease of application. We used a flattening agent to 
take the high gloss out so it would not be so slippery. This looked great but the reality was that underway with rain or seas breaking on the deck, we still had to crawl down the deck to go forward because you had a hard time keeping your footing. So it was time for plan B, and there is always a plan B.
accident, we came across a post on a cruisers web site about a product called Tuff Coat by Ultra Tuff Marine www.tuffcoat.net that could be painted on the deck, came in different colors and was touted as a true non-skid that would not break the bank. The manufacturer claims the product is used in industrial applications and is used by military and commercial shipping alike. It sounded like the answer to our dilemma and more web research brought very positive feedback. And also as important, it fit into the budget. While we waited for the product to arrive we studied the installation requirements and even began 
preparations.
For the square footage of our decks that needed to be covered we calculated three gallons and decided to order four. An epoxy primer recommended by the manufacturer was also needed so we ordered a gallon, plus the special roller applicators needed. The entire process was a bit more time consuming than we anticipated. As with any project like this the preparations are not only important but can take up the most time. The first step was to remove any deck hardware we were able to or felt that it would be more beneficial than leaving. There were some items such as handrails that would mean removal of interior headliners and such that we chose to 
leave in place. Once the items were removed, the painted areas and whatever was left in place needed to be taped around securely. Rounded corners and odd shapes required a bit more effort, and then a strip of 9” paper was added to the taped strips to prevent splatter. Getting all of this in place took much longer than the actual painting of the coating.
very long even in a closed container. We were able to mix enough to cover all of the decks on the first pass. A small paint tray and a 4-inch closed foam brush made applying the primer a quick and easy task. The primer is little more that the consistency of milk and only a light coat was needed. There is no need to sand the primed surface prior to the top coat. Once done, a 24 hour wait is required before the coating can be applied.
application to give the surface a uniformed textured look and an ordinary brush to “dab” the topcoat in areas that the roller won’t reach. The coating has suspended particles that require thorough mixing throughout the process. We use a mixer attached to an electric drill to get a good mix in the can. The first coat is laid down in strips of about 3 feet rolled on alongside each other but not overlapping. Complete coverage is not important at this point but keeping the roller moving in the same direction is. Once an area of about nine square feet is covered, the coating needs to be rolled at a 90-degree angle to the first application and worked in until there is a pretty 
uniform coverage. Total cover is still not important yet, but a uniform texture is. In a short period of time, you get the technique down easily. This whole process is continued till the entire non-skid areas are covered.
coats took us a total of three hours. Once the second coat is completed, the paper and tape must be removed immediately. Leaving the tape too long can pull the coating off of the edges when the tape is removed. As soon as the second coat was completed, we pulled first the paper then the tape around the edges. This can be a bit acrobatic while trying not to walk or lean on the coated areas. Once all of the tape and paper was removed, we had to just stay off the decks for several hours. After that, we were able to walk carefully on the surface in stocking or bare feet. Ideally we wanted to stay off for 48 hours to give it plenty of time to dry. The final step is to 
re-install and re-bed the hardware that had been removed. Any time hardware is removed and re-installed on the decks, we soak the holes for the fasteners with thinned epoxy to completely seal the deck core so it can not leak or absorb water if the bedding fails.
humidity was projected to be low. This can be difficult with a boat sitting in the water. Perhaps done on the hard or in a shed with a controlled environment would be the best way to go. As it turned out we had no problems. The finished result looked fantastic and was better than we expected. Taking our time during the application process we were able to get a good looking uniformed texture that rivaled or bettered many factory finishes on the dock. But best is the entire surface was indeed a true non-skid which did not seem to be affected by water or the kind of footwear, or lack thereof, you might be wearing. It appears to be rugged and has held up to 
anchoring, piling chain up on the foredeck and whatever else we have done in the normal process of sailing the boat. Our entire time invested to completion was about three days. How long the finish will hold up and how long it will continue to look great…only time will tell. But for now we are very optimistic and would recommend anyone contemplating the refinishing of their non-skids to consider this option.
