Decks: Non-Skid

See also Deck Shoes

KiwiGrip from Pachena LLC is fabulous stuff. Yes, I know you can sprinkle stuff into any boat paint such as walnut shells or sand or salt, but this is better. Yes, it's expensive - about $100 gallon - but for our 41 foot boat and hard dinghy one gallon was plenty. If you have a smaller boat find some boating friends and share a gallon. Here's what's great about it:

  • water-based, water clean-up - we need more water-based products for boats.
  • perfect grip quality - I don't want to slide off my decks, but I also don't want to take all the skin off my knees or finger tips every time I touch the surface. This is the finest texture I've found - lots of texture but not harsh. Plus you can make it more or less grippy depending on the coats and pressure you apply.

Applying

Tape applied, ready to start
tape off the alleys

Application is simple - just roll it on using the special roller they include. You can easily rinse off this roller for use another day. One coat is enough if you're bold and put the stuff on thickly. But if you're not bold enough (as I wasn't the first time), you can go back the next day and apply another coat.

Prep, as usual is a little harder. Of course you want a clean dry surface. KiwiGrip applies nicely over standard deck paint. But you want to plan out where the water will go so you need to tape in all those little alleys. You also want to stay away from vertical obstructions because it's hard to paint neatly around them. So lay an alley and make it easy. Here's what's important:

  • Leave an alley along the toe rails at the edge
  • Leave an alley along the raised cabin top
  • Leave an alley around the hatches and other obstructions
  • Lead water away from metal fixtures such as pad-eyes or deck fills, stanchion bases
  • Lead all the alleys together, going downhill and aft
  • Make nice rounded edges on all the areas to be painted with non-skid
All done!
non-skid applied

If you follow these hints, you be able to apply the non-skid easily and the water won't build up or sit on the deck.

How about those rounded edges? You can use a rounded object like a can or bottle top and cut tape circles from a roll of wide blue tape. Then cut out the INSIDE edge of the circle and apply this to the area you're applying the non-skid paint to.

What about the non-skid on your feet? See some thoughts on Deck Shoes.