Revival of Ericson Nonskid Decks [Master Thread]

[Prairie Schooner]

Sharanov:

1. How did you prep the surface? Did you grind off original non-skid or applied over? If over, did you just clean it with soap/solvent or lightly sanded as well? I Just cleaned it with soap and water.

1. Did you color-match it? Manufacturer advises against "paint shop" type tints but folks apparently had success with some sort of "industrial" tint. I left it white. The rest of the cockpit is slightly off white.

1. How well does it hold up to wear? It's only been on a few months, but I sail a lot. Wear= 8.5/10
2. Did their proprietary anti-skid additive stay uniform or end up in the nonskid valleys just like sand would? Uniform.
3. Does it clean up well? Some (all?) nonskid paints trap dirt and are impossible to clean up. Yes, compared to sand. It seems there are no jagged edges to the surface and it cleans easily and well.
4. Could you post a few closeup pictures? No pics but it looks just like the one in Chris's pic.\

I rolled it on with a 3" small foam roller. about the same difficulty or ease as paint. 2 coats. Very even distribution and finish of gritty material. Very good grip dry or wet.

Hi Bill,
At six years out, what are your thoughts on the product? How has it held up? How does it look?
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[frick]

I watch a power boater do a kiwi grip on this boat.. it really looked nice when he was
down. He use white, with the least agressive roller

 

[AdventurousAnton]

BY the way, on the new boat I did a lot of work in the lazarette, and every time I stood in it my feet slipped down the curve of the hull. That got tiresome, so I painted a couple of square feet down there with a non-skid product from West Marine. It's gray, and seems to have rubber bits in it.

It was a big success and doesn't slip under foot. But it's thicker than paint, and would not hold to the slope, and ran down to form pools I had to keep mopping up as it cured. I can't remember the product name, but in that confined space I do remember a mess that took me hours to clean up.

Oh man...this made me laugh because just this past weekend (prior to sailing) I installed the same grippy ladder tape (looks like sandpaper) on specific parts of my lazarette because it was so challenging getting in and out without losing a foothold. Works like a champ! And...no crying over spilled paint.

 

[Loren Beach]

I installed the same grippy ladder tape

I also installed some strips of an "anti slip" tape on the inside of the sloped hull in the lazaret. It helped a LOT.

 

[bigd14]

Good deck shoes can help immensely. These one seem to play nice with the Ericson non skid:

 

[Prairie Schooner]

@bigd14
- Absolutely, Doug! I've currently got shoes with very good grip. Donna has new Sperrys. Our non-skid is shot, in the cockpit at least.

My initial reply was turning into a sailing shoe rant so I started a new thread to vent. (Not at you, bigD, at shoe manufacturers.)

Sailing Shoe Reviews

For twenty years I've raced on friends' boats at least two nights a week. As many note, the soles get hard and slick much more quickly than I'd like. Thus, I plan on replacing my shoes every two years. These are my last five years supply. Merrell Trail Glove 5. Really great shoes...

ericsonyachts.org

(I'm home with a cold and have too much time to type. Maybe I should go write some Amazon reviews.)

 

[bigd14]

Sorry for the thread drift! To get back on track, I’ll note that I used this stuff last summer and this season for the first time. It did a great job of stopping the nonskid from further decaying- no more clouds of white gelcoat running off the boat during washes and the water beads up nicely. It also significantly reduces dirt accumulation and almost completely eliminated the green algae growth we get here over the winter. Unfortunately it does NOT improve grip. The quest for the magic formula continues. In the meantime the new shoes have made the existing non-skid tolerable. We still have to warn guests about the pitching and rolling ice rink they are about to step onto though.

 

[bigd14]

A shot of the cockpit nonskid waxed with StarBrite about 6 weeks ago (mostly sunny days since then).

Side decks were waxed in April. The water is not beading up as much but it’s still way better than before using this product. I no longer get dried gelcoat powder on my clothes after sitting down on the nonskid.