[Rhodes22-list] Non-skid

[The Rhodes 22 Email List]

We had fabulous weather for Ontario in September this week and I was able to mask the boat and apply non-skid. I have done the cabin top, side decks and foredeck. The cockpit and pop top still need to be done - hopefully tomorrow -but you can see the effect for the attached photos.

The biggest part of the job by far was the masking and in particular rounding the corners. I used a 3/4 in washer as a template for the corners. They looked great with the blue masking tape but with the non-skid being rough and a similar color to the deck paint the profile of the corners virtually disappeared. So my advice would be to exaggerate the rounded corners if you want them to be very visible. I was amazingly lucky color wise. The deck paint and the non-skid are both off-white and from different manufacturers, both of whom have very limited choice, but as it turned out the two coatings go together very well.


I used Kiwigrip for the non-skid because of what I had read about it being very durable and easy to apply. I will have to wait to see how durable it is but can attest to it being easy to apply. Once the surface is prepared you apply the thick paint with a 1/8" notched trowel to get an even but thick layer and then roll it out with a special roller sold by the manufacturer. The harder you press the more aggressive the non-skid. I found I had to press firmly to get rid of the lines from the trowel but then lightened up in an attempt to tame it a bit. The non-skid is still much more aggressive than the original pattern molded into the Rhodes deck but the surface is not particularly sharp.

It is a latex paint so it dries to the touch in a few hours. You pick up the technique for rolling the non-skid in a matter of minutes. I practiced for a few minutes on a piece of cardboard. This product is not cheap but I think it is worth it from an effort point of view.

Because it dries quickly you have to apply it in small sections. They recommend sections between 2 and 4 sq. ft. and so you need to carve up the deck into manageable pieces. You also need to remove the masking tape as you go - one section at a time before you move on to the next. As a result the process is pretty messy and so I was glad I used extensive masking . I could not remove the tape wearing gloves so my hands were covered in paint. Fortunately is washes off pretty easily with water. Tool cleanup is also easy. 

Based on this experience I don't think I would consider anything else as it is hard to see how it could be easier and still give a nice looking result. 

They recommend that this be done by two people but I didn't have that option available to me and managed fine on my own. I bought one gallon of the paint and that will be more than enough to use the non skid paint extensively on the cabin top, pop top, cockpit seats and probably coaming tops as well as all of the original non-skid. If you were only doing the original non-skid areas two quarts would be sufficient. 

I suppose I should mention why all of this was necessary given that the Rhodes has a very nice pattern moulded into the deck. I had to do major surgery on my foredeck to replace the core. It involved cutting the deck in half and removing it from the boat. Reinstalling it meant there was a major scar across the deck that destroyed the non-skid pattern. I also wanted to strengthen the deck a bit so I glassed over the entire non-skid area. Now that I thnk about it all of the foregoing is probably of little value to those on this list.


Graham Stewart
Agile. R22, 1976
Kingston Ontario Canada


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