Let's talk flooring

[Pitou]

I did KiwiGrip in a previous 40 year old 'project' boat in the cockpit. It was pretty easy to apply but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. It goes on a lot coarser than other finishes and traps dirt pretty easy. That could have been my level of skill with the roller though. It looked better than the extremely worn surface that was there before, looked professional from a distance (due to me masking it off well and leaving some smooth spots around the hatches and edges for water drainage). Up close you could definitely tell it was a DIY project.

There were also some spots that wore pretty quickly, within a few seasons. It is a pretty soft, rubbery finish. That said, the worn spots were pretty easy to over coat with minimal prep. Would I do KiwiGrip on my Ablin? Likely not...

Interesting .. Good to know about the rubbery surface. The guy in the boat next to me had that result, but again he laid the Kiwi down heavy.

My non-skid is in no way rubbery, but as hard as rock.

Since I last posted, I'm over on the Downeast Boat Forum and that group has a lot of members that are top notch DIY, downeast kit boat builders and professionals. I put in the search Non-skid as well as a search for Kiwi and pages and pages came up from Awlgrip, GripTex, cabosil in gelcoat, Kiwi Grip , TotalBoat, and a number of posts using the Kiwi roller with Awlgrip paint, etc.

There are lots of different directions to go on this subject.

[WillieC]

We installed some cheap indoor/ outdoor carpet in the galley of our A25. Also used a non skid grippy mat under which works great….

But

The carpet itself can be slick depending which dress crocs you are wearing and how broken in they are. This is hazardous on the A25 because the sole/hull rises right at the bottom of the companion way steps. I have to remember which foot I use on the first tread. Properly timed you normally step over the slanted sole section.

You need to pay attention in these small spaces.

[Nancy]

A couple of years ago, one of our dockmates put down Kiwigrip in the cockpit of his 1980-something Silverton. It's on the coarse side and our friend says it tends to trap dirt, but he does like the grippiness of it. He also says he wishes he'd practiced a bit more before jumping into the project. The coating is wearing a bit in spots, and he plans to recoat when it starts bugging him too much.

[DCatSea]

Thanks to all who responded. I did a couple of 2x2 test runs with Kiwi a couple of years back, and they hardened off well with a nice non-slip hut not too aggressive finish, so I think I'll try it on a couple of smaller sections before going big.

Gotta be better than the 1984 finish which is getting a bit slippery.

What can possibly go wrong??