Good Old Boat Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022

Simple Solutions

Get a Grip Careful use of KiwiGrip provides a solution to some slippery problems. BY TERRY KOTAS H aving lived aboard Cetus , our Fantasia 35, for nearly 30 promptly skated down this runway until I face-planted. Detailed swearing and non-skid tape followed.) We’d replaced

resulting solvent bath turned what had been hard glue into a sticky slime that eventually adhered to anything it touched. But, after sanding and scrub- bing, the glue finally came up. Next, I hit the areas with 120-grit sandpaper. Then we cleaned the surfaces with soap and water, and Heidi taped them and dabbed the non-skid on with a disposable chip brush. (Heidi is the taper and painter aboard Cetus . Her eye for detail and a steady hand make my life easier.) By using a paint brush, she was able to form a light stipple that wasn’t overly aggressive on the feet, but still offered slip protection. Four years after that first experiment, the steps look great and still provide us with safe footing between the topsides and cabin. We used the same tech- nique on the landing strip in the aft cabin. (On one of our first nights aboard, I got up to investigate a noise and

KiwiGrip’s distributor, can also color-customize the product to virtually any shade. Another KiwiGrip attribute is its fast drying time. We applied it in the morning, and eight hours later we could walk on the strips in socks. By the next day, the non-skid was completely cured. After 24 hours, I finished the project by reapplying teak oil to the floor. Like the steps, the landing strip turned out great. No more unsightly peeling tape, and no more face plants. Terry Kotas and his wife, Heidi, began sailing in 1978. After building their first boat from a bare hull, the family set sail for the South Pacific. They have continued sailing throughout the Pacific ever since. They are currently enjoying the Sea of Cortez aboard Cetus with their cat, Rosie, while plan- ning their next adventure. Terry has written three humorous sailing adventure novels and the latest, Adventures Off the Beaten Path , is now available at all major booksellers. After the non-skid tape was removed, it was time to remove the sticky adhesive underneath. A combination of Goo Gone, a paint scraper, and some elbow grease eventually got the job done, at far left. To prevent the KiwiGrip from creeping into the shallow chan- nels between the floorboards, Terry’s wife, Heidi, firmly pressed the tape into these depressions before starting, at left.

years, my wife, Heidi, and I are well aware of its slippery areas belowdecks. Cetus ’ steep companionway stairs are a good example. There are only five steps to the cabin sole, but when they’re wet, it’s a long fall. And in the aft cabin, the floor next to the Pullman berth—roughly triangular in shape and about 4 feet long— slopes steeply enough that we call it the landing strip. We’ve tried numerous products, from safety tapes to adhesive-backed step pads, to create a lasting non-skid surface. Most of the products work well and look good—at first. But it doesn’t take long before even the stickiest glue surrenders itself to the grind of repeated use. After a successful deck overhaul (“New and Cool Underfoot,” January/February 2017) when we removed old teak decks and painted the

the non-skid tape more than once; now we tried KiwiGrip. We used the same tech- niques (and had the same glue challenges) as on the compan- ionway steps. The floor was a slightly different color where the old strips had been stuck on for so long; Heidi used this as a guide for taping so the discolored areas would be completely covered. As she taped off the area that would be the new non-skid strips, she was careful to press the tape down into the slight dips between the teak and holly planks of the floor to prevent any seepage under the tape. We used gray KiwiGrip because that was the color we had. However, white KiwiGrip can be tinted to any light color using universal water-based colorants such as those found at a hardware store. PYI,

newly exposed surface with a non-skid coating called KiwiGrip, we hit upon a novel idea: Why not replace some of the slippery spots down below with some of the leftover paint? We started with the companionway steps. Peeling off the pads was the easy part. Getting rid of the glue? Not so much. We used all the old standbys—vinegar, Goo Gone, mineral spirits, and finally alcohol (OK, this was actually for me). The

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January/February 2022