Here is nice little safety (and cosmetic) upgrade I just completed on my companionway stairs. The original stairs were very nice, but they didn't provide enough traction for what can be a very slippery surface when rain or sea spray enters the companionway. After experiencing too many slip and fall incidents it was time for some upgrades.
Here are the OEM stairs, the black lines are rubber traction strips, the rest is finished marine teak ply - tres joli! ...inadequate grip.
Pull out the rubber traction strips, clean adhesive, fill with plastic wood, mask and sand.
Using tacky shelf paper cut a pattern and trace to Lewmar TreadMaster non-skid. Cut with heavy shears, sand (120) and shape edges. Dry-fit to get it just right. Mask the adjacent stair tread in preparation for application of contact cement.
TreadMaster flipped and laid out on cardboard, ready for contact cement. Note each tread is slightly different in dimension and numbered by stair location. 2 coat with Weldwood contact cement, same with sanded stairs (wipe with acetone).
Positioned and pressed. Finished treads - super grip, wet or dry!
The material is TreadMaster Diamond in teak color. A combination of ground cork, rubber and polymer it is typically specified for non-skid deck installs and comes in a number of different colors. A 48"x36" sheet would do 6 of these stairs with material left over.
Here are the OEM stairs, the black lines are rubber traction strips, the rest is finished marine teak ply - tres joli! ...inadequate grip.
Pull out the rubber traction strips, clean adhesive, fill with plastic wood, mask and sand.
Using tacky shelf paper cut a pattern and trace to Lewmar TreadMaster non-skid. Cut with heavy shears, sand (120) and shape edges. Dry-fit to get it just right. Mask the adjacent stair tread in preparation for application of contact cement.
TreadMaster flipped and laid out on cardboard, ready for contact cement. Note each tread is slightly different in dimension and numbered by stair location. 2 coat with Weldwood contact cement, same with sanded stairs (wipe with acetone).
Positioned and pressed. Finished treads - super grip, wet or dry!
The material is TreadMaster Diamond in teak color. A combination of ground cork, rubber and polymer it is typically specified for non-skid deck installs and comes in a number of different colors. A 48"x36" sheet would do 6 of these stairs with material left over.
