Non-skid surface

[drgbanks]

Hello,
I'm refurbishing a new to me O'day 22. On the topside there is this non-skid surface. As you can see it's in pretty bad shape. Should I strip this off and replace it? If so, how? What is this surface called so I can do more research?

 

[dlochner]

The nonskid is just molded gelcoat, same as the rest of the boat, just tinted.

Over time the nonskid wears as you are now aware of. There is a tedious way to renew the nonskid with gelcoat and special molds. I wouldn't waste my time on that project.

There are paint additives that provide a non-skid surface with much less work and expense. Andy Miller on the YouTube channel BoatworksToday has several videos on how to apply new nonskid.

The short and simple method is to sand off the existing nonskid gelcoat to get a clean flush surface. Apply primer (if necessary) and paint. While the paint is still wet sprinkle the nonskid product on the wet paint. Repeat this and then paint over with the final coat.

Another alternative is to sand the nonskid off and glue a nonskid flooring to the deck. Probably less work but more expensive.