How to finish the stair treads? I'm thinking I should just sand the wood and leave it bare for best traction underfoot. Am I correct, or do they need to be oiled or varnished for longevity?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Restoring companionway steps
- Thread starter IH82BL8
- Start date
I cut thin non slip strips and put 2 rows on each step. I got the non slip paper (self sticking) from Wall-Mart cheap. They come in sheets and you can cut them to the size you need.
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I put sand or non skid material the varnish. Just plain varnish can be extremely slick when wet, and dangerous.
I did a light sanding and finished with Cetol and then applied non-skid strips. As stated in other posts, the steps can be dangerous when wet so you need non-skid to avoid slips. Don't ask how I know this....
by the very nature of your post, one would assume you care about the appearence of the steps
so, unless its actual teak which is naturally very oily, dont ever leave bare wood on a boat.... it will eventually get water on it and then stain, warp, or splinter and may even split. and the steps are just as likely to get some water on them as the cabin top hand rails.
im not sure what mine has been finished with, but it has a semigloss finish and is something very wear resistant.
judging by the the quality of it and the rest of the interior wood, i believe it is the original finish from when the boat was built in '77...
the finish on the steps is still in great condition (as is the rest of the interior) but they were a bit slippery underfoot when they were wet even though they have traction grooves cut/routered into them (i think the groves are more for asthetics than for traction) and they are especially slippery when you have only socks on, which is a habit of my wife.
so I used the 1" wide non slip tape as others have. this protects the wood and finish from any damage when my ass hits it immediately after my foot slips on the step, and also minimizes the slippage of my feet (the stumbling is still a problem though, 'specially when capt morgan comes around
)
I would recommend the non aggressive type, which is more rubbery than it is sandy and as ive learned for other applications, the non aggressive tape looks good for a longer period of time in high use areas.
so, unless its actual teak which is naturally very oily, dont ever leave bare wood on a boat.... it will eventually get water on it and then stain, warp, or splinter and may even split. and the steps are just as likely to get some water on them as the cabin top hand rails.
im not sure what mine has been finished with, but it has a semigloss finish and is something very wear resistant.
judging by the the quality of it and the rest of the interior wood, i believe it is the original finish from when the boat was built in '77...
the finish on the steps is still in great condition (as is the rest of the interior) but they were a bit slippery underfoot when they were wet even though they have traction grooves cut/routered into them (i think the groves are more for asthetics than for traction) and they are especially slippery when you have only socks on, which is a habit of my wife.
so I used the 1" wide non slip tape as others have. this protects the wood and finish from any damage when my ass hits it immediately after my foot slips on the step, and also minimizes the slippage of my feet (the stumbling is still a problem though, 'specially when capt morgan comes around
) I would recommend the non aggressive type, which is more rubbery than it is sandy and as ive learned for other applications, the non aggressive tape looks good for a longer period of time in high use areas.
I have taken a couple of nasty spills on mine. Before I sail her again I will have non-slip on the nose of the steps as well as the tread. The steps are very steep so when I put a foot down in what seems like the proper location, it is forced forward by the riser above. When I carry something, say a(an) house battery, it can set my feet a flyin'. I think you'd find that varnished wood, or worse, bare, would really be dangerous.
We sanded then put on about 3 coats of watco teak oil, available in hardware stores.. It has lasted
very well & is easy to touch up.
very well & is easy to touch up.
A few years ago I got tired of watching the companionway stairs showing their age (10 years) and refinished them with light glass cloth and clear System Three Silver Tip epoxy. The amazing theing here is that the glass cloth COMPLETELY disappears in the epoxy resin as they're both the same refractive index. Did them the same as a regular glass over plywood procedure, added a few coats of epoxy to produce a perfect finish and then finished off with three coats of varnish for UV protection. Crystal clear.
The last coat of varnish is peppered with silica grit for an anti-slip.
Still looks like wet varnish after several years of little kids burning up and down the stairs with sandy, gritty, little feet.
The last coat of varnish is peppered with silica grit for an anti-slip.
Still looks like wet varnish after several years of little kids burning up and down the stairs with sandy, gritty, little feet.
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I slipped down a flight of stairs that had that non slip tape...
my favorite non skid is router-ed groves about 1/4" deep that are varnished.
Dufor has it.
my favorite non skid is router-ed groves about 1/4" deep that are varnished.
Dufor has it.
So does my boat, but the grooves are routered back from the edge a bit over an inch... they left enough room to apply the one inch tape to it... and i will agree that some of us can manage to slip on bare concrete. so no matter what is there, its usually carelessness that is the real reason we fall...
Right about the carelessness, but we do what we can. I like the non skid compound added to semi gloss varnish. Mask off an area on the step similar to the non skid on the deck and out will look like it came from the factory that way. Run the non skid as close to the outer edge of the step to account for the limited contact area of your heel when going down the steps. Note that on a boat it's a "ladder", not "steps", and you should go up and down facing the ladder as you would on a ladder going up the side of a building, if the conditions are at all treacherous or the ladder is steep.
My mistake was taking off my soaking wet boat shoes in the cockpit. To keep the owners cabin dry.
Plus we were docked, and getting out of the rain (downpour), and I didn't hold on to the handrails, like I would have, had we been offshore.
Yet, another lesson learned the hard way!
Plus we were docked, and getting out of the rain (downpour), and I didn't hold on to the handrails, like I would have, had we been offshore.
Yet, another lesson learned the hard way!