slippery deck

mortyd

.
Dec 11, 2004
952
Catalina 30 easy living
the textured cockpit deck on my catalina 30 mkii has gotten a bit slippery with no obvious cause. what do you guys suggest i apply?
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
My guess would be spray on sunblock. Most of us charter boat captains tell our guests not to apply that crap on the boat. Try cleaning the cockpit with a dilute muriatic acid solution. About a 1/2 cup in 3-4 gallons of water. Make sure you wear gloves and shoes. Rinse thoroughly after.

Good luck
 

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
Another cause is waxing the non skid without using special wax; or, someone using spray waterproofing for canvas; or, some gel coat "rejuvenation" treatments.

[I had a pair of great "original" Speary Top Siders with razor cut soles that (when new) felt "glued" to the deck. I wore them ONLY on the boat (except when stepping onto the dock to tie-up). The rubber soles finally got hard -- they looked the same, they just "sliped" almost like new leather soles.]
 

Joe

.
Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Easiest and cheapest is to scrub the non skid with a degreaser type cleaner (simple green, Zep, etc).... use a stainless steel brush to lift the crud and algae out of the texture. Try a fairly small area first, If that's not working to your satisfaction, go to the more aggressive solutions suggested by the others.
 

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
Easiest and cheapest is to scrub the non skid with a degreaser type cleaner (simple green, Zep, etc).... use a stainless steel brush to lift the crud and algae out of the texture. Try a fairly small area first, If that's not working to your satisfaction, go to the more aggressive solutions suggested by the others.

I'd not use a metal brush: Unless you're a plastic surgeon (who doesn't care about his or her gelcoat). I'd not use a metal brush anywhere near fiberglass that you care about. If a soft, clean brush won't do it, then use warm water, then soap, then get more aggressive with cleansers.

You can use Crazy Kleen or some other similar cleaners; and, maybe even Acetone -- very quickly with clean cloths (and little concern for your future as a possible cancer patient) :^))).

ANOTHER culprit which can make a non-slippery fiberglass surface very difficult is if you put vinyl treatment or Armour all or spray waterproofing for canvas.