can i get some flooring recommendations

bobcarter · Nov 2, 2011

Can i get some recommendations for non-skid flooring on my boat. I'm in the process of replacing my floor and was going to replace the carpet, but then i saw a picture of someones boat the used some sort of bilge kote floor coating and thought it looked great. My problem is that I've read a few reviews of the bilge coat that says it yellows. I also have 3 small children that i dont want them sliding all over the place. If i need to just stick to carpet, i understand, but just hate to have carpet since it holds moisture. I am hoping someone can chime in with personal experience and/or pictures.

zopperman · Nov 2, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

gelcoat + non slip/sand... paint + non slip/sand... nautolex marine vinyl... durabak...

Check out my thread. my floor is just gelcoat rolled on with a fuzzy roller and not sanded... good traction even when wet

gdavies07 · Nov 2, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

I was at Home Depot buying some deck paint and seen this non skid paint called "Restore". I'm going back to buy it to coat my parents stairs of their deck for added safety for them. But when i was looking at it, I believe it said it could be used to non-skid boat deck surfaces too. They had samples and it looked very durable. I'm not sure how it would work out for you but it might be worth checking out.

oops! · Nov 3, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

hi bob. welcome to iboats ! the best place on the net for anything boating !

zopperman said:
gelcoat + non slip/sand... paint + non slip/sand... nautolex marine vinyl... durabak...

Check out my thread. my floor is just gelcoat rolled on with a fuzzy roller and not sanded... good traction even when wet

with kids....you want a rug. if you gellcoat like was mentioned above, you can carpet over that without worries......the gellcoat is really good barrier that wont discolor for many years. nor will it let a wet carpet ruin its foundation.

gellcoat is not as simple as paint.....it needs a catalyst to do its stuff.... 2% mekp. so before you paint with a fuzzy roller. you have to miz the waxed gellcoat with the mekp really good,,,,,but once its rolled on....(its the same price as good deck paint) its there forever.

chriscraft254 · Nov 3, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

Don't know what boat you are looking at doing this to, but checking out Kiwi Grip might be a good solution. I don't like the additives like sand or silocone pellets etc that you add to paint because it will wear through eventually. The kiwi grip is a true non skid that works wether wet or dry. It was originally made for boats in New Zealand. If you check out classicmako.com you will see many that have used it. I coated my parents houseboat decks with it. Needs to have a base coat to adhere to. Gel coat or paint is fine. The nice thing about it is you can tint it to any color you want. We did white on white here but it still looks like a two tone because of the texture and different shade of white. This applies after the decks are painted and finished. Heres a pic of it applied to the houseboat decks. First pic will give you an idea of the texture. Comes with a textured roller. You can make it as aggressive as you want. Has a rubbery type feel to it when dry.

jeffnick · Nov 3, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

http://seadek.com/

bobcarter · Nov 3, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

i spent a ton of time last night reading reviews on the kiwi grip and they all were great. That may be my best choice.

ezmobee · Nov 3, 2011

Re: can i get some flooring recommendations

Love my Nautolex vinyl deck. http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2504.jpg

MichaelP · Nov 3, 2011