Non-Skid Alternatives
I have a 1989 Nordic 44 with slightly recessed (1/16″) areas on deck. These originally had glued on non-skid mats. Due to normal wear, now it’s time to replace those and I am at a loss regarding which product to use. I find the Treadmaster type mats too expensive, and if one area needs repair after normal fading has taken place, it’s hard to match the rest of those on board, plus the size sheets they sell aren’t large enough to cover some of the areas in one piece, so two pieces would have to butted against each other, requiring precise cuts that will be difficult. What can you recommend?
Jeff Totman
Via e-mail
We recently wrote about a non-skidmat product called SeaDek (PS Sept., ’05), which compares favorably to Treadmaster. It’s less costly per square foot, and doesn’t need the expensive epoxy adhesive required with Treadmaster. It comes in 6 mm panels and numerous colors. We believe that SeaDek is durable and its peel-and-stick adhesive resilient enough for the marine environment, but, admittedly, we’ve had it under test for less than a year.
We’ve also heard of a couple of other products that we haven’t tested-Ultra-Tuff and Rhino Hide. Both are painted or sprayed on, and each uses recycled, crumbled rubber as the non-skid. We’ll evaluate them soon.