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Capt Patrick,

I fished on a boat named "Minerva" out of cabo the last few years. Bob, the owner, Has some real rough non skid on top of the gunwales. I inquired about this and was advised that he had a local yard make up some thin fiberglass panels with the non skid inpregnated into it. It was cut, then adhered to the gunwales and then painted. Question is, is there any of this product here in the U.S.? I'd like to do this, so any advice would be welcome.

Thanks again.

John,

Seems like a backasswards way of achieving the goal... Granulated non-skid additive is available in 3 grit sizes, fine, medium, & course. Applying the non-skid with the paint would be far less labor & expense...

I wouldn't use course non-skid on anything other than a commercial fishing boat. Cosmetically, it looks like hell, will destroy anything soft that comes in contact with it, (like skin), & is hell to keep clean.

Medium is even a bit too sharp for my liking. Medium & fine can be blended together to get an easily cleanable surface that still has good grip.

Non-skid, when mixed with paint, is added after the finish top coat has been applied & cured for a few days. The pattern is laid out with fine line tape, the surrounding areas masked out & the non-skid applied.

Br,

Patrick

Medium/fine 50/50 blend is what I used and I love it!!

awlgrip now makes extra course, I have yet to have anyone try it.

Thanks guys,

Minerva had it only on top of the gunwales. The cockpit was a smooth/medium blend. The gunwale top wasn't really a non skid but more of a patterned texture which my wife liked quite a bit. Bob also has a ss rail that goes all the way around the cockpit. since there's no side panels underneath, your toes slip under and the rail hits you about mid thigh. The rail sticks up about 10" and doesn't need bolsters. It would be a pretty slick setup for the kind of fishing that I do...mostly stand up.

panels were probably made from gibco flex mold, flex mold is very expensive and time consuming, especially when you factor in bonding them to the deck.

John

I had a fiberglass deck made about 10 years ago. For the non skid on the deck, it looks like the glass guy applied the gel coat with eitherr a heavy roller so it left it smooth but rough or he had the gun spitting. It's held up real well and you can walk on barefoot and you do not slide around when its wet. Tony Meola

Tony,

I prefer a gell coated deck. Seems to hold up better with everyone slamming their rod gimbles on the cockpit. I found out where to buy that stuff that I was looking for...La Paz Mx...$165 for a 4 by 8 sheet. No telling what shipping would cost. I need to learn Spanish before placing an order...

John

Good luck with the Spanish. If you don't get it right, god knows what they will send you. Tony Meola