non surface refinish - keep the white spaces?

lhyde · Post by **lhyde** » May 4th, '11, 20:35

Greetings,

We are planning to re do the non-skid deck and cockpit surfaces of Nutmeg CD-36. We are contracting this work out as the gel coat needs to be ground out to remove some crazing. The person we plan to hire to do the work suggested we might eliminate the white spaces between the non skid panels as a way to save time/money by not having to tape around each panel.

I will keep the panels with their one inch spacers and pay the extra if this feature is part of the style integrity of the CD-36 deck. Is it? Has anyone re-done their non skid without the white spaces?

Les and Anne

Russell · Post by **Russell** » May 4th, '11, 20:59

I considered eliminating the spaces myself to save a bit of work, but ultimately kept them. Its not like its a lot of work, and the spaces are exactly the width of masking tape, so no custom cutting of tape. I like the way it looks when compared to boats I see with no spaces.

I did however eliminate the areas that had rounded edges.

Duncan · Post by **Duncan** » May 4th, '11, 21:01

Something seems odd to me, probably just different assumptions.

It seems like a trivial amount of work to apply and remove tape - it sure doesn't take me very long.

Aesthetically, almost all boats of that time period (and since) have the spacing in the non-skid, so I do think its "part of the look".

It seems to me that they channel water a bit as well, but I could be all wet on that
(sorry for the soggy pun).

S/V Necessity · Post by **S/V Necessity** » May 4th, '11, 23:31

One thing you might consider is how much water and junk will get trapped inboard if you eliminate them. It may be a negligible effect, but I would at least consider the matter. Taping them off isn't really that much work (I have re-done the nonskid on my boat and I would say it is a negligible increase in work) However having to sand and buff the gel-coat in those narrow 1" strips might be what they are trying to avoid doing.

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » May 5th, '11, 08:30

I eliminated the white space down the center of a Typhoon foredeck. It was to save a very small amount of effort and I couldn't imagine that it would make much difference in the way it looked.

Wrong again! I don't know why it is but the deck just looks odd without the stripe.

I would spend the extra effort and keep the stripes, Steve.

Bruce Bett · Post by **Bruce Bett** » May 5th, '11, 11:35

Malinche has a solid colored deck. I didn't do it, she was that way when I bought her. I probably wouldn't have done it, she looks good though. Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing they did cheep on that paint job. They didn't prep the surface real well so it flakes off in places. So far I've been doing touch ups, but soon, maybe next I'll need to repaint her. I don't dislike the solid color though. She is a beautiful boat!

Bruce

drysuit2 · Post by **drysuit2** » May 5th, '11, 12:41

I have to agree with Necessity here. It's the extra work they're trying to avoid, not the tape.

If you donâ€™t have to re-gelcoat / Awlgrip and polish a surfaceâ€¦it is much easier [and cheaper] to cover it with non skid. The texture in the non skid can hide a lot of imperfections. Plus it is a lot easier to lay down than a gloss coat. Most of the â€œwork Boatsâ€

The Cape Dory Board

non surface refinish - keep the white spaces?

non surface refinish - keep the white spaces?

Can't picture it

Water.

Malinche has a solid colored deck