Slipped off the swim platform...Again!

K

k9medic

Active Member
Mar 27, 2013
597
Florida
Boat Info
1998 420 Aft Cabin
Engines
twin 3116 CATs
MY 420AC's swim platform is becoming increasingly slicker.

On Tuesday, I was stepping onto it and it was a little wet and just as soon as I stepped, my foot slipped off. Luckily, I grabbed the dinghy davit but not before my face hit the tie off cleat on the davit.

This is about the 5th time I have slipped off the swim platform overt the past 4 years.

Seadeck or anything EVA foam related is NOT an option. I have thought about plasteak type products but due to the complexities of cutting around things like my davits, I can't get anybody to come out to install it.

I have thought about using Kiwigrip and painting the area but I'm not sure how that would come out. Has anybody used Kiwigrip for a swim platform? I know the sail boaters use it pretty frequently.
 
I've got Seadek on one of my other boats. After about 3 years it started to break down and the EVA foam tracks all over the boat.

Combine that with the fact that I have a 2 boys and the thought of having anything that they could "accidentally" cut (fishing seems to be the issue) throws foam out the window.
 
kiwigrip is commonly used on the decks of sailboats - where slip resistance is critical especially headed to the bow which could be constantly wet.
 
But why are you slipping off your swim platform in the 1st place?

Was the factory non skid removed at one time? Is there a non factory swim platform installed?

On Ship Shape TV they featured a paint process for reinstalling non-skid and all the options. It looked and sounded straight forward.

I personally have Infinity Nylon Woven on my swim platform and it's great wet or dry.
 
k9medic said:
I've got Seadek on one of my other boats. After about 3 years it started to break down and the EVA foam tracks all over the boat.

Combine that with the fact that I have a 2 boys and the thought of having anything that they could "accidentally" cut (fishing seems to be the issue) throws foam out the window.
Click to expand...

Have you shared this with Seadek? Sounds like something they should take care of under warranty. You're the first I've heard on this site suggest the material would breakdown. I agree...that would be a mess if it was being tracked into the rest of the boat. Stuff like this makes me think twice about Seadek...
 
I like KiwiGrip for what it is, but when I rebuilt the cockpit/substructure of my old Grady, I chose to go with EasyPoxy EasyDecks. I suspect your platform probably looks like the cockpit floor does of my Grady... the non-skid is severly worn down.

I was worried that being my first time using KiwiGrip I was going to have a hard time getting the finish I wanted. We are often bare-footed and I wasn't sure how good I was going to be the first time around at knocking down the high peaks that Kiwi often has... which are tough on the feet.

The applicaiton of EasyPoxy (and other products like this) is, well, easy. It's pretty much just normal painting. And you can always come back anytime and very easily add another coat. You could also add more non-skid additive if you weren't happy with the first appliction. You could also use normal EasyPoxy and use a non-slip additive, which would give you many more color options.

It's been 3 seasons, now, with the Grady and it's still looking good. Maybe in a few years I'll put another coat on - at least in high traffic areas - but that will be easy as it's really just a quick paint job. It's actually easier than normal painting as you don't have to be perfect with your brush or roller strokes.

For what it's worth, I think a nice, slightly contrasting color on your swimdeck will look very nice. Use the existing margins where there is no non-skid to show you were to to stop. You could paint right up to your davits, or use some masking tape to create a margin. Although depending on how "non-skid" the non-skid is there, it might be hard to get a really nice line.
 
I have shared the info with Seadeck and they replaced it once under warranty. I then went to hydroturf and have had similar results though not as bad. This was installed on a jet boat in 2008 and it sits in the sun all day like the swim platform on the big boat would.

As for shoes and why I am slipping, I suspect that after 20 years the "non slip" is just wearing down too much. This most recent slip was barefooted and I have slipped while wearing tennis shoes as well as flipflops so I don't think the footwear option is an issue.

I was thinking that with the margins already outlined, a beige color would look good as a contrast.
 
Same issue on my 400DA - I had it re-gelcoated with non-slip. Didn't take long and was very cost effective. And-it looked brand new.....
 
There are definitely products available to "paint" on like Dennis said. I have no experience in doing it, but when we were in Cape May last year, a contractor refinished the cockpit of an older sport fish that was in the slip next to us. I started to chat and ask a few questions but he acted as though I was bothering him so I just mostly watched from my flybridge.
He said it was gelcoat. He would pour some out of a 5 gallon bucket into a 1 gallon container, add catylist, stir, stir in some nonskid material and rolled it on with a standard 9" roller. Quick and done. He was using a light blue color. As most paint jobs, took 3 times as long to tape the margins and around the seats etc. as put on the product.
Smelled pretty nasty while he applied it but didn't last long. Later that day when we returned from a bike ride we had noticed that he had returned and pulled all the tape so I walked over to give it a good look. The inside of that boat looked brand new.
 
I pulled the trigger on some cream colored kiwigrip. Time will tell!
 
k9medic said:
I was thinking that with the margins already outlined, a beige color would look good as a contrast.
Click to expand...

Funny, as I was typing my first response and mentioned the "contrasting color", I had a beige color in my mind! Have you thought about also doing the steps? Maybe even the walkaround to the bow?
 
Dude...you might need to just be more careful and maybe cut back on the adult beverages...just saying...
 
I had the whole top of the platform redone with a grit like sandpaper. My wife took a bad fall at anchor also went under . I grabbed her and it was at night and it had been raining.
 
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