Non-Skid Paints

Hello all, and thank you ahead of time for your wealth of knowledge. I will be attempting to put a removable wooden floor in my boat in the near future and I have read about the hazards of using carpet when your boat will be exposed to salt water, so I have determined that I will be painting both the aluminum decks and the floors with a non-skid paint. My questions are "what paint can be used on both surfaces, and will give me the most bang for my buck?" and "what do you suggest to use to adhere the blue foam to the underside of the floor?"

I would think you could use the non-skid paint like you get at Cabelas.

As far as the foam that you are wanting to put underneath the flooring, I wouldn't adhere it to the boat, I would attach it to the wood with liquid nails or something like that. You can cut it to fit between the ribs in the floor of the boat

That's what I was going to do with the foam, do you think I should cover it with anything, or is it dense enough not to absorb water?

it shouldn't absorb any water... you can put that self-cling wrap around it, but that will also keep it from drying out. I think you'll be fine without it

Thanks for the input. Here are a few pictures of what I am working with. I've had the boat for around 8 years, haven't used it much since I got a bigger boat (funny how I got a bigger boat and truck shortly after I got my girlfriend), but we recently bought a house within a mile of a great lake and ramp. As you can see in the third picture I have started working on my template for the floor. I hooked her up to the hose and she fired off on the second try, not bad for sitting for a year and a half. I will be picking up the flooring and foam at lunch tomorrow, and making a run on the lake tomorrow evening (weather permitting).

You will proly need different primers for wood and Alum. Your Alum. decks look to be in good shape so you may be able to use the same primer on the wood and Alum. if you don't take the Alum down to bare metal. Then the same paint can be used on both surfaces, just make sure you either get paint and primer that are compatible together, and that the primer is compatible with both wood and Alum. Also, you can use the same paint for the decks and sides, just use a non-skid additive for the decks. I usually apply one coat of paint and then a second coat with the non-skid additive. I leave the non-skid out of the side panel paint tho, that way it all matches but only the decks are non-skid.

I generally use sterling paints and primers, they are pricey, but last forever. Interlux paints and primers can be had at your local West Marine, and usually the guys in there know what they are talking about. You can find Interlux cheaper online than at West Marine, but the good advice is what you really pay for when you buy it there.

Liquid nails will glue blue foam down, or up; I use a notched spreader (1/8") for good coverage.

wwoodard said:

Hello all, and thank you ahead of time for your wealth of knowledge. I will be attempting to put a removable wooden floor in my boat in the near future and I have read about the hazards of using carpet when your boat will be exposed to salt water, so I have determined that I will be painting both the aluminum decks and the floors with a non-skid paint. My questions are "what paint can be used on both surfaces, and will give me the most bang for my buck?" and "what do you suggest to use to adhere the blue foam to the underside of the floor?"

Click to expand...

to be honest with ya - is there any particular reason why you're putting foam underneath the floor if it's just going to sit across the ribs? Or is it because you are using 1/2" ply? You can get around the foam by putting 2x2's between the ribs if you are thinking about the structural integrity of the wood when you walk on it. I don't like dealing with the foam, but that's a personal preference.

Rat,
Thanks for the information and suggestions. I think I am only going to do surfaces that will get foot traffic, so I guess I will be removing the paint from the decks.

Russ,
I was thinking about going with 3/4 ply, for structural integrity of the floor, that would sit directly on the ribs, and ripping down a 2 x 4 if the center of the floor flexes too much. As for the foam, I am considering it for the noise reduction aspect, not for floatation, since the floor will be just resting on the ribs, what do you think? Do you think that the floor will deaden sound enough?

I don't want to use a lot of wood because of the weight, but I can't justify the cost of using aluminum. So I am trying to keep it simple, just a flat floor to move about on and to anchor a cooler and a deep cycle battery to.

man I think you can get by with just the 3/4 wood.. it's not going to flex any if much at all with that thickness between the ribs. My Xpress 1546 had a sheet of 3/4" ply on resting on the ribs, and I could walk and jump all over it before I took it out and put in 15/32" exterior ply. That's what I'm using now and it only flexes in the corners where there is no support, but I'm not in those areas anyway so I didn't worry about it. Mine is carpeted, and there's no hull noise or any noise for that matter. I did put 3 screws in the ends on top of the ribs, and then 1 in a few ribs up the middle just so that when it got wet it wouldn't bow up on me (found out quick that unpainted wood only needs to get wet once before it bows up).

I would ditch the foam and just use the wood. Stay away from 2x4s - that's a lot of extra weight you won't need... and I would really just use 15/32" ply... that 3/4" ply is heavy as crap!

which way do the ribs run in your floor? Parallel or perpendicular to the length of the boat? If it's perpendicular, I would just put the piece of wood in and see how it is, then use 2x2s to build up the structural integrity. If they run parallel, then just use 2x2s running perpendicular.

My floor was resting on 2x4's that where a bit over 12" apart. I think your ribs are likely to be 12"? If so 3/4" should be more then solid as is.