Rubberize It

After much prep work we finally got the materials and the umph to Sani-Tred the deck.

We had no idea what to expect, as their website is not that helpful and we found the actual detailed directions in a box which we opened towards the end of the job. But, nonetheless, the whole thing turned out to be a great success!

I love this product. It went on easily with a roller, spread nicely and filled in any cracks. Tapelines held their edge well expect for around the toe rail where we had some bleeding. The rubber granules that we spread into the wet rubber are soft and pleasant on bare feet. Really there is so far nothing that I don't like about it. Did I mention that its rubber? Yes rubber, waterproof, flexible rubber. If I were to do it again, I think I would paint the whole boat with this stuff. It really seems perfect for a woody.

Bow awaiting tape lines

Aft deck prepped and ready to tape

We skipped photographing a couple steps here, and got down to business. Here I am spreading rubber granules into the wet rubber for our non skid surface. This will then be covered with a couple layers of tan rubber to the inside of the tape lines. (Thanks for the photo Chris!!!)

Here's a detail of our drain taped off with the rubber granules. The idea here was that the granules would stick to the wet rubber but not the rubber outside the tape line which was done the day before and already dry. These excess granules are swept off before beginning the layer of tan rubber. Our neighbor Chris became our official photographer as we became quite the spectacle at the marina. I guess its not everyday you see a deck getting the rubber treatment, and there was a lot of interest and excitement regarding the final outcome. In the end, I believe several boaters here will be ordering Sani Tred.

Finished bow

Chopper was so good, really staying out of the way. In fact he didn't get any

rubber on him at all, which is just unheard of.

Billy didn't see what the big deal was, and really resented being locked inside the boat for three solid afternoons.

Bare feet love rubber!

We were so happy to have this deck job behind us

Chopper was happy with the tan, much easier on the eyes

This blog is copywritten

The deck job is the last big remaining project on Lucy Maru. When we put down the new plywood last year, like good little boat workers, we epoxied and primered the deck thinking we were going to paint it. Since then we have found SaniTred, a two part rubber that we will use instead of paint to completely waterproof the deck. When using this rubber however, it is best to apply it to a raw surface, bare wood, metal, concrete etc., so that it permeates into the surface itself . This is a bummer for us, since that means we have to sand all our primer and epoxy off first.

Now I heard somewhere, that as a method of torturing prisoners, the prison guards would have the inmates build something only to tear it down, repeating the cycle of building and destruction until the mental state of said prisoners would be near collapse itself. I thought of this story often as I proceeded in sanding off the primer that I so carefully applied, wondering if this is the time I will succumb to the torture of boatwork.

It wasn't.

Only one thing saved me. Ok two. One was that Travis sanded most of the deck. Yeah!

And two was a revolutionary idea and technique that made the work possible, even... not terrible. Ready. Ta da... sanding by foot. Now I hesitate to broadcast this patent worthy idea so freely, but the wave of enthusiasm cannot be stopped. I'm thinking sanding shoes, adjustable size, with vacuum attachment of course. Read while you sand. Dance while you sand. Sand, sand, sand all day long! DeWalt are you reading this?