Before leaving North Carolina we bought a few gallons of Kiwi Grip to put on the boat. Our decks are pretty slippery when wet and pretty much down right dangerous. Not to mention laundry day (which is pretty much everyday) where you could end up with a cleat up your bum. During nap time Carl attempted his first go at it.
Step One: Dig into every hole in the boat to find all the pieces needed. Electric sander, sand paper, gallon of kiwi grip, roller, roller handle, masking tape, lacquer thinner, screw driver, trowel, cloth, garbage bag and sunny glasses because it’s bloody bright outside. On any given vessel these items will be found in 100 hundred different places and you’ll need to tear the boat apart.
Step Two: Rest, because all that hunting was exhausting.
Step Three: Sand down the proposed area if there is already some sort of grip on there. Our steps only had paint on there but we roughed up the surface just to make sure it would adhere properly.
Step Four: Tape off the area to give a nice clean border with the masking tape.
Step Five: Clean the area. We used lacquer thinner.
Step Six: Open your tin with the screw driver and trowel on a small amount working it like laying tile. The trowel we bought was too large and the Kiwi Grip went on too think using up half the can. Try and get a smaller trowel. We shopped around for a small plastic one but Marsh Harbour only had a huge metal one. Bummer.
Step Seven: After the Kiwi Grip is evenly spread in your area roll out the goop with the special roller you purchased from Kiwi Grip. It will give the effect an orange peel effect like when you mud your walls.
Step Eight: Remove your tape promptly, the Kiwi Grip will take approximately 10 minutes to tack up and removing the tape after this will bring up the goop.
Step Nine: Clean up and let cure over night, and get your self a fire in da hole (cheap Bahamian rum) and coke.
It’s going to be interesting to see what it feels like under our feet tomorrow. I’m think like walking on gravel with no shoes. It went on thick so it’s fairly lumpy. All in all it was pretty easy to put it on as long as you have all the right tools, and someone else to do it.
It took a couple of goes to get the cans shipped to us. UPS returned them due to spillage and the second batch we received had also busted open but we were leaving the next day and had to make do. A 4 liter tin (gallon) will cover approximately 80 sq feet but I don’t really see how, I’m sure we’ll get better at it. Each gallon will set you back just over $100USD.
Stay tuned for part II of how it holds up wet and what the little ones think.
Don’t look at my Fiona (Shrek) feet.
Catherine VK4GH says
We used a similar product made in Australia called Emerclad http://www.parchem.com.au/construction/product/liquid-applied-membranes/emer-clad-waterproofing/i/202/ with similar properties – water based, cheap, UV resistant. We applied with a similar roller. We have declared it the best non-skid ever. How “pointy” you leave the paint with the roller, the better the non-skid properties. We could walk down the wet front sloping window of a cat and not worry about slipping, and also it was able to be walked on with bare feet by the whole family. It lasted 5 years in the tropics before needing re-doing, which you can do right over the top. There was only one downside, and that it showed dirty marks easily. This is easily solved with plenty of freshwater (yeh for watermakers), detergent and a brush on a regular basis.
Carly Zaniboni says
emer-clad looks like the same sort of stuff. I couldn’t wait and walked on it not too long ago. It feels good on the feel and is going to be really tough stuff. Big yeh for watermakers! We’ve got a mack daddy one that does 60 gallons / hour.
Anonymous says
what is your opinion on the kiwi grip now that you had if for a while: easy on the feet, holding up?
Carly Zaniboni says
I think we actually applied it too thick and find it’s really slippery but now the issue is, how do we fix it. It does get really dirty too. It attracts a lot of dirt and sand and are often hosing off the aft steps. I think we’ve still got some more in a tin and need to buy a smaller trowel to put it on. I can’t really give you a definitive answer on whether we like it or not, sorry.