Rubber surface material used in playgrounds for a boat deck?

If you have been to Busch Gardens or a child's water park which has this multicolored rubber granule matting, it seems to be formed in place. It has a soft rubber feel and is very durable. Close up looks like many little rubber granules glued together.

Does anyone know what it is called, and has anyone used it on a boat deck?
Comes in many bright colors.

Considering other options besides putting some teak back on the deck.
Probably you can not buy as a DIY, the product is too good for consumer use.

Quite a few boats have used one of the bed liner products like Rhino or Line-X for basically the same effect.

Rhino Linings | Spray Truck Bed Liner, Sprayon Bedliner, Rhino Liner
Beyond The Bedliner | LINE-X
Boat Paint & Marine Paint - Slip Resistant

caltexflanc said:

A few boats have used one of the bed liner products like Rhino or Line-X for basically the same effect.

Click to expand...

While it is similar, it is not the same. the playground rubber is much softer under foot. It is like about an inch thick. i think they pour it out and it sets up.
I think its formed in place using a pattern to contain the material like they do with concrete, then when it sets, the retainer is removed. this way they can do many shapes and colors. I have been going to Busch Gardens for 20 years, and that rubber is still in great shape. Course I dont know if they redo it when the park is closed.

It is non slip and if you fall it has enough cushion to help keep you from being hurt. It may be too heavy for a deck, I do not know how the weight compares to plywood.

Durabak makes a marine grade paint. It's anti-slip, but doesn't really give you rubber feel under foot.

https://www.durabakcompany.com

tgotch said:

Durabak makes a marine grade paint. It's anti-slip, but doesn't really give you rubber feel under foot.

https://www.durabakcompany.com

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I put gallons of durabak on my inlaws driveway years ago. Some of it chipped up, but it is mostly intact. And has no cushion. It is like a rubber paint with rubber granules. We chose a brown and it looked very red, and the granules were black rubber, and you can see the black thru the red, so we were not totally pleased with it. Plus they insist you wash with gallons of xylene to prep the surface. That is very expensive.

yes, found out what it is, poured in place playground mat.
$10 to $14 per square foot installed.
I wonder if they have ever done boat decks.
The job may be too small for them to take on.
Surface can be renewed for $1 per square foot every 5 years or so on.

Kiwi grip is very popular today. I used Durabak on a skiff deck about 20 years ago and was disappointed with how it wore out quickly..YMMV

I personally wouldn't want anything too "squishy" as a deck. The company I ran before we took off cruising had a division that installed Rhino, mostly for car dealers as an option on new trucks. We also did a fair amount of bass boats and small work boats. Like anything else, it is how you prep and apply it, and what you want the final result to be. The main guy we had doing the work was recognized as one of the best in the country; we had boats and trucks brought to us from all over the South.

Flex seal liquid is pretty amazing stuff.



After a year in texas my rv's roof is just as smooth and glossy as the day I rolled it on. It is very bright white and that may be an issue for boat decks. But when you walk on it it is really soft feeling and has super traction even with soapy water when cleaning the dirt off.


Grab a little can of it at walmart and test it out. I was very surprised.

what_barnacles said:

Flex seal liquid is pretty amazing stuff.



After a year in texas my rv's roof is just as smooth and glossy as the day I rolled it on. It is very bright white and that may be an issue for boat decks. But when you walk on it it is really soft feeling and has super traction even with soapy water when cleaning the dirt off.


Grab a little can of it at walmart and test it out. I was very surprised.

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Interesting product.
Self leveling?
Comes in gallon cans too.

So wondering could you paint the boat with it?
I might be interested in trying it. I wonder how long it really lasts.

https://www.flexsealproducts.com/pr...UZFzvXQwLrAayfKvW-okxzfKPr54fnrhoCTwEQAvD_BwE

I believe it is a sticky messy type paint.
I dont know the coverage but reviewers said it is thick in the can and a paintbrush is worse than a mini roller.
Liquid polyurethanes can be thinned with xylene.
Alcohol destroys polyurethane ability to harden.

Anyway it is an interesting idea. Could be tough to remove. I wonder if it can be sanded, say if you wanted to paint over it.
Other worry, it can start setting up in the can. I have found putting polyurethanes in the freezer stops them from hardening.

1.0 out of 5 starsVery messy stuff
ByJack Joneson April 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
Don't let the commercials fool you, this stuff is very, very messy. Fortunately it cleans up well with rubbing alcohol. Never again with this. I'll find something else.

I have used Durabak in the past and I liked it but it had some idiosyncrasies. What I found worked best was 2 coats of non-skid Durabak followed by a coat of "smooth" Durabak on top. The full-on non-skid was a bit too non-skid for most applications. Once a coat of smooth was put on top it made it a lot easier to keep clean and could be renewed easily.

Ken

sdowney717 said:

I believe it is a sticky messy type paint.
I dont know the coverage but reviewers said it is thick in the can and a paintbrush is worse than a mini roller.
Liquid polyurethanes can be thinned with xylene.
Alcohol destroys polyurethane ability to harden.

Anyway it is an interesting idea. Could be tough to remove. I wonder if it can be sanded, say if you wanted to paint over it.
Other worry, it can start setting up in the can. I have found putting polyurethanes in the freezer stops them from hardening.

1.0 out of 5 starsVery messy stuff
ByJack Joneson April 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
Don't let the commercials fool you, this stuff is very, very messy. Fortunately it cleans up well with rubbing alcohol. Never again with this. I'll find something else.

Click to expand...

My friends composite boat had a problem with water intrusion and rust bleeding from his wood rub rail. I was skeptical when I saw him roll it with this stuff that he bought at Home Depot. But it worked great. It’s lasting well also. I believe he put on two coats with no sanding between. It’s tough as nails but also flexible. I believe he has now redone his deck with it. He is a fan.

Very sticky? Thick in the can?



LOL its literally liquid rubber. I poured some out, pushed it a around a bit with the roller to get it where I wanted it and then rolled it just like I was painting to flatten it out. Foam rollers give the smoothest surface.



Extremely easy to do. 36' x 9' took right at 4 gallons, best price was walmart online for the gallons.



As an aside the hvac co. where my son works uses it to reseal drip pans on ac units. They swear by the stuff. (In case yours ever gets a leak.)

https://www.superiorrvroof.ca

Best stuff I could find...800% elongation. Impervious to rust stains, unlike gelcoat.

Put a couple coats on our pilothouse & saloon roofs where we keep some crab traps, and after winter rains all I had to do was hose the rust off.

Because it's so flexible, the thought to paint Badger's teak decks (not enough to smooth over the 'tooth' of the teak) has entered my mind a few times...

If no a skid surface is the desire,
Treadmaster: The Original Anti-Slip Deck Covering

https://www.treadmaster.co.uk/

May 5, 2016 - ... the Treadmaster range has been the benchmark for anti-slip deck coverings ... to announce the launch of their new Marine products website.‎Treadmaster Atlanteak · ‎Treadmaster Glowtec · ‎All Treadmaster M-Tec · ‎Atlanteak

Marine Treadmaster

https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?id=2276203

There are a number of these--I had one (NuTeak IIRC) on a portion of my boat and liked it.


https://www.flexiteek.com/


https://www.plasdeck.com/


NuTeak Synthetic Marine Teak Decking | Synthetic Marine Teak Decking Solutions | Nuteak Flooring

MurrayM said:

https://www.superiorrvroof.ca

Best stuff I could find...800% elongation. Impervious to rust stains, unlike gelcoat.

Put a couple coats on our pilothouse & saloon roofs where we keep some crab traps, and after winter rains all I had to do was hose the rust off.

Because it's so flexible, the thought to paint Badger's teak decks (not enough to smooth over the 'tooth' of the teak) has entered my mind a few times...

Click to expand...

I bet it would work. Do it and post some pics. Definitely one of the best ways to seal things is to use a liquid rubber. No more rotting or leaking, no more hidden water damage.

what_barnacles said:

Very sticky? Thick in the can?



LOL its literally liquid rubber. I poured some out, pushed it a around a bit with the roller to get it where I wanted it and then rolled it just like I was painting to flatten it out. Foam rollers give the smoothest surface.



Extremely easy to do. 36' x 9' took right at 4 gallons, best price was walmart online for the gallons.



As an aside the hvac co. where my son works uses it to reseal drip pans on ac units. They swear by the stuff. (In case yours ever gets a leak.)

Click to expand...

I would have to roll it. The idea is you don't want it lumpy. I saw a youtuber pour it out of the can to make a shower floor, then spread it around with a brush. The result was lumpy looking, areas with heaped up drips, obvious uneven thickness, because it is so thick, it will not fully self level.

sdowney717 said:

I bet it would work. Do it and post some pics. Definitely one of the best ways to seal things is to use a liquid rubber. No more rotting or leaking, no more hidden water damage.

Click to expand...

If it ever got to the point where I was seriously considering ripping out and replacing the teak decks I might try the Superior RV roof coating instead, just to see how long it would last. Sure would be easier!

There is a Linex dealer in Sarasota FL, I think, that sprays truck bedliner on boat decks. Looks very nice and durable. He uses a specific mixture to get the UV protection.

Rubber Deck etc.

RVs use EPDM or TPO deck roofing. It is good with all sorts of weather, UV and is flexible given the "questionable" flexibly of an RVs framing. Some homes, especially mid century modern with flat roofs use rubber roofs too. That doesn't even account for commercial installations.

Here's the trick - it doesn't matter if you have a good fiberglass deck that's painted, got texture or teak - it must be good to begin with. Fix all the problems. Make sure the deck is sound. Then decide how you want to finish it. I have seen glue down rubber treatments. Personally, I don't like how they age etc. And if you want to remove it, it's a disaster. I'd go for painted, textured decking.

I did this on my Taiwan CHB trawler style in 1998, it was a cover story in PASSAGEMAKER magazine that year.

I cannot say more good about it as it is indistructable and looks great. Note the present tense!
At the time it required professional grade heavy duty equipment but today it would/is much easier.
I did all of the prep. work and had a professional spray it on, today just use a roller.

CCC

I think Charles brings up a good item - PREP WORK... I bet he would echo that prep is everything. Do you have any pictures of your process? Would be great to see ...

AND - yes - SUPPORT OUR TROOPS !!! They are American heros!

charles said:

I did this on my Taiwan CHB trawler style in 1998, it was a cover story in PASSAGEMAKER magazine that year.

I cannot say more good about it as it is indistructable and looks great. Note the present tense!
At the time it required professional grade heavy duty equipment but today it would/is much easier.
I did all of the prep. work and had a professional spray it on, today just use a roller.

CCC

Click to expand...

I assume you are talking about the RV liquid rubber? Did you add any non-skid or just rely on the rubber itself?

Yes, prep is the operative word.
I think that I have attached a couple of pics but I no longer have the boat.
If these did not come through I will try something else.
My experience was that pulling screws from the deck and rebedding did not cure deck leaks.

I rebedded any loose screws with Thiocol. Then I scrubbed the deck with Dawn, bleach and ZUD cleanser with a stiff long handle brush.

Then the work, with my DeWalt grinder and 60grit paper thoroughly sanded the deck, then scrubbed again.
I cleaned the glass up several inches all around the edge but recommend extending that up to 4 inches.
Then masking and application of the "bed liner" material.
I did not add the granulated rubber as that would have made it too rough for my taste, used just a bit of used blasting sand and that was more than sufficient.

I think that I still have an article on that and will post.
CCC

OK, I found the PASSAGEMAKER article that I wrote:



[FONT=&quot]Teak Deck Leaks[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Written by Charles Culotta [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Published in the Spring 1999 issue of [/FONT][FONT=&quot]PASSAGEMAKER[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My 1981 Chung Hwa 45 is overloaded with teak and most regrettably teak decks. Regrettably because by the very nature of their installation they must leak over time. Think about it, approximately every twelve inches a screw is driven through the teak and fiberglass into the plywood underlayment. This process breeches the glass thousands of time and over the years, given the pounding that a boat takes, it would be almost inconceivable that such a deck would not leak.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I have had CC Rider since 1985, so I am intimately acquainted with her. Those of you who do your own maintenance know full well what I mean. When several leaks manifested themselves last year I went to work.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My quest to find them was quite an experience unto itself. I used a Dremel tool with a grinding wheel on the underside of the side decks inside of several cabinets. This was at the inside edge of the deck. On grinding through the glass I found water or at least dampness in the plywood. A bad omen to say the least. Since the small holes I ground out are hidden from view I left them open so that any subsequent leak would be evident and not accumulate in the deck core. By process of elimination I excluded the window frames-teak of course. This left the decks. I pulled up a half dozen planks and re-glassed the area under them to no avail.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In some places where the teak meets the cabin side I found a very small crack or space that water could enter so I used a hypodermic needle to inject a product called CAPTAINS CREEPING CRACK CURE. Unfortunately this was not the source of the leaks or not all of them anyway. This stuff works wonders for hairline cracks that are too thin for thicker products. It looks like and has the consistency of milk. This process was also used on the window frames in any hairline crack I could find just in case there was water intrusion and it was making its way to the deck core.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I inspected a number of similar boats with the problem and the various remedies utilized to fix them. These ranged from painting on a two-part epoxy to ripping the whole deck up including the entire plywood core and reglassing. We are talking some big operation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I took notice of the spray on truck bed liners and contacted several shops that do the work. Even if they were not interested in the job I asked a lot of questions. One product called PROLINER was excluded from consideration due to the fact that it is very sensitive to humidity in its application. A coating produced in Houston, Texas by Performance Coating Specialists 800.821.8820 became the product of choice. I mailed several small pieces of teak to them for coating with hree similar but different products sold by them. We easily decided on SPEEDLINER over the others. The main reasons being the nonskid properties.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Another concern was adhesion. If it would not stick then it would not work. Upon close inspection this did not appear to be a problem at all. Next was to determine the type of application. I ruled out rolling or brushing it as the non-skid properties would be lost. An aside, you DO NOT need to add nonskid granules to this stuff. Trust me, applied properly it is as non -skid as teak is nonskid. Then I had to consider where would I have the demarcation line between the SPEEDLINER and the surface of the boat. I decided to extend it across the deck and up the fiberglass approximately two inches. That is two inches up the cabin side and a like distance up the gunnel side. This would give me a good seal where the teak meets the cabin and along the outer edge of the teak at the gunnel. Note that on CC Rider the teak deck stops about two and one half inches shy of the gunnel forming a gutter for water to run to the scuppers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I removed all readily removable deck hardware such as deck pipes, hose bibs and the like. Fuel, water and waste deck fittings were not taken off only because access to the underside of the deck was not readily possible for all of them and for appearances they needed to be treated the same.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The next step entailed deck preparation. On the weather deck I drilled numerous holes into the plywood core through which I used a turkey-basting syringe to inject a two-part epoxy. These holes were then sealed with polysulfide. Be careful not to penetrate the glass on the bottom side of the deck. I suggest that you mark your drill bit with tape to prevent this and it makes the drilling faster and less worrisome.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In the years that I have had her I have not renewed the polysulfide so the sun had expanded it or the teak was worn enough that the polysulfide was well above the teak. I treated it two ways. On the weather deck I sanded the entire deck with 80-grit paper on my DeWalt 4-inch grinder. Remember this is to be covered with a three sixteenth layer of material so a few circular marks are of no consequence! This was a very dusty operation, wear eye protection and a cloth mask. If you have a Samson post examine it carefully from inside the boat. This is a guaranteed place to leak and it may not show due to the possibility of the water not running down the post but right into the core. I found this condition and strengthened the fore deck by use of a 2x4 placed under the deck and lag bolted to the Samson post. A dado was cut in the 2x4 and it was jammed tight up against the deck. It extends almost to the edge of the deck simply to make it easier to fit into the space that was available. This was installed because the deck had a small amount of flex with no underlying support and would have been added in any event and not just for the coating.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]On the bridge I decided not to sand but I did sharpen a 1-inch putty knife to a razor edge and skinned the polysulfide down even with the deck. This left a hint of the lines between the teak boards. It is a matter of taste. My recommendation is to sand the entire deck including the polysulfide.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]More grunt work, thoroughly clean the teak. Over the years I have tried every cleaner that I could get my hands on and the clear winner is: copious amounts of bleach, detergent and oxalic acid. Don’t go buy the expensive teak cleaner just for the oxalic acid. Get ZUD at your grocery store. It is a powder, cheap and works like gangbusters as its main ingredient is the everpowerful oxalic acid. Sprinkle the ZUD on the teak liberally and I mean liberally then use a stiff deck brush not one of those soft ones with which you wash the boat; scrub with a vengeance, twice because you want all oil off the surface in preparation for the primer. Again, don’t worry about gouging the teak because it will be covered.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It was now time for the application process to begin. The first step was masking. There is some overspray but not as much as with paint. An aside. I mentioned that I did not remove the deck fills therefore they must be dealt with at this point. I suggest that each cap be removed, a turn of masking tape be applied around the threads, screw it half way in and cover it with tape. This will give the SPEEDLINER a good leak proof seal with the fittings. Since the word "diesel", "water", or "waste" will be obliterated, have small plastic placards made and attach them next to each fill on the cabin side. Back to the samson post. I masked several inches up the post so that a seal would be achieved above deck level. This product does have some elasticity so I so not anticipate a problem when stress is applied to the post.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A primer was applied and then two coats of SPEEDLINER were sprayed. The tape along the edge of the product must be pulled up BEFORE the product dries inorder that there is a sharp line. I suggest several rows of tape so all of the masking need not be removed between coats. The second coat of the SPEEDLINER is the texture or non-skid coat.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The astute reader quickly recognizes several problem areas. First is the need to get around the deck to pull up tape while the product is not yet cured. Some thought must go into this but an agile person should have little problem negotiating the top of the gunnels and the edge of the bridge. Next is the need for a dry spell once the masking is done. Unfortunately we have no control here but painters work around that every day.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Go forth and investigate. That is it. You may walk on it the following day. The feel is slightly soft and the nonskid is apparent. When it is wet it is about as slippery as teak. To try it, find a pickup truck and walk around on it! I am satisfied with the product in its looks, performance underfoot, and leak sealing properties.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]NAVIGATION INFORMATION[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I now suggest that you consider a product by DANIELLO Corp. 888 370 4333 that may be applied by the consumer. This is not to say that the spray on bed liner does not work, it does.[/FONT]

I called Flexseal. They said that it has a 10 year warranty for UV damage. But also said it wold get slippery if wet. Could probably mitigate that with sand. Or, figure if it was wet I would be piloting from the lower bridge...LOL. One gallon is $95 and will cover 150 sq ft. That is almost two coats on my flybridge "floor". But the flexible, peel and stick Faux Teak is not much more expensive and is BEAUTIFUL and made to be non slipery. And would be MUCH easier to apply.


The savings in work and ease of application would easily pay for the extra cost of the Faux Teak!!!! And, did I say, it is BEAUTIFUL ??

not to argue with their statement, but I wash my rv's roof with soapy water and bare feet. Its as far from slippery as I could imagine.

There is a Linex dealer in Sarasota, I think, that is doing a lot of boats with bedliner. Looked at his web site and the photos look nice. If I had been close to the area, I probably would have had them do my deck but instead I went with Kiwigrip and have been happy with it so far.