Slippery Step

[Wataworld]

The teak steps on my boat when wet become slippery. There is railings and if the people who have fallen would have used some caution I probably would not be writing about this. What can i do short of a strip of no slip that can be done no one has gotten hurt bad but I am sure it will not be long! I like the teak look but will do what ever so no one is hurt!
Gregg

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. W. I understand you can buy clear non skid strips. What I did on our "small" boat was give the teak a thick coat of Cetol (I suppose you could use varnish) and while wet, spread plain sand over the top. I followed with a light coat of Cetol after drying and shaking off the excess sand. Not terribly long lived but most assuredly non skid. I "wrapped" the sand around the lip.

 

[ragin cajun]

Get you some dog assist carpet stair treads. Most have a rubber non-slip backing...no need to glue down and no adhesives! $30.00 should take care of it. Use these for over 3 years, even I haven't slipped yet! Teak stairs still look good with alot of the treads still showing around the carpet.

 

[Donna]

The first time I fell on my galley stairs, I sucked it up and bought the no slip strips. I did not cover the whole step. Just cut it and rounded the corners so it was pleasing to the eye. The best part is, I haven't taken a fall since!

 

[Giggitoni]

Inside or outside? The surface of natural teak should not be slippery. Nonslip is one of the qualities of teak. If yours are varnished of finished in some way, try adding sand to the next coat of varnish. Some folks sprinkle it onto the varnish before it sets.

 

[psneeld]

I would cut some very fine cuts into the teak, not much helps a lot...

If not, there is clear non skid spray (varnish) available at many stores. A tiny bit goes a long was and you dont have to high gloss varnish the steps, just a quick blast of the non skid.

Looks natural if thats what they are to begin with.

 

[dvd]

Don't really like the looks of them, but they work...

 

[fryedaze]

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18954

 

[Gmarr]

What about canvas covers that would snap on?

 

[dhays]

FWIW, the teak treads on my ladder up to my boat deck are not varnished. They have never seemed slippery when wet. I don't mind gray teak.

 

[Donna]

FWIW, the teak treads on my ladder up to my boat deck are not varnished. They have never seemed slippery when wet. I don't mind gray teak.

I replaced all my exterior teak stairs with Trex. Not slippery and no maintenance.

 

[BrisHamish]

I am with RT on this one.

On my GB the exterior teak steps on the transom are varnished, to match the rest of the teak transom - looks great, but slippery as hell.

If you want to keep the varnished look but dont want the slip factor, then re-varnish the steps and put some sand in the mix. Your guests wont slip again, and it will still look OK.

H.

 

[jleonard]

We leave our teak steps natural and they were very slippery.
When I did the re seaming of the decks I taped off the grooves in the steps and filled them with the 440 as I did with the decks.
6 years later they still look good and the caulk stands proud enough to make them not slippery.

 

[Bacchus]

Greetings,
Mr. W. I understand you can buy clear non skid strips. What I did on our "small" boat was give the teak a thick coat of Cetol (I suppose you could use varnish) and while wet, spread plain sand over the top. I followed with a light coat of Cetol after drying and shaking off the excess sand. Not terribly long lived but most assuredly non skid. I "wrapped" the sand around the lip.

I've used both approaches and much prefer the sand or non.skid additives available.

The clear non.skid I used did not stand up on exterior. Started to peel after one season and the adhesive was a real bear to get off.

 

[koliver]

I replaced all my exterior teak stairs with Trex. Not slippery and no maintenance.

I now have 15 yr old Trex on my home sundeck. It has changed dimension significantly, as the 5/4 x 6 originals, spaced 3/16" apart are now squeezed tightly together, screw heads that were countersunk to or below level now all protrude. It has also change appearance, with mold on the surface that even a strong power washing won't remove.

Real teak with no varnish survives the test of time much better, as I have 37 yr old unvarnished teak steps on my boat that are good as new.

Too bad real teak is so much more expensive than Trex, or I would use it at home,

 

[eyschulman]

My solution design and build a boat with no outside steps. Otherwise it is Vetus treds or good none slip finish. The look is not as important as avoiding a fall. In my experience with about 50 years of medical dealing with people over 50 years of age falling was one of the big issues that caused immediate damage and often triggered a chain of downward spiraling health problems. Messing around on boats increases the risk of falling especially for the graying clan and the wise will make a strong effort to mitigate against the likely hood of this happening on their boats.

 

[Gmarr]

We leave our teak steps natural and they were very slippery.

When I did the re seaming of the decks I taped off the grooves in the steps and filled them with the 440 as I did with the decks.

6 years later they still look good and the caulk stands proud enough to make them not slippery.

I like this idea and it would be a nice look as well. Is there a certain depth to the groove that is best for the caulk to hold into?

It kind of mirrors my tile guys comment when laying our new bathroom floor in Carerra marble like porcelain- said that by laying the floor a certain way increased the grout lines which increased the antislip help that grout lines give.

 

[Wataworld]

These are all great idea's I have both varnished and natural. I think the people are slipping because they are steep and the people rush or don't pay attention but I have to do some thing has any body drilled drain holes in the natural teak!
Thank you all for the suggestions
Mr W

 

[Comodave]

The steps from our sundeck to the flybridge were beautiful fiberglass steps. The problem was that they were narrow fore and aft and also slippery. Our dog could not go up and down on them. I replaced the fiberglass steps with some wider fore and aft aluminum C channel. Now we have 8" wide steps fore and aft. I staggered them so that the top step was closer to the bridge and the bottom step was closer to the sundeck so more of the step is exposed to help the dog. I then covered the top of the steps with gray Seadeck foam pad. Very nonskid and the dog goes up and down now with no problems. Also is good for humans...

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Don't really like the looks of them, but they work...

Don't over think this issue. DVD has a practical answer for safety reasons

 

[jleonard]

I like this idea and it would be a nice look as well. Is there a certain depth to the groove that is best for the caulk to hold into?

QUOTE]

No idea the grooves were whatever was left on a 20+ year old boat.

 

[rwidman]

Pressure sensitive non-slip material on the treads would be the simplest solution. If you can find pre-cut strips with rounded corners, that would look the best and last the longest. Of course, this might be tough on bare feet.


Putting sand in a coat of varnish would probably work but it would be hard to get it spread evenly.


Using a router or a table saw to cut grooves in the teak should work and depending on your effort and skill, would probably look the best. Ideally, you would use a pattern and depth that would allow any water to run off. You'll have to refinish the steps after you do this.


Someone mentioned "old people" falling. Well, we have to realize that as we age, our danger of falling increases as does our healing time. If you are "old", you need to teach yourself to hold on to the railings and move a little slower.