Haul out Projects - Deck refinish

[britinusa]

I'm planning on a haul out and building a list of projects that are best done on the hard. I'll be taking the boat to a DIY yard locally. Two weeks will cost a total of about $800 for haul, pressure wash, block, tool rental and splash. Then there is just the cost of materials - they insist that any below the waterline materials are purchased from them, no big deal.

Biggest project is to refinish the deck.
We have white deck with grey non-skid that looks like a kind of rubber finish with diamond pattern about 3/16" sides. The cockpit and coamings have that a very fine embedded non-slip finish that appears to be gel coat patterned (the pattern is maybe 1/16" criss cross)
The entire cockpit surface is white, none of the grey non-skid on the coamings, seats, or cockpit sole.

I also want to rebed the chain plates on deck and the stanchions, but want to avoid pulling the mast if I can ($$$$$$$ $500 minimum plus)

Objective: To ensure the deck is water tight - there are to many hairline cracks in the gel coat and in the non-skid - particularly on the coach roof. The port anchor locker lid non-skid looks awful, as though it has worn away and been repaired by pouring Cap't Tolley's over it.

I'm researching on what method to use for the refinishing. So far I have watched videos for deck refinishing projects that use 2 part epoxy, 1 part polyurethane, 2 part water based primers and a dozen more. Petite, Skid no more, Tuff Coat and the list is growing.

So, I'm hoping that someone has done something like this to their C34 and can post (or link) to some good, relevant, articles that can head me in the right direction - Paying someone to do this is out of the budget! (My buddy had his boat refinished, hull & deck & teak - $52,000, more than I have paid for the boat and first years upgrades!)

TIA.

Paul

[Noah]

Paul- lots going on here:
Most of your projects could be done in the water.
1. Chainplates rebed; no reason to pull stick
2. Stanchion rebed; FYI- once removed I would add backing plates

Deck: I don't know what you mean about "rubber", but entire deck should be gelcoated if OEM, I believe.
--Gelcoat cracks don't necessarily impact water tightness, may be only cosmetic.
--Refinishing deck is a big job, but unless spraying, it can also be done in the water.
-- Might consider brushing using 2-part Algrip for this.

[britinusa]

We keep our boat at the back of a really good family's home. They have asked that we do not abuse the dock by doing outside maintenance on the boat.

So cleaning, polishing, and repairs / upgrades (like the engine mounts/harness/fuel filter/install of AC/ etc. are ok. but I'm pushing it by polishing the hull.

Yes, doing the chain plates and stanchions are not an issue, but the deck refinishing is crossing the line.

Our deck has the grey rubbery non-skid and white surface and white non-slick finish.

My plan is to rebed the stanchions and deck chain plates at the slip/dock, and then take the boat to the diy boatyard to work on the deck surfaces. I'm just not sure about which method to use to refinish the surfaces.

Paul

[Noah]

Maybe I am confused, or your 1987 boat has a different nonskid deck, but the diamond pattern on my boat's is a molded-in raised pattern, colored with gelcoat. Not rubber.

[britinusa]

It's a grey  'rubbery' finish, not hard like gel coat.

Paul

[Noah]

I may be wrong, wouldn't be the first time!  Let's hear what others say.

[Fred Koehlmann]

Yes, that is strange. Ours was also a grey diamond shaped gelcoat finish. Is it possible that the OP finished those areas with a brushed on substance to produce a more skid proof surface? I'd be curious as to what that could be.

[Stu Jackson]

It's a grey  'rubbery' finish, not hard like gel coat.

OK, kids: a picture is worth...???

[Noah]

I'm thinking more biopsy than picture...

[britinusa]

Ok, armed with input from you guys, re-examined the grey stuff.

I guess it could be gel coat, it's definitely grey and harder than I thought, does not look like a previous repaint job, so let's assume (I know the risk) it's gel coat.

Paul

[britinusa]

Digging deeper into this deck issue (pun intended)

I scrapped into the surface of the Anchor Locker non-skid, and it is grey gel coat (beneath it is a darker material, probably the original GRP.

So this appears to make the project a bit simpler, I just have to decide on the method of refinishing the gel coat.

Step 1 would seem to be to clean / sand the top surface, but as it is a deep diamond pattern non-skit, I'm not sure if I need to sand down to a flat surface - huge amount of work - or follow some other technique. Doing this is totally new to me.

Ideas/experiences?

Paul

[Noah]

Lots of way to skin this:
Here's a few-
1. Repair the chips in the gelcoat with epoxy putty and then spot repair gelcoat with color matched gelcoat from Spectrum
2. Clean, sand, fill chips, prep/wash with sovent, tape, and then roll and brush tip-on Awlgrip 2-part LP (or other brand LP)
3. Same steps as 2. but spray
2. Same as 2. but use 1-part paint

None are as fun as sailing.

[KWKloeber]

Paul

I'm not clear exactly on the situation or plan.  Any pics?

If you want to regenerate the non-skid you can use Gibco Flex Mold to transfer the same pattern (Gibco has catalina patterns) into fresh gelcoat.

Cheers
Ken

[britinusa]

Thanks Noah.

Clean, sand, fill chips, prep/wash with sovent, tape, and then roll and brush tip-on Algrip 2-part LP (or other brand LP)

That sounds the best option for me.

But the 'sand' issue has me stumped! I do not relish the idea of sanding the raised diamond pattern 

Could 'wash with solvent' be instead of sanding?

Paul

[Noah]

I meant sand/shape the filled-in chips and light sand gloss. I believe you can clean and etch the diamond pattern surface with solvent. But any wax left on will be a killer. If you doing just the nonskid, protecting the gloss white gelcoat from etching might be a tricky masking job. I would research each paint system (there are differences by brand) and perhaps ask the advice of a boatyard painter that does this for a living.