Safety underfoot

Footing aboard m/v Beach House is more secure now that Chuck and Susan have completed this project.

Safety when moving around the deck under way has always been important to us. We have had to deal with sails and rigging in gale conditions and anchors during late night storms. A trawler with a flybridge is a new experience for us, and running up and down from the flybridge was a concern. The steps are teak with stainless hand rails and we like our teak finished. If they are wet, they can be slippery, and a fall could be serious. A simple and logical solution is good old-fashioned vinyl or rubber stair treads. But boy are they hard to find anymore. We first tried to apply them with outdoor carpet tape which is sticky on both sides, but as soon as the sun warmed them up, they slid off the step. Our solution was to use aluminum strips like those used at the edge of carpet or vinyl flooring to secure the treads. This worked out better than we expected, as it made the steps even more slip proof. It also does not look too bad.