Ensign maintanence

[matensign]

Rookie boat owner here...

I have a 1968 ensign i am trying to get ready for this season.

I have many questions but my first is the non slip deck. The surface is off color, stained and cracking in a few spots.

What would be the easiest, cheapest solution to upgrade the appearence?

Any help would be apreciated.

[Sailormann]

Hmm - easiest would be to call a boatyard and write them a cheque when they bring it back all redone.

Cheapest would be to buy some industrial strength boat soap and go at her with some scrub brushes. If the cracks are hairline stress cracks you proabably don't need to worry too much about them.

If they are larger and deeper then it's probably a good idea to seal them with some epoxy before you get everything all wet.

If you do a search in this forum you'll find a lot of personal favorite products listed that other people like to use.

Good Luck !

[CalebD]

Ensigns are great boats. A healthy fleet at our club on the Hudson River in NY. Where are you located?
The first step is to clean things up as Sailormann suggests using a boat soap and brushes. If it still looks bad you could try using a stronger product like On-Off (muriatic acid) and water with the caveat that the acids in this product will eat things like metals, wood and lines.
If the cracks are superficial you might be able to hide some of them with a marine paint like Brightsides. Once painted it will require re-coating after several years.
If the cracks are not superficial you may have some re-coring to do.
Search these forums for more info.
Good luck.

[matensign]

I am in mass. Mattapoisett.

Thanks alot for your advice guys.

[matensign]

Just curious, if i wanted to get the deck white instead of tan and had the extra time could i use this Brightside paint you mentioned and apply a coat to the whole deck?