"MMC" wrote in message
ng.com...

Anyone here have experience in using a other than West Marine type
additive?

I've used model railroad ballast. You can buy it at any hobby shop that
caters to model railroad enthusiasts.

What's good about it: It's graded for size - you can buy different grades
according to how coarse or fine you want it; because it's supposed to look
like scale-model rocks, it's "rounder" than beach sand and results in a less
aggressive pattern that's easier on your knees and bare feet.

If you mix any kind of non-skid additive into paint it's difficult to get an
even distribution. I put down a coat of paint where I want the non-skid to
be, then sprinkle the material over it with a shaker of some kind until all
the paint is completely covered. Let it dry overnight and then sweep or
vacuum the excess material off the surface and put a couple more coats of
paint over it until the non-skid material is fully covered. The more coats
of paint you put on top the less aggressive the non-skid is. You have to
work in small enough sections so that the base coat remains wet while you're
covering it with the non-skid material. On something like your boat, the
molded-in pattern divides it up nicely into conveniently-sized sections.

Regards,
Tom