Companionway Stairs

 The companionway stairs needed some attention because the varnish was worn off in some areas, and there were dark gray water stains on the steps. I decided refreshing the steps would be a great winter (2021) project. The job would be the following steps (no pun intended):

1) Remove old varnish

2) Remove water stains

3) Apply fresh varnish

4) Add non skid to steps

The photos displays the sanded steps. If one looks closely one can note the dark water stained areas.

Sanded CW Steps 2

Sanded CW Steps

The companionway steps have been stained with a water base stain. To get to this  step I used a heat gun and paint scraper to remove most of the old varnish. The  trick is to heat the area to scrape --about 4 inch section-- and then scrape the soft varnish off. After the heat gun treatment I sanded the entire step. The final step  before varnish was to bleach the water stains out.

The picture displays the varnished steps with non skid stick ons. I chose the color white for the non skid so it would be easier for folks to see. The steps are not wide as one would notice in modern boats. 

Great Ketch was custom made in 1988, and I suspect most people were thinner, but since food offerings continue to be super super duper sized so has the American public at large (no pun intended).

The stairs are installed in its original location on Great Ketch. The hatch behind the stairs open for access to the engine room.  There is a second access to the engine room from the side panel that is located in the head.