Why the carpet hate?

[JL8Jeff]

Not to mention that I like to enjoy dark beer. I‘ll bring three cans and usually spill half of it. ( Fish on! kick can over.)

This has been known to happen, d@m fish! My boat sits at a dock from Apr-Oct and between the rain and all the stuff that falls out of the trees, I get new growth all the time! If it had carpet it would be a new forest. Then add the spiders, snails and snakes that enjoy my boat, it would be even nastier. My cousin just power washed the carpet in their pontoon boat yesterday, he said it was the worst he has ever seen it. We've had a wet late Jun, Jul and Aug. If your boat is trailered and covered then carpet would be fine, but a boat that stays in the water and exposed to the elements it would lead to problems.

 

[DaleH]

I would not term it as much as ‘carpet hate’ as I would call it ‘vinyl LOVE’!

See the vinyl floor that Jethro posted above? The Nautolex marine vinyl floor in my ol’ 16’ StarCraft tin - that was 25-years old when sold - looked just AS GOOD AS THAT FLOOR DOES!

And being 25-years old! Where I boat, boats moored 24/7 … carpet looks like sh#t after 5-years!

Marine Vinyl Pros:

• Superior appearance post-5-years of use
• EASY to power wash
• Non-staining
• No smell
• Lower maintenance
• Lighter in weight
• Higher resale value when sold many years later

Biased? Heck yes … but you know I buy/sell boats and do marine repairs, and I’ve replaced the carpet in many, many boats … but have yet to replace a vinyl install in even ONE boat!

But, it’s a free world, use what YOU like! I would agree that a ‘new’ carpet install certainly looks SHARP! But let’s talk and revisit that again 10-years from then …

 

[SAMarine87]

I guess it depends on how we define "much better". It doesn't hold moisture, fish slime, etc. Hooks don't catch in it. It is easy to wipe clean and lasts a long time. Mine is 5+ years old and still looks brand new. Vinyl even provides some protection to plywood flooring.

Vinyl likely costs more and might be more difficult to install than carpet .

Does the brand of vinyl matter? What brand do you have that has lasted 5+ years?

 

[DaleH]

Nautolex marine vinyl, from Defender Marine, CT

 

[thill]

Nice comments. That is the brand I am considering. I've seen it for less at other sellers, but that's THE brand, from what I have seen.

 

[jethro]

Nautolex marine vinyl, from Defender Marine, CT

Yup, that's where I got mine. Best price I could find.

 

[JL8Jeff]

I put down the Nautolex with the exterior marine contact cement and it started to curl along the edges after the first season sitting out in the sun. It has tightened up so at this point it wouldn't be possible to get the same coverage it was originally put down with. I think it really needs to be applied with some sort of fasteners to help hold it in place like if applying it to wood, wrap it around the underside and staple it there. I'm waiting for it to come fully unglued before I decide what to try next. It sure looked good when I first put it down and it does protect your feet from hot aluminum.

 

[LDUBS]

Does the brand of vinyl matter? What brand do you have that has lasted 5+ years?

Nautolex marine vinyl, from Defender Marine, CT

X2 -- Nautolex

 

[LDUBS]

I put down the Nautolex with the exterior marine contact cement and it started to curl along the edges after the first season sitting out in the sun. It has tightened up so at this point it wouldn't be possible to get the same coverage it was originally put down with. I think it really needs to be applied with some sort of fasteners to help hold it in place like if applying it to wood, wrap it around the underside and staple it there. I'm waiting for it to come fully unglued before I decide what to try next. It sure looked good when I first put it down and it does protect your feet from hot aluminum.

That is how mine is -- wrapped around the plywood edges and stapled underneath.

 

[airshot]

Same here, it has been a few years since I had that boat but the panels on the side and floor were wrapped around the edges and stapled with I assume to be SS staples as none were rusted. Mine was an ugly pea green as was the hull, so over the first winter, I repainted to a metalic brown and used a vinyl paint on the panels and floor. Two coats lasted for 6 years until the boat was sold.

 

[JL8Jeff]

My boat has no wood to wrap it around so that wasn't an option. I do remember looking at a G3 CCJ boat that had the flooring from the factory and it had rivets help hold it in place on the aluminum floor. I didn't want to drill a bunch of holes to do rivets so I tried the glue by itself. Sitting exposed in the sun at the dock is probably the real issue.

 

[LDUBS]

My boat has no wood to wrap it around so that wasn't an option. I do remember looking at a G3 CCJ boat that had the flooring from the factory and it had rivets help hold it in place on the aluminum floor. I didn't want to drill a bunch of holes to do rivets so I tried the glue by itself. Sitting exposed in the sun at the dock is probably the real issue.

Rivets seem like a lot of trouble to secure a floor covering around the edges. I wonder if it could be wrapped around the edge of the aluminum sheet (glue not staples of course). Maybe use some flexible edge trim to hold it around the edges. Mine came already installed on the last two boats, so I have zero hands on.

 

[SAMarine87]

That is how mine is -- wrapped around the plywood edges and stapled underneath.

Is it recommended to seal the plywood prior to applying the vinyl, and if so what is recommended? I apologize for the questions. I'm working on my first boat and would prefer to make it last at least a couple of years.

 

[DaleH]

My boat has no wood to wrap it around so that wasn't an option ...

Sure it is ... too late for you now, but you wrap it under the piece you're putting it on ...

 

[DaleH]

Is it recommended to seal the plywood prior to applying the vinyl, and if so what is recommended?

Get the Epoxy Starter Kit from www.raka.com or fiqure out how much square feet you need and call Mike @ www.raka.com and he'll help you out ...

Soak as much into the edge grain as it will take and that floor will out-live you!

 

[JL8Jeff]

Sure it is ... too late for you now, but you wrap it under the piece you're putting it on ...

There is no edge to wrap "under", it just lays flat on the floor. I did add some aluminum angle on the front of the rear boxes to hold it down. I drilled out the existing rivets and put matching holes in the angle and riveted them down. But there is no way to do that up front on the deck or on the main floor, they are welded along the edge of the boat.

Here are a couple pictures of the G3 CCJ Deluxe and you can see where they have rivets through the flooring and sides. This boat does have a bunch of edges to wrap it around though. It looks like the vinyl flooring was put on the panels before they were installed in the boat.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I believe you are correct on the CCJ. The vinyl is put on before assembly. We have the non-DLX version, that only has vinyl in the center floor section. Rivets are on top of the vinyl.

On my DMI 1648, I used flat stock and angle stock aluminum around the front raised deck edges to hold down the anti-fatigue foam with a ribbed vinyl mat on top of it. Maybe something that could address your issue?

 

[SAMarine87]

Get the Epoxy Starter Kit from www.raka.com or fiqure out how much square feet you need and call Mike @ www.raka.com and he'll help you out ...

Soak as much into the edge grain as it will take and that floor will out-live you!

Thanks. I'll look into this.

 

[thill]

Sure it is ... too late for you now, but you wrap it under the piece you're putting it on ...

I think he had a modern boat with aluminum floors that are welded in place. Some floors you can't remove, as they are part of the structure.

Like this one:


I wouldn't want to drill a bunch of holes in my boat either. But I probably wouldn't be adding vinyl over that sweet camo non-skid. That's a nice boat.

 

[JL8Jeff]

Here's a picture of my boat before I put the flooring down. The front deck is welded up along the sides and the side panels are welded in the console area. The rear boxes are welded in place so no edge on them. The floor in the console area is riveted down, but I would have had to remove all the rivets/console to wrap the flooring around the floor. A lot of the 14-17' mod-v jon boats are like this so it's tough to do the vinyl flooring cleanly. Like mentioned, you would need flat aluminum riveted down and angle aluminum to help hold it. My curling up unglued flooring is still better than walking on hot aluminum though!