1997 Stingray 190RS Floor Covering

[Eric4479]

I've been looking at epoxy resin to coat the floor. There are some areas that need filling and some areas that have cracked so I thought the epoxy resin would help to smooth it out and recoat any bare areas. I'd also like to coat the back of the side panels and whatever bare wood I used for the seat backs. Can anyone recommend how much to purchase and what fillers, if any I should use? I've been looking at the West system of epoxy resin.

 

[Eric4479]

Pictures of last night's progress. Oh, also snuck in a picture of the throttle that I can't figure out how to remove and I can't get that side panel off until it is removed.

 

[Eric4479]

So I've laid out my old carpet and took some measurements. I have about 116 sq.ft. on the floor and part way up the gunnel on each side. This is based on the largest dimension in each direction and does not take out for cutouts. My largest width is 118" and the whole thing is 140" long. This does also not include under the console and the gunnel storage areas. The carpet seems "warped" in areas so it makes me wonder how something stiffer, like vinyl, will conform to the curves front to back as it bends from the floor to cover the lower gunnel. Does anyone have experience with that? Will I had to cut slits from the sides or will it "just work". Also, can I use the carpet as my pattern or should I lay out plastic sheeting and mark/cut it to get the pattern?

Since I will need a seam somewhere, is it best to do the flat area of the floor in one piece and then cover each gunnel as a separate piece? this would leave the seam along the edge of the floor which does not appear to be very uniform in areas. Alternatively, I could run an entire 102" width from the transom so the seam would be just in front of the pedestal of the captain's chair and will cut across the ski storage locker. Seems like a high traffic area. If I laid the 102" width from the furthest point under the console toward aft it would end about 5" from the front of the engine compartment--also a very high traffic area. Has anyone put a vinyl floor on a bow rider like this?

 

[Jerry200LX]

To remove the throttle handle first shift it to full reverse. This will allow you to pull out the neutral button at the bottom. Under the button will be the bolt that secures the handle. You will need a deep well socket to remove it. The plastic cover should pop off revealing the screws and bolts that mount the control. The wires will be plugged into the harness behind the side panel. Shouldn't be too difficult to remove.

As far as the flooring, I would install the floor in one piece and the sides in one piece. I had rather have the seams at the edges than running across the main floor. The seam in the floor will be close to impossible to hide and if the seam were to start coming loose you have got real problems.

On an earlier question about the bow storage area. Leave the carpet. That area is a real pain to cover.

 

[Eric4479]

Man, I'm glad someone agreed with leaving the bow storage carpet! I spent too much time just staring at it wondering how the heck I would get my tools in there to smooth out the rough epoxy. I'm glad I didn't just say "oh, what the heck" thus creating a mountain of work.

Regarding you other advice, I will use a sheet of plastic to lay out the pattern as I've seen on the net and forget about the old carpet. My wife will be glad to get it out of the garage! I'm thinking of laying the grey type color on the floor and up the sides and use a wine/burgundy color of the same vinyl in the gunnel storage area--assuming I can find the same manufacturer that sells both colors.

Alas, all of this will have to wait until this dang rain goes away. Very frustrating!

 

[chevymaher]

I am using carpet everywhere mine had it originally. In the skii locker and in bow storage. My self I just like the look it has.

 

[Eric4479]

Although I have no comparison since I have never seen vinyl in a boat, I have to admit that I think carpet would be softer on the feet and softer on the eye. I'm also sure it would have been immensely easier to install since floor roughness would not have been as big of an issue. However, I'm on my way to a new vinyl floor.

I just ordered samples of Marideck. It is the only brand I found that is wide enough to cover edge to edge of the floor to put the only seam at the floor-gunnel intersection. My Ray had a grey carpet. But, after really looking at the other colors in the boat I'm not sure why grey was used. The vinyl is a cream color (may have used to be white, lol) and the highlights are a beige and a sort of wine color that I just call red. The dash, etc is a wood grained plastic. So I'm not sure why grey came into the picture. I've also ordered my resin (West 105 with 206 hardener and 407 filler). According to West, I roll one coat then fill with a putty-like mixture any large holes or depressions, and then top with rolling 2 coats. We'll see...I've never worked with resin before. The floor is not in bad shape but it does have a couple areas with some cracks in the old resin or areas where it peeled up. I'm glad the rain finally left the area. Between that and work I've had to take a few days off.

I was able to remove the throttle (thanks to some help from forum users!) and removed the side panel and gunnel storage carpet. I have some remaining adhesive to remove just in time for my resin to arrive on Monday.

So I have a couple more questions that I'm hoping someone can help with:

• I have sanded the floor with 20 grit paper and a wire wheel to help smooth out the fiberglass and to remove the adhesive but there is still some very spotty adhesive present. It is in small dimples and in the crevices of fiberglass ridges. Can I resin over the top of that or do I need to remove it all? If I need to remove it should I use something like acetone?
• I have some adhesive on the gel coat in the floor of the bow. What is good to remove the adhesive from that without damaging the gel coat?
• And last, before ripping up the carpet I had to remove things like the captains chair, lounge seat, etc that were screwed into the deck. Do I try to find the same holes or do I resin them closed and then drill new ones? Any thoughts on how to make a template to find the original holes again?

No more pictures yet. I'll get some this weekend as I complete the floor sanding.

 

[Eric4479]

Well, it's been awhile and I posted my most recent photos on another post I had by accident....

I've been away from iBoats for a bit. Have not had a lot of time to work on the boat and everything was taking FOREVER. So, here are some updated pics. I decided to go with carpet in lieu of vinyl. Cost actually won out. Since the Syntec carpet originally installed in my boat lasted almost 20 years I figured that would cover me not having to do this again. I went with the Syntec Infinity carpet and used the Syntec SCA571-50 adhesive. The messed up thing is that they don't sell direct to the public so I had to go with a 3rd party. Everything worked out in the end but it was difficult getting information. There are multiple sites that sell the SCA571-50 adhesive but some say install on wood only and others say that installing over fiberglass is okay. I tried contacting Syntec but they never returned my call. The people I bought it from said that THEY called Syntect because of the discrepancy and found it was fine for epoxy. In the end, the adhesive was great to work with--plenty of working time but plenty of tack to hold it in place on the sides where it went vertical. So far it's holding well but it has not gotten wet yet. I'll re-post if any issues.

The carpet only came in 8.5ft x 25ft so everything had to fit in that roll. After removing all the carpet I taped out on my garage floor the 8.5x25 and laid the old carpet pieces in that space trying to pay attention to orientation (see photo). I think it worked out pretty good. The old carpet--due to stretching--was only good as a rough guide when cutting the new pieces. I found it easier to use scissors then to try to use some sort of knife or blade. I was very pleased with the outcome of the carpet but have some odds-and-ends to clean up.

 

[Eric4479]

To remove the throttle handle first shift it to full reverse. This will allow you to pull out the neutral button at the bottom. Under the button will be the bolt that secures the handle. You will need a deep well socket to remove it. The plastic cover should pop off revealing the screws and bolts that mount the control. The wires will be plugged into the harness behind the side panel. Shouldn't be too difficult to remove.

As far as the flooring, I would install the floor in one piece and the sides in one piece. I had rather have the seams at the edges than running across the main floor. The seam in the floor will be close to impossible to hide and if the seam were to start coming loose you have got real problems.

On an earlier question about the bow storage area. Leave the carpet. That area is a real pain to cover.

By the way, I scrapped the idea of using plastic sheeting to lay out the carpet shape. Instead I used the old carpet as a rough guide and cut the piece a little bit bigger to have extra to play with. This amounted to a lot of small corrections which took a lot of time but I think it paid off. I used the entire 8.5ft width to cover from the transom up to under the console from just under the side storage shelf on both sides. The upward curve and bow of the sides made it tricky to keep from getting bubbles but the carpet was forgiving enough to make it work out. I had a couple of slits to make just forward of the shelf which will be hidden by the side coverings and another slit way up under the console to port and starboard. I don't think they'll be very noticeable if at all.