carpet sucks

[nycat]

I was asking around at the marina about alternatives to using carpet, and a neighbor showed me his boat flooring. He used hardwood flooring. Shiny and beautiful, but must be hard to maintain. He used finished panels of brazilian exotic wood purchased someplace online. Do you guys think it's a good idea to install .25 inch panels over existing plywood ?

 

[K-MAC]

Re: carpet sucks

About three years ago I had the same problem carpet is just a pain.What I ended up going with was Line X spray liner they were able to custom match color for what I wanted , I had the boat back in two days .I would not go with any other company because of fading.As for the wood unless it's made for marine use I would stay away even then how's the traction.But again that depends on what type of boat and look your going after...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: carpet sucks

what type and size boat do you have, and where on the boat are you thinking of using it.

i found the Larson post, i would use hydroturf in that boat.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: carpet sucks

Carpet isn't so bad... especially if yer carryin skis around, maybe the dog, young lady and a friend or two... also helps dampen a lot of noise... I do sure hate putting carpet in... always seem to get something crooked...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: carpet sucks

carpet has no business in the smaller boats. cruisers and liveaboards yes. i do not even have the dirty stuff in my home.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: carpet sucks

NYCar, I would think that most, if not all wood used for a floor would either need to be completely sealed or ventilated on all sides or it will warp, rot or split.

You can buy a marine vinyl flooring of sorts. They have those plastic squares that snap together. You can get lots of very nice indoor/outdoor carpet. You can throw it away if it gets dirty or clean it with bleach, if you want. You could make a raised wood grating out of pressure treated lumber

 

[zach103]

Re: carpet sucks

somone mentioned that the hydro turf holds in moisture tho..

would that be the same as carpet or still way better?

 

[nycat]

Re: carpet sucks

the boat that I have is a 23 ft. larson, cuddy cabin. i was thinking since I changed the deck and stringers last fall, if I lay down hardwood and seal it well with varnish, polyurethane it should last. It's not really a fishing boat so I'm not concerned about much water on the deck. I saw some beautiful hardwood online from http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=5256

 

[wca_tim]

Re: carpet sucks

carpet has no business in the smaller boats. cruisers and liveaboards yes. i do not even have the dirty stuff in my home.

Don't mince words, say what ya really mean!

...are you callin my carpet dirty???

and yea, I hear ya... and I bet I do look kinda funny out there with the carpet cleaning machine doing the carpet in the boat...

maybe on the next one, I'll go with gold old fashion USN non-skid over 150 primer...

 

[Capt. Mike]

Re: carpet sucks

Here is my input

http://web.mac.com/tanyard/Site_6/floors_pics.html

http://web.mac.com/tanyard/Site_6/teak_decks.html

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: carpet sucks

if you go hard wood id say use this stuff its pvc looks like wood i used this stuff in my camper

real hardwood i wouldent sugest it

 

[Capt. Mike]

Re: carpet sucks

that will depend on what size boat you have. Under 35 feet no real wood over 50 feet real wood. in between you have to decide depending in your boat.

www.bigwoodenboat.com

 

[nycat]

Re: carpet sucks

I guess I have alot of work and decisions to make ahead of me, but i'm pretty certain that I'll end up with the hardwood floor. like "Chris1956" said that if the floor is completely sealed I shouldn't have much trouble with moisture seeping in.

 

[Capt. Mike]

Re: carpet sucks

What kind of boat do you have

 

[samm835]

Re: carpet sucks

Even though your not going to have much water in the boat, but even a little water from someone coming in the boat from swimming it seems this will make the floors slick as can be. I have hardwoods (brazillion) in our house and if someone spills a drinks it can be slick. I guess if you put something in you could ruff the surface up so they won't be slick, if you do go that route I would imagine that they will look sweet. BTW love your aviator lol

 

[lifeisfun]

Re: carpet sucks

if you go hard wood id say use this stuff its pvc looks like wood i used this stuff in my camper

real hardwood i wouldent sugest it

I couldn't resist an give yo tip on caulking
I presume that the white stuff is silicone caulk
Apply masking tape on each side of the joint you need to seal
than apply caulk, smooth it with your finger ( use vinegar if it sticks to fingers) immediately remove tape and you will have
pro seams that look like shuemold

 

[Up to My Ears in Fiberglass]

Re: carpet sucks -OR- Can I use hardwood flooring for the deck; if so, how?

Re: carpet sucks -OR- Can I use hardwood flooring for the deck; if so, how?

nycat: What did you decide about this? Did you use the hardwood flooring? If so, how did it turn out?


All: Does anyone have any experience with using hardwood flooring as a boat deck? I'm considering a wood deck for the 1967 Larson 14' boat that I'm working on. I have enough 2.5" x 3/4" tongue and groove oak hardwood flooring left over from installing the floor in the house a few years ago to cover about half of the boat, so I'm tempted to use this in order to minimize costs.

I know it would be necessary to seal the underside and edges of the planks with (epoxy?). In houses, the hardwood is nailed to a 3/4" plywood subfloor. To minimize weight, I was considering using a 1/4" plywood "subdeck" covered with fiberglass cloth for strength, and coating the underside, tongue, and groove of each plank with epoxy as I laid the deck, so that epoxy, rather than nails, would be responsible for securing the deck to the underlying plywood. Any thoughts on this approach?


For a non-slip surface, I've thought of two options:

A.) applying a non-slip texturized clearcoat - I'm unsure if this would work because the hardwood flooring is prefinished with a baked on factory clearcoat. Would a second clearcoat adhere well to the pre-existing one? Would coarse-grit sanding be required first? Also, I don't know what the best clear texturizing agent would be. I've considered silica for this. Any thoughts?

B.) using caulk or rubber between the tongue and grooves - I don't know how structurally detrimental this would be - would the epoxy still be enough to hold it together? I have no clue what kind of product to use for this. Also, I don't know if the top of the planks (prefinished from factory) would require additional sealing? If so, should this be done (I'm assuming) before applying the rubber between planks (i.e. seal each plank, one at a time) OR should it be done after the deck is completely installed (i.e. seal top of planks, rubber, and everything all at once) - the latter seems that it would reduce or eliminate the non-slip property of the rubber. Clearly, this option is the less developed of the two


Some interesting (though more expensive) alternative options for wood decking are shown on this website. There's also some general information on wood that may be of interest:

http://www.worldpanel.com/FAQ.htm

Thanks for reading my long post; I look forward to everyone's comments!!

 

[ImNu2Boats]

Re: carpet sucks

Wooden decks are very common. Carpet is the cheap way out. Of course you can use hardwood. Just be sure it is hardwood and not compressed sawdust with a laminate top.

 

[Mark42]

Re: carpet sucks

Vinyl sheet flooring in woodgrain would probably be the simplest to maintain. If you want something a little heavy duty, get the solid vinyl "wood" flooring, then there is the real marine flooring like this stuff from nautolex:

 

[PaulyV]

Re: carpet sucks

I keep forgetting the question...that avatar has me dizzy trying to find a way to see it full screen..