Carpeted anchor locker?

[nitsuj]

So I recently picked up a used 94 Maraih z255 Shabah. Nice boat. I’d read the Mariah had the reputation of building nice boats and thus far it seems well made. I was cleaning it as you do a boat you just bought, and when I got to the anchor locker in the bow, it was disgusting. It’s carpeted with black outdoor carpet. Like the stuff you find on speaker boxes. There’s not shag, it’s like a thick felt. To make matters worse, the drain isn’t quite in the lowest point of the locker, so the last 1/2” of water doesn’t drain out leaving muddy water in there to just sort of ferment. Oh, and the genius that carpeted the locker put the carpet on top of the drain hole, so the carpet acts like a filter, trapping dirt inside and letting the water out. This locker had 1.5” of gross river mud in it.


So my question, should I just yank the carpet out of the locker and let the anchor scratch up the inside or leave the carpet and deal with the filth? I get it, it makes sense. Protects the fiberglass, stops and rattling. But it sure seems like a mess. I’ve never seen a carpeted anchor locker, and what’s strange is, it appears to be factory. It’s preformed and perfectly cut to fit in there. If was a shadetree job, they did it well!

 

[alldodge]

Wonder if someone added the stuff trying to protect the locker from chipping. I would not put anything in an anchor locker that can absorb water. It may need some padding to keep the anchor from knocking a hole thru.

Hey tpenfield you can add what you did for maybe the same reason

 

[robert graham]

Maybe just cut a piece of indoor-outdoor carpet to fit the bottom of your locker,don't glue it down....then you can remove it as needed to clean/dry/replace with another piece?.....

 

[tpenfield]

Rubber mat material instead of carpet

 

[robert graham]

Rubber mat material instead of carpet

Good idea...maybe a piece of that thick black foam rubber fatigue mat material......

 

[roffey]

old (or new) car mat trimmed to fit?

 

[tpenfield]

Leak down tests are valuable to detect the early stages of problems (ring wear, head gaskets, valves on 4 stroke engines, etc) You can have a slight 'leak' that will really not show up on a compression test, because the psi may still be well within spec.

It can also give you some useful information BEFORE you tear apart the engine.

JMO . . .

 

[mr 88]

Rubber mat material instead of carpet

This , only the Dri Deck or [ Dek ? not sure how they spell it ] rubber mat that is cross hatched so it gets ventilated and doesn't hold any dirt,water ect. underneath it and allows it to breath.