Marine Carpet

[bashr52]

My boat had a newer upholstered interior 2 years ago when I bought it. It looked good, but I think it was a homemade job, as the seats are just vinyl stapled to plywood with some padding in between. The carpeting used was also just some indoor/outdoor job, that is pretty much destroyed now. I'm trying to gather the materials this winter to do a complete overhaul next spring, but I need some imput on a decent carpet. I use the boat mainly for fishing but does get some time pulling a tube. I'd like something more durable than what was in it, but it needs to be able to stand up to fish blood/guts, and my two dogs . It is a 17 ft Tri-hull. When I put it in the water at the lake it is uncovered (working on a cover or dock roof to keep the majority of the rain/sun out of it), so it does take a beating from the summer weather.

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Marine Carpet

Skip the carpet idea if you are fishing. Get textured vinyl flooring. Like Nautolex.

Nautolex Marine Vinyl Flooring 72"

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Marine Carpet

If you want carpet, I always recommend www.snapincarpet.com

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Marine Carpet

Other than in an enclosed cabin, carpet does not belong on a boat.

 

[bashr52]

Re: Marine Carpet

Skip the carpet idea if you are fishing. Get textured vinyl flooring. Like Nautolex.

Nautolex Marine Vinyl Flooring 72"

Ohh now this looks like something I could use! I would just pull it up but underneith is is nothing but the bare marine plywood I put down when I redid the floor 2 years ago.

Has anyone used this vinyl stuff? Is there noticable seams if you have to piece it together in some tight spots? Is it flexible and easy to work with like carpet?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Marine Carpet

as the seats are just vinyl stapled to plywood with some padding in between.

you just described most marine upholstery

 

[limitout]

Re: Marine Carpet

just get the flooring finished then have it sprayed on bed liner and its tough, durable, water & rot proof, skid resistant and it looks good

then you should never have to redo it again

just my 2 cents

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Marine Carpet

just get the flooring finished then have it sprayed on bed liner and its tough, durable, water & rot proof, skid resistant and it looks good

then you should never have to redo it again

just my 2 cents

I would also do this before the vinyl stuff. Bed liner also comes in colors and is pretty easy to paint. I personally prefer carpet though as it is cozier IMO. All the bass boats in the world pretty much have it so it cant be all that bad. The stuff in my Nitro is very tough and cleans up easy and its much more comfortable when its 30* out. You need to cover it when not in use though.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Marine Carpet

Other than in an enclosed cabin, carpet does not belong on a boat.

Agreed. go with the vinyl, bed liner or painted wood.

 

[Redfred1]

Re: Marine Carpet

I priced marine vinyl; $26 sq. yard up. They quoted me a price of marine carpet (10X14) $200 and change. Making a fishing boat too. Went with paint; coarse sand; and paint flakes for a garage floor. $15. Looks good to me; Wife likes it too. RF

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Marine Carpet

I installed Durabak (a hard rubberized coating similar to bedliner) and I have mixed feelings about it. I put down two layers of textured Durabak and one layer of smooth over the top, and it is very comfortable to stand on and it's not too slippery. I don't like how it catches and holds dirt, though. We do a lot of river boating, and the sand/muck that gets tracked in when we beach is not easy to wash out. The fine silty stuff from the river actually seems to stain the Durabak, although it just might need to be really scrubbed hard. (Carpeting, of course, would be even worse in this respect.)

What I really don't like is how it's wearing. In a couple of places (on the pedestal seat bases that are part of the decking; imagine pyarmids with the top 4/5 chopped off), the Duraback is wearing off the corners. Also, I put down a rubber mat at the driver's station, the sort of mat you might use in a kitchen to relieve foot and leg fatigue. The rubber mat actually fused to the Durabak and, when I pulled up the mat, some of the Durabak was pulled off the decking. The mat wasn't used until months after the Durabak was applied and cured, so it wasn't a matter of just being stuck in wet Durabak.

I'm now needing - at a minimum - to repair the Durabak where it's worn away and where it pulled up with the rubber mat. I also probably need to buy some more of the smooth Durabak and coat the deck again, to see if I can get something that isn't so hard to clean (and yet is still non-skid).

I don't dislike the Durabak, but if I had to do it over right now, I'd go with gelcoating the deck and then applying snap-in carpet or using something like SeaDek.

I think Durabak and other bedliner-type applications are pretty similar, so I hope this is useful information.

Jim

 

[Watermann]

Re: Marine Carpet

Here is another option for you. Rustoleum restore. I fished on it hard last summer, even before it was fully cured and it's tough as nails after fully cured. There's also 20+ different colors. Looks really good, cool on the feet, completely non-skid when soaked in water but like anything the cleaning is a pain. Surface prep is key to getting a good finish that doesn't peel or look bad.

Here is how my end result looks with the rusto.



Behr deck over has the same claims.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Marine Carpet

We do a lot of river boating, and the sand/muck that gets tracked in when we beach is not easy to wash out. The fine silty stuff from the river actually seems to stain the Durabak,

your boating in the Illinois river aren't you?

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Marine Carpet

Other than in an enclosed cabin, carpet does not belong on a boat.

you just described most marine upholstery

I disagree wholeheartedly with both comments.....but that's why people have discussions

 

[AChotrod]

Re: Marine Carpet

Here is another option for you. Rustoleum restore. I fished on it hard last summer, even before it was fully cured and it's tough as nails after fully cured. There's also 20+ different colors. Looks really good, cool on the feet, completely non-skid when soaked in water but like anything the cleaning is a pain. Surface prep is key to getting a good finish that doesn't peel or look bad.

Here is how my end result looks with the rusto.



Behr deck over has the same claims.

That looks really nice and I love the boat. I was going to replicate your resto on my SN, but would have been much more difficult since I have the bench seats. So I got the new boat instead.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Marine Carpet

your boating in the Illinois river aren't you?

The Illinois and the Mississippi rivers.

 

[limitout]

Re: Marine Carpet

Here is another option for you. Rustoleum restore.

that looks awesome, I was waiting to find a good thick truly do it yourself bed liner product like that, the ones I've seen so far were just not very thick rubbery paint.

I was thinking of getting the bed liner sprayed in my boat but this will be much cheaper and easier

thank you for mentioning it

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Marine Carpet

The Illinois and the Mississippi rivers.

That explains why you have staining

Remember, the Mississippi is too thick to drink and too thin to plow. It also fouls heat exchangers on a regular basis for anyone pulling water for cooling applications.

 

[bashr52]

Re: Marine Carpet

Hmm the roll on stuff may be a better option for me, as I want to do up the sides where some previous owner trimmed the side panels away (for storage??). I just completed a restoration on an old military style convertable where I used Herculiner bed liner for the inside to protect it and give it some non-slip. Not sure if something like that would work on a combination of wood/fiberglass without peeling off.....

 

[Watermann]

Re: Marine Carpet

Hmm the roll on stuff may be a better option for me, as I want to do up the sides where some previous owner trimmed the side panels away (for storage??). I just completed a restoration on an old military style convertable where I used Herculiner bed liner for the inside to protect it and give it some non-slip. Not sure if something like that would work on a combination of wood/fiberglass without peeling off.....

Yah no fiberglass or metal I roughed the wood up with a stout wire brush before hand to help adhesion. You don't use it on a vertical surface either, only flat so it doesn't deform and run before curing.