carpet vs no carpet

what are the pros and cons of carpeting vs not carpeting deck?

when I built my front deck and when I do my floor, I plan to leave them in just coated wood. those catfish are slimy suckers and it leaves a film on everything.

am I missing something?

Anti-skid. You can put grit in the paint. But that will hold dirt too.

I am doing carpet on my front and rear decks and installed Marideck vinyl in the console area. That way I can net fish and drop them in the console area where they’ll be away from the carpet, but still have the comfort and look of carpet on the decks. The vinyl is working great. Cleans up real nice, doesn’t stink, and so far hasn’t gotten too hot. It does get a little slick, but I wear boots in the boat so it’s not a problem.

Textured paint cleans up much more easily than carpet. Soap, water, drain, done. Carpet you need to scrub and you'll still get the stank of baked fish slime under your boat cover on sunny days. Paint doesn't snag hooks and get torn up.

Carpet has no place in a fishing boat IMO.

i got sick of stinky coffee and blodd stained carpet that always catches hooks. i ripped all mine out and replace it with Nautolex Marine Vinyl Flooring.
https://www.amazon.com/Nautolex-Mar...0&sr=1-1-70f7c15d-07d8-466a-b325-4be35d7258cc

easy to intsall, not too slick and easy to clean.

Definitely go Nautolex. But HOLY COW, don't buy it from Amazon....

$14 per foot on Amazon,
$19 per Yard on Defender

https://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2276179|2276198|2276202&id=2854700

Have had Nautolex vinyl in the last two boats. I agree it is terrific stuff.

RE Amazon, it pays to comparison shop. Sometimes it is the best deal, especially if you get free shipping. Many other times it is crazy high even with free shipping. When it comes to boating maintenance or accessory items, it seems to me Amazon is typically high.

I have nautolex in one of my boats.. 10 years old and still looks like new!! And no snagged hooks

thanks for the replies. i will look into nautolex.

GYPSY400 said:

I have nautolex in one of my boats.. 10 years old and still looks like new!! And no snagged hooks

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Had Nautolex in my old Starcraft ... sold her at 2-years young and the marine vinyl still looked great!

Unlike OP, I'm not considering carpet but I am trying to decide on vinyl or hydroturf for the decks and floor in my Alumacraft jon boat. Does anyone have experience with both the Marideck and Nautolex brands? The Marideck offers an OD Green 34 mil vinyl which may be a good match for my boat. They also have a Camo but its hard to tell what that actually looks like. I wouldnt want a real camo pattern but if it was just a blend of green and brown that may work too.

im not considering carpet. just wondering if i was missing some bit of wisdom on why it seems everyone uses it. seems the reason I'm not using it is the same reason yall arent. I'm not going to use vinyl either, cuz it would cost more than I paid for my boat to put it in the deck and floor. just going to use the spar finish

I found some 6mm foam decking on amazon self adhesive and its hands down better in my opinion. Compared to carpet or bare. Washes off easily, shock absorbent if you sit/stand on it(i get alot of compliments how nice it is to sit on). Cuts easily with an exacto knife, doesnt hold water, hasnt peeled after many pressure washes and is very light. Only downside I've seen so far is all the blood from the fish starting to discolor the white. Likely my problem from waiting days before cleaning.

Picture below of what i personally used on this last project when i swapped from wood/carpet to pvc/foam. Shows its not available but i'm sure someone has it.

Note: I didn't want camo either but its what what available and i'm not disappointed in how it turned out.

Iv'e been considering perforated floors, easy to drain and clean, don't get hot either.

kofkorn said:

Definitely go Nautolex. But HOLY COW, don't buy it from Amazon....

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i got mine on amazon, although more per foot, 2 day shipping was free because I have prime. when i looked at the website to order by yard, shipping was 48 bucks and it would arrive in 3-4 days. worked out about same cost but shipped faster.


as for the product itself, took boat out first time yesterday since installing. LOVE IT!!!! i was worried it might be slick to walk on but its not at all. no more stupid hook snags and coffee and blood stained carpet. why did i not do this sooner???!!!

I'm intrigued by the vinyl and have a very stupid question: how do you affix it to the wood decking? Do you fold over the edges and staple underneath like you would fabric on a chair seat?

checkoutmyjunk said:

Iv'e been considering perforated floors, easy to drain and clean, don't get hot either.

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We are in the process of installing perforated in my boat. Perlins are all welded in and the floor is cut and in place, just need to screw it all down. Last weekend I was messing with some stuff and the decks (painted aluminum) were so hot you couldn't touch them. Floor was cool. I got my surface thermometer and the decks were 165*. The floor was 88* where open and 110* where it rested on a rib. I was amazed.

And fyi, I bought it from Eberlin's but they only sell full sheets, 5'X10'. Troutt and Sons in Bourbon will sell partials and cut it for you and it is slightly cheaper per foot. Hermann is a lot closer and the full sheet was perfect for me so I went there but otherwise I would have gone with Troutt.

heath said:

I'm intrigued by the vinyl and have a very stupid question: how do you affix it to the wood decking? Do you fold over the edges and staple underneath like you would fabric on a chair seat?

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yes, thats what I did. i also used 3m heavy duty spray adhesive. seems to hold fine. really easy to install. just make sure you have some sharp razor blades to cut the vinyl.

jeff925 said:

heath said:

I'm intrigued by the vinyl and have a very stupid question: how do you affix it to the wood decking? Do you fold over the edges and staple underneath like you would fabric on a chair seat?

Click to expand...

yes, thats what I did. i also used 3m heavy duty spray adhesive. seems to hold fine. really easy to install. just make sure you have some sharp razor blades to cut the vinyl.

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X2 - I had to pull the front deck up to run some cables. As per Jeff's comment, the vinyl is folded over and stapled on the underside. SS staples I presume. I don't know for sure but assume some kind of adhesive was also used.

I prefer carpet, last time I re carpeted my old bass boat I added some thin foam under it. I thought that was a major upgrade worth doing.