carpeting on decks

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samtech

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Location
austell Georgia
I have seen many boats carpeted in mods, and most are, it seems, are installed so that they can be removed. My question is this. I want to secure it to the frame permanently, but do not want to drill through carpet and screw down, and screws are exposed. Does someone know how to secure decks without doing it this way?
 
Drilling the"self tapping screws" through carpet (especially cheap carpet)
can be a very frustrating experience when the threads wrap around the screw
and pulls out the strings .... a nightmare if you have several do do.
I have tried to cut out a spot with the Xacto-knife to make it easier.
The previous owner screwed down the plywood, then the pedestal brackets,
then carpeted over everything . . . when I had to run new wires and plumbing,
It was difficult at most to rip up the glued down carpet to get at the job to do.
Also, found the 1988 sprayed in foam was water logged and turning to dust . . .
So, even tho the exposed screws may be unattractive, you need to look into the
future and plan accordingly for access to your wires and plumbing.
What ticked me off the most was the P/O of my current bass boat had the inline fuse
to the trolling motor under the front deck and was totally inaccessible without pulling up the carpet.
That is what led me to removing the carpet for the front - then, to get to the livewell
plumbing in the back, was the same. Leaking hose under glued down screws. VERY FRUSTRATING.
Do your homework - make sure you can access your wires and plumbing BEFORE you glue
carpeting down over your screws.

Jus my dos centavos and :WELCOME: to Tin Boats
 
I agree with Barefoot_Johnny. Stainless Phillips #12 panhead sheetmetal screws are not un-attractive. They really almost disappear, especially if you are using a rubber-backed, marine carpet. Even in Menards' Status brand carpets, the screws are minimally noticeable. And, yes, you may need to pull the plywood up in the future. And if you screw it down and then glue the carpet over the top, you'll never get the glue out of the Phillips slots to un-screw ALL those screws. You would have to grind off the heads, pry up all the plywood, and then turn out the screw shafts with a vice grips. So, ultimately, exposed screw heads is a small price. If you measure carefully and put screws at consistent intervals, the "pattern" it makes will not be ugly, in my opinion.

Now, in many fiberglass boats, you will see really shoddy craftsmanship, especially those from the mid 80's up until about 2000. The wood stringers are glassed to the hull, the plywood is stapled, let me say that again, STAPLED, to the stringers, and then one big sheet of carpet is glued to the floor. NOW that is a mess to fix when, NOT if, but WHEN the floor rots, because unless the boat is never used, even those stored inside will eventually get a rotten floor. OR it could be like the crappy way Lund Boats do their floors, the floors are riveted to the sub-structure so you are forced to grind off each and every one of those rivet heads.
 
Will the #12 screw be a nightmare to get thru carpet? I think that would be my best way to go. Just as sure as I don't, I'll have to pull up deck. Question answered. Thanks
 
Hunting fool is right about the washers. They are really great if you have to fasten carpeted aluminum to wood deck, etc.

One trick I have used in the past to keep carpet from unraveling is use an old soldering iron to "burn" a hole through before you drill. It will mend/ melt the hole surround and should help keep getting the dreaded "run in the stockings". :D
 
I spent a few years in home building and renovations.

I learned MANY things when it came to the Electrical and Plumbing CODES.
Never ever put spliced wires inside a wall cavity.
Never ever put water/gas pipes in a wall cavity that have couplings. PVC, copper, anything.
Never ever put junction boxes of any kind in a wall cavity.
that is the LAW.

So, with that in mind, it also applies to boats.
splices and couplings are your weak spots that can/will give you grief later on.
So if you are to put in a deck that you want to be permanent, try to put in a 2 or 3" PVC pipe
or some kind of flexible conduit that runs front to back that you can easily install or remove wires/hoses in the future.

Jus my dos centavos.

Good Luck and post some pics when you get started
 
Thanks,I thought about running pvc, connected with couplings ,I want glue them, they hold together pretty good. Suppose to pick-up boat and trailer this weekend and I will have some "before " pics.
 
I used the stainless steel screw idea for my decking! Glued the carpet down, and stapled it to the backside of the decking/floor and buttoned everything up with the stainless steel screws. While adding some electronic items to the boat, I had to take the deck up 2-3 times to run my wires, and by using the pvc as a channel it made things a thousand times easier. One word of caution though, I did notice that after removing the screws several times, I would have to put the drill up and go to the old fashioned phillips head screwdriver, the holes acted like the were getting bored out, and the screws weren't wanting to get a good bite.. Other than that man everything works great. If you will look at the sides of my boat you can see the screws, after several trips the carpet covers the screws alittle bit and it isn't all that bad.
 

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Not sure what type of build you're doing, but if you check mine out, I designed my deck so I have access to everything after it's carpeted. I screwed my deck into the benches, then carpeted over the screws.

I had the same thought process as you and didn't want exposed screws, so I just made it so I can get to everything.
 
I wouldn't use washers, then the screw head might stick up more and be a tripping hazard or bothersome to bare feet. I've done dozens of boats and when pre-drilled, the amount of carpet fiber that winds up around the drill is so minimal, that it can still be hard to find the hole when you go to put the screw in. I can pre-drill almost an entire floor and not even clean the fibers off a drill.
 
Thanks to everyone who has responded to my topic. I know this, if someone has a project to do, and can't find the answers they are looking for, they don't need to be attempting a conversion. I love this site. Thanks again and I'm sure you will be hearing from me again.
 
Here is the boat I just purchased. Fisher marine. A 1648. Previous topics were for this conversion. I think it will be a pretty good base to start with, what do you folks think?
 

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samtech said:
Here is the boat I just purchased. Fisher marine. A 1648. Previous topics were for this conversion. I think it will be a pretty good base to start with, what do you folks think?
I call that a blank canvas my friend! That is something you can let you mitigation run wild with... Anything you want.. Talk about storage, and room.. You got it made on that one..
 
That's what I wanted to hear. Will be my first conversion. I'll probably bug you fellows alot, of course, I don't know if you could consider this a conversion or complete build. Anyway, can't wait to get started. Thanks again
 
samtech said:
Will post pics when I get started. It's about 23 degrees right now down south. (Ga.)
I can attest to that temp. mine says 22 with 13 mph winds and humidity at 64% making it feel like 9 in NW GA
I know it sure made me cut the work day short on working on my boat today.
 

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