flooring

while im doing my tm over i had to remove the old carpet. want to go with something like hydro turf, maybe a big exercise mat. do not want to glue it down. was pondering using a little dab of silicone in the corners and pop rivet or sheet metal screws with washers in strategic spots, ant other ideas for mounting floor out there?

For my inner/lower deck, I put on Defender Industries vinyl. It was wrapped around 2 pieces of 1/4 plywood and they are held fast with a dozen SS screws.

For my fore-deck, I screwed down, directly into the metal decking, two 2x4 door mats that I bought at Lowes. They work great. They give me a firm, soft, yet non-slip footing. They can be replaced in a few minutes if they ever wear out. They do not cover 100% of the area, but cover enough to do the job.

While nothing is glued down, I was certain to be sure that everything is screwed down, with washers. Driving at 70 mph will put stresses on coverings and their mountings.

It isn't the 20/25 mph running over water that I worry about. It's the high-road-speeds needed to get to the lakes.

richg99

I really hate carpet... how hard would it be to just do something like this ? Imagine how nice that boat would look... and plastic decking boards will last a lifetime...

re the boards....I suspect weight would be an issue.

the pallet floors in this boat weigh about 75 lbs total. I would guess that if you were replacing 3/4" plywood it might get even lighter total weight... It's a different kind of boat, but you get the idea...using wood or plastic decking would not involve much extra work or money compared to good plywood and carpet.... and you'll be able to pick up your lures after you drop em without a fight..

carpet even gets hot in GA, wood does also
thanks, but that is a little too pretty for my boat

Plain wood gets pretty slick when wet..

Just a first hand experience... I live southeast Louisiana, just a few miles from salt water so I have salt water and fresh water at my disposal at any given time..(ten minute drive to either from my house). I primarily freshwater fish for bass, and 90% of that is more brackish than fresh... (Bass will live and thrive surprisingly close to saltwater if you've never witnessed it for your self... I often catch bass by the dozens while looking at a 30 yard stretch of land with the gulf waves rolling on the other side)

Anyway, I rarely fish for saltwater species, and even more rarely ever have live bait or dead shrimp in my boat.. But I do catch redfish quite often when bass fishing and fairly often catch speckled trout...

My point is.. I like my boat carpeted... I like being barefooted in my boat, I like how it deadens a whole lot of sound(very, very important in shallow marsh ponds)

Carpet gets pretty funky after being slimed by a few dozen speckled trout or white (sand) trout or a couple big redfish... I'm not crazy about hosing it down being that my decks and flooring is untreated plywood..(I'm seeing delamination on my front deck already after 2 years just from weather, and my boat is stored out of the weather)..(I'm fixing to gut it completely and redo everything with better materials)

Back to my point.. If you want carpet, go for it, but get good carpet(I went cheap and it shows in just 2 years) if you don't, the hydro turf and sea deck is super awesome but it's pricey for sure!! And I'm not real sure on how well it glues to plywood...

Not sure what your budget is...But it might be worth looking into Tuff Coat, or any other similar product. I chose a light gray on my build, and couldn't be happier. Tuff Coat is water based, so it's easy to clean up
It also gives the boat a very rugged look...But most important, it's cool enough to walk on barefoot. Currently we're seeing temps in the mid 80's during the day down here in South Florida, and compared to bare aluminum, the decks with Tuff Coat are easily 40 degrees cooler.

The cheapest place I can find a gallon of the stuff is Amazon for about $80 a gallon.

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