Should I Carpet My Boat?

[Cameron]

My boat is an Allison 189 and comes standard with a patterned floor in the cockpit area. Although patterned, it can get slippery at time and being white, reflects quite a deal of light in full sun.

I was thinking of putting down waterproof carpet to overcome these problems, but on consideration was wondering whether I might be creating new problems. Just a few questions for those blokes who currently have carpet under foot in their boats.

Is it possible to clean it thoroughly by hosing it out or is special attention required in order to keep it looking reasonable? Is fish blood and other gunk that accumulates on the floor during a days fishing easy to remove?

Should I glue it to the floor or is there some other method of securing it that will enable it to be removed when necessary? Should it be secured to the floor at all?

How well does it wear? Are there some varieties that are better than others?

What are the pros & cons of carpet in boats?

[harry.dz]

Cameron I fish out off 189 vision regally.

The floor comes standard with textured fiberglass floor which is great.

My mate had a removable carpet installed with s/s button fasteners to keep it in place.

You can take it out and wash it ,and your not going to lose out on resale.

Hazza

[Guest Jocool]

Good advice from Harry. Or you could use velcro around the perimeter at a few stratigic places. When you buy the carpet, it would be better to get one with backing. It will be more durable, and has less chance of slipping around on the glass sole of the boat.

[Martin]

I have an Aussie Whaler Pro Fish 5.5 with a patterned floor. however I also have carpet fixed in place with stainless press studs. I prefer to fish with the carpet as its cuts out the entire glare and the floor can never get slippery.

At the end of the day I pull it out of the boat and if the carpet is not dirty I just vacuum it. If and when it gets dirty a scrub with detergent and a hose off cleans it up fine. I then hang it over the cloths line to quickly drain off the water and in an hour it can go back into the boat.

Keep in mind carpet requires a little more work at the end of the day when cleaning up the boat. On my boat circular hole have been cut to suit the seat pedestals, so to take the carpet out I have to take the bucket seats off their pedestals.

Also ensure you get carpet that will not shrink over time and is UV stable other wise the studs and snaps will no longer line up over time and then it will bunch up as you move esky’s around etc

I have not had it happen yet, but I would assume it is not a good idea should you squish fish on the carpet to let the fish dry out as this may be hard to remove from the fibres.

Just jot a price for the new carpet of $420 with edges trimmed and piping/over lock, plus cut to have flaps to suit any cockpit hatches/storage bins. I would assume your boat would be similar in cost if not a little more economical in price. The old carpet is I assume about 5 years old and still looks Ok. The piping/over locking, which is in vinyl, has started to crack around the edges. I will keep it for fishing trips and the new carpet for family outings and show.

Hope I have given you some ins and outs

[Guest hottuna]

My boat is an Allison 189 and comes standard with a patterned floor in the cockpit area. Although patterned, it can get slippery at time and being white, reflects quite a deal of light in full sun.

I was thinking of putting down waterproof carpet to overcome these problems, but on consideration was wondering whether I might be creating new problems. Just a few questions for those blokes who currently have carpet under foot in their boats.

Is it possible to clean it thoroughly by hosing it out or is special attention required in order to keep it looking reasonable? Is fish blood and other gunk that accumulates on the floor during a days fishing easy to remove?

Should I glue it to the floor or is there some other method of securing it that will enable it to be removed when necessary? Should it be secured to the floor at all?

How well does it wear? Are there some varieties that are better than others?

What are the pros & cons of carpet in boats?

Cam my allison has the carpet glued down. Its still in very good nick, and easy to hose down. Remeber you`ll still need to remove you set boxes to fit the carpet. (nicer finish)

My previous boat had it buttoned and tended to be very dangerous while anchor and fishing from the side, which as you know, you tend to lean on the gunnel with you knees/thighs, IF all of a sudden the carpet slips within the blink of an eye your head over tit in the drink (OR VERY CLOSE TO IT)!!!!

Id go for glueing the carpet in. Try allison them selves, they prolly have prefitted ones on offer, though id expect theyd be more $$$

dan

Edited November 1, 2005 by hottuna

[bombora]

Hiya, I had press stud buttons on my last boat _ a 19ft glass centre console. Never had the problem Hot Tuna describes, maybe the guy who did it just did a good job on my boat. One thing is to consider if your boat has any drainage chanels on the deck to direct flow. My carpet took this into account. Was also in two pieces which made removing heaps easier (used to occassionally take the whole carpet out if was going out on a trip which promised to be bloody, like spinning stripeys etc). Cheers Bombie

[Guest iain]

Use only marine carpet. Cheaper carpets will not last and it's a cow of a job to tear up & replace carpet that's been glued in.

[Bashir]

My previous boat had it buttoned and tended to be very dangerous while anchor and fishing from the side, which as you know, you tend to lean on the gunnel with you knees/thighs, IF all of a sudden the carpet slips within the blink of an eye your head over tit in the drink (OR VERY CLOSE TO IT)!!!!

Agreed!

We have clip in carpet on our boat. the carpet stays in the garage at home, and rarely sees the boat. Its a fishing boat and I reckon its better without carpet, much easier to clean. Not as comfy if you wear no shoes, but I always wear my volleys on the boat. Most of the press studs have broken off from people slipping on them. If you are going to have carpet, then glue it down because the press studs are a pain.

[shecomb]

Agreed!

We have clip in carpet on our boat. the carpet stays in the garage at home, and rarely sees the boat. Its a fishing boat and I reckon its better without carpet, much easier to clean. Not as comfy if you wear no shoes, but I always wear my volleys on the boat. Most of the press studs have broken off from people slipping on them. If you are going to have carpet, then glue it down because the press studs are a pain.

I totally agree. I recently removed the carpet from the deck of my Bertie and its great. I can hose it down and spill whatever without worrying about the carpets. Plus it looks better as the carpet was abit rough around the edges.

[Cameron]

As usual, plenty of thoughtful and informed responses from Fishraiders, both pro and anti! Thank you, one and all. As fitting carpet is not a life and death matter, I think I might leave it for the time being, unless of course I have a big fall on something slippery. My new sunnies deserve a trial too to counter the glare from the white deck. Then if I do decide to put the carpet down I will have to decide whether to glue or use press studs/velcro.

Then again I might even spend the money I saved from not putting carpet down on a decent deck wash system, instead of the bypass from the live bait tank that I have at present. Then yet again, I do like the feel of carpet on my bare feet. All these decision are making my head ache!