putting fiber glass in a carpeted boat??

wakerider268 · Outlaw Joined: 21 Aug 2005 Posts: 123

my boat has carpet in it and i was wonderi if you can put fiberglass or another type of waterproof flooring instead of putting new carpet.

MrBlean · Posted: Sep 10, 2005 10:52 am Post subject:

I think you need to be more specific with your question. Do you want a solid floor or an alternative carpet-type material? I'm not at all sure what you are asking.

wakerider268 · Outlaw Joined: 21 Aug 2005 Posts: 123

probably a solid floor

grapic · Outlaw Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Posts: 192

Boats with carpet have a fiberglass floor, may not be smooth gelcoat on top.

wakerider268 · Outlaw Joined: 21 Aug 2005 Posts: 123

oo i never seen it, we never have never had to replace the carpet since my dad bought, that was over 10 years ago.

MrBlean · Posted: Sep 11, 2005 11:19 am Post subject:

Sorry, but I'm curious to know what on earth did you think was under the carpet? Did you think your boat had some sort of rigid magic carpet that could bear your weight all on it's own? Laughing

Some old boats have wooden floors but these are rare nowadays due to the problem with rot. The floors in some MC's comprise an aluminum honeycomb sandwich construction (two thin skins of aluminum separated by a honeycomb layer) - presumably to reduce weight.

What's underneath your existing carpet probably doesn't look too pretty 'cos it wasn't designed to be seen. If you remove the existing carpet there will likely be a lot of adhesive residue you'll have to remove to get a decent, flat surface on which to glue the new carpet.

Unless it's threadbare, a good clean might be a better solution than replacement. Either jet-wash or wet vacuum it with an industrial carpet cleaner.

Mine was very dirty but a jet-wash brought it up like new. Took an hour or so but was well worth the time and effort.

SouthWaker · Posted: Sep 11, 2005 3:21 pm Post subject:

Rip it all out and get some bed liner. Your going to want to cover up what ever is under your carpet.

Wallrat · Posted: Sep 11, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject:

Ideally you want something: easy to clean, breathes, won't get hot in the sun, looks good, isn't slippery when wet, dries quickly and is easy on the feet.

Carpet is actually a pretty good combination of the above list. Some kind of rubbery bed liner stuff would probably be cool, but I've only seen it in black (hot in the sun) and either smooth (slippery), or textured so rough that it'll tear up your feet. I think the next best alternative to carpet would be some of that rubber perforated floormat stuff. I've seen it in industrial safety catalogs. As long as it has lots of holes getting rot underneath shouldn't be a problem.