Why the carpet hate?

[thill]

I'm primarily a salt water fisherman. Most of my boats have had gelcoat and non-skid inside. But I've had a number of bass boats, jon boats and runabouts that had carpet.

I've fished them hard and gotten plenty of blood in them, but I've found that a splash from a bucket of water or a shot with a hose makes the blood disappear.

My Princecraft jon boat, converted into a crappie boat, is what I'd call a beater, and it has 10 year old carpet. It always amazes me how after a big thunderstorm, how the carpet looks brand new again. In fact, guests often ask if I re-did the carpet recently.

I have found the biggest thing about carpet is NOT letting it cook in the sun. Keep it covered during storage. But fish slime and blood just rinse right out of the carpet at the end of the day. It doesn't even need soap, although a little helps it go faster.

So, what's the big deal? Why all the carpet hate? Every tournament bass boat has carpet, and I never hear bass guys complaining.

 

[airshot]

They do in my area! Numerous bass clubs and most all have removed the carpet. Hooks get hooked in the carpet and are hard to get out, when you hit it with a hose to clean it, your soaking the wood under it. Carpet looks nasty after a number of years. Most are going to vinyl, when I replace my carpet, vinyl will be used. I guess some folks like carpet, and good for them, but from what I read in most forums, the general concensus is carpet must go.

 

[Still Afloat]

It just gets a bit crusty and sinks, holds scales, etc. Not to mention that I like to enjoy dark beer. I‘ll bring three cans and usually spill half of it. ( Fish on! kick can over.) My compartments aren’t that waterproof so a bucket of water means drying out the gear.

 

[LDUBS]

Carpet is OK. Everything about vinyl is better.

 

[Still Afloat]

I’m not that convinced that vinyl is much better than carpet. It looks cool, at least when it’s new. What do you like about it?

 

[LDUBS]

I’m not that convinced that vinyl is much better than carpet. It looks cool, at least when it’s new. What do you like about it?

I guess it depends on how we define "much better". It doesn't hold moisture, fish slime, etc. Hooks don't catch in it. It is easy to wipe clean and lasts a long time. Mine is 5+ years old and still looks brand new. Vinyl even provides some protection to plywood flooring.

Vinyl likely costs more and might be more difficult to install than carpet .

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I’ve only had carpet in a bowrider. Ie non fishing boat. My main complaints are how it holds water and how hard it was to vacuum out the short pine needles, here in the Adks. Now, it was nice on the bare feet, and never got too hot. It was the OEM carpet, and after 20+ years, was starting to get thin. Boat was always covered, but sometimes it took a day or two before it was dry enough to do so.

Our primary fishing area is plagued by muddy ramps, especially in the Spring. Easy clean-up is a must. Also, don’t deal with much high heat days in the summer.

If it works for your boats, for your fishing conditions, and holds up well for you, who am I to say you shouldn’t use it?

 

[airshot]

I have had both, vinyl and carpet. Vinyl can be tricky to install to make it look good. As mentioned, all the bad things about carpet are true and when it gets bad, you must replace the carpet and normally the wood under it! When vinyl gets ugly, you can refinish it with vinyl paint...done it a few times, looked really good for a few years before needing another coat. Painting is easier, quicker and much cheaper than replacing carpet. If your not a messy fisherman, then carpet might suit your needs much better. Have boating friends that just cruise, no fishing, they love carpet, I can see why!!

 

[jethro]

The ultimate is both. Snap in carpet over vinyl. Although for me, I don't need the carpet. It gets moldy, it's not as durable, it doesn't last as long, it holds fish stink and god forbid I drop saltwater bait on carpet, it will stink all season. It also holds sand. When I tore the carpet out of my boat- to replace with vinyl- the carpet weighed like 3 lbs per sq ft. because of all the sand in it even though I vacuumed it just before pulling it out. I'm way happier with the vinyl. Both my casting decks are still carpet but the lower floor, so nice with vinyl.

 

[Lost But Happy]

So it begs the question...which brand of vinyl is preferred?

 

[Still Afloat]

The ultimate is both. Snap in carpet over vinyl. Although for me, I don't need the carpet. It gets moldy, it's not as durable, it doesn't last as long, it holds fish stink and god forbid I drop saltwater bait on carpet, it will stink all season. It also holds sand. When I tore the carpet out of my boat- to replace with vinyl- the carpet weighed like 3 lbs per sq ft. because of all the sand in it even though I vacuumed it just before pulling it out. I'm way happier with the vinyl. Both my casting decks are still carpet but the lower floor, so nice with vinyl.

Just to make sure that we are talking about the same thing, can you point to the product that you used?

I’m thinking about the thick high density foam material that’s so popular these days. Maybe I’m mixed up and it’s not the same thing that you guys are calling vinyl.

 

[LDUBS]

I can only speak for my post. I was referring to vinyl decking like from Nautolex. Not the EVA foam decking.

 

[airshot]

Same here, the stuff I had was thin, very tough, had a texture finnish on it, no idea who made it, came on my 1979 Starcraft CC, awesome stuff had that boat for about seven years. The vinyl protects the wood sub floor unlike carpet.

 

[flatheadsteve]

I've become a big fan of Linex type coating and hydroturf or sea deck on the casting deck. I put hydroturf in the 1436 this spring and the xpress came with sea deck will be interesting to see which holds up better.

 

[MrGiggles]

There are pros and cons. Carpet is very forgiving, if your panels aren't cut perfectly, have defects like knots, chips etc., carpet will hide it for the most part. It's also cheap and you can buy it almost anywhere. The cons have been pretty well covered already.

 

[thill]

Some very interesting replies! My experience has been a bit different.

I typically use a 16 oz. cut pile marine carpet from Sparta Carpet, and hooks don't really snag in it, unless you somehow bury it deep enough to penetrate the backing. Also, it dries super-fast.

It WILL hold sand, but after a beach trip with the kids, who don't know how to knock sand off their feed, I'll run the Oreck house vac over it, until I stop hearing sand getting sucked up. I think sand is one thing that destroys carpet fast, so I do that every time.

My carpet is about 10 years old, and it really looks great, but I usually keep a tarp over the boat when sitting. If we get a good rainstorm while fishing or trailering, GOOD, it washes the carpet.

It varies how much I run the boat. Sometimes, I take it out several times a week, other times, it's a few weeks or even a month. Still, I'm pretty impressed with this carpet.

Another thing mentioned is the wood underneath carpet getting wet and rotten. For many years, I have always soaked my plywood with Thompson's Wood Preserver/Waterproofer after cutting the pieces out. Amazing stuff.

Here is a tip for anyone who cares:
I use a good quality of carpet glue, and install it a certain way for outdoor use. Spread the glue with the FLAT side of the trowel first, pressing it firmly into the grain of the wood. Slick it down taking most of it off. Then come back with the toothed side of the trowel and install your carpet. This gives you a solid membrane of glue underneath the carpet. Just another layer of protection.

So far, I have not had any rot in any of the boats I have done. I recently decided to add a hatch to the front deck of my Princecraft, which I did 8-10 years ago. I looked at the piece cut out, and it looked brand new. Carpet still firmly bonded.

Now, understand that I am NOT knocking vinyl or any of the roll-on products. They can be very good, when used properly.

The only reason I didn't use vinyl on my last two builds was because I would have had to make the floor in sections, and I wanted it to be totally waterproof. I used textured deck paint instead, and it turned out well.

As far as roll on textured flooring, I see so much cheap work done, and usually the floor underneath is wet and rotten. Probably was installed after it was already going bad, but it kind of turned me off. Maybe one day, if I can find one that looks good.

Still, lots of interesting replies here to consider. I want to make the jump to vinyl flooring sometime, I just need to find the right boat for it.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I will say that it is allot easier sweeping up those Adk pine needles in the pontoon boat with a vinyl floor.

 

[gillhunter]

Although I understand the advantages of vinyl, I have carpet in my 1648 because I don't want to burn myself in the summer. Mine was from Bass Pro and has held up well over the past 13 years. I do store my boat in the garage, which I know many can't.

 

[LDUBS]

The only reason I didn't use vinyl on my last two builds was because I would have had to make the floor in sections, and I wanted it to be totally waterproof. I used textured deck paint instead, and it turned out well.

That is a definite advantage to a one piece floor. On the other hand (I sound like an economist, Lol), I like having the floor in sections. That way if I ever have to access below, which is bound to happen sooner or later, I can just remove on whatever section is needed to gain access.

 

[thill]

If the boat is designed right, that's not a bad thing. Much nicer looking than hatches. But hopefully, you will never need to go under the floor.

The boat I mentioned above had a lot of places to trap water under the floor. I wanted any water that came in the boat to run back to the rear bilge area where the pump was. Not quite self-bailing, but with an 1,100 GPH pump and 1" line, it should be able to safely handle crazier conditions that I would want to be in.

And there you go about carpet. Because that was going to be a saltwater boat, I decided against carpet for many of the reasons mentioned above. The buyer loved it. It was a grippy floor that stayed cool in the sun and could be hosed off when needed.