Stupid Question

[Don't Say]

Now, this is a stupid question. I see all of these boats with carpeted 3/4" plywood on the seats. I assume the carpet is glued, wrapped around the backside of the board and stapled. Okay, my seats are full of flotation foam, so how do you attach it to the seats?

I want to do mine just like "bAcKpAiN"'s wife did his! But, he didn't reveal her secret.

Jim: Maybe you could email "bAcKpAiN" for me and ask him how he did it.

 

[Jim]

I will ask :beer:

 

[SlimeTime]

When you attempt to screw something of thinner gauge metal (in this case we'll say the boat seat) Don't drill a hole 1st. Use a scratch-awl, or sharp punch to make a small hole (be sure not to make it too large). This will forse the material downward & give the threads on the screw something more to bite-into other than the thickness of the metal.

That said, I screwed mine on. Didn't have enough 3/4" ply to cover the back of the rear seat, and just glued (didn't staple anywhere other than hatch lids) it to the aluminum seat.

ST

 

[Don't Say]

But, after I carpet it, I don't want the screw heads to be seen. I guess I'll have to cut a small hole in the carpet (for each screw) work through the hole and screw each one down and then close the hole in the carpet with some glue.

 

[SlimeTime]

They make stainless trim screws & finish washers that don't look bad. You can fasten the wood, then carpet it, you just have to be a little more careful. A lot of high dollar boat manufacturers carpet panels, then install them with screws & finish washers. It doesn't look bad.

After re-reading your post, you're just wanting to cover the tops of the seats? If so, then 2 trim screws on each end should be fine, but I'd want swivel seat bases bolted in the middle to help secure the plywood/carpeted cover. Riv-Nuts would be a solution for the seat mounting bolts: https://www.pemnet.com/fastening_products/atlas/#spintite

ST

 

[bAcKpAiN]

Hello,

What we did was simple. We sprayed the plywood generously with spray adhesive and wrapped the carpet around the edges and used stainless steel staples on the underside. We then used outdoor decking screws to screw through the carpet, wood, and the bench seat. Many will scoff and say you need the washers etc, but after a season of use I have yet to have any difficulties. All I can say is time will tell if I made a mistake. The screws were bought at Home Depot and were almost the exact color as the carpet. In order for them not to be seen I just carefully countersunk the screws into the plywood. Be careful not to go too far though you can actually screw right through th wood if not careful. I didn't drill, cut, or do anything to the carpet to hide the screws. If you can't find the same colored screws, I would plan for my screw spots when carpeting and not put any glue there. When screwing it down, I would make a little slit in the carpet with a sharp blade and put the screws in, then dab it with glue and put the carpet on top.

If you want to mount pedestel seats on that plywood it is a little more difficult of a task. In the time it took me to mount the three seat bases my wife carpeted the entire rest of the boat! You have to get a hole saw and drill out the center hole for the seat base to go in, then stick the base in the hole and drill out for the 6 screws/bolts. After the pattern is drilled and ready to go it is time to start digging out the flotation foam to reach the underside of the bench. Once you have the foam dug out you use stainless steel nuts, washers, and bolts to sandwich the bases to the wood and seat bench. The aluminum on my benches is very thin, but they are plenty sturdy with the 1/2" plywood on top. I weigh 220ish and have yet to feel uncomfortable.

I hope this was of some help. If I need to I can snap a few pics for you if I can get a camera underneath the benches for some refrence. If you want a simple carpeted benchtop I would say screwing it into the bench would be sufficient, but if you are going for seat bases on top you MUST dig out at least enough foam to get some through bolts in there.

 

[Don't Say]

Thanks a lot bAcKpAiN, I've been scratching my head wondering how you did that, because I couldn't see any screws on your seat tops. My boat is a 14' foot Sea Nymph just like yours, so I was watching for your pic's. There are plenty of great ideas on "Tinboats" , but every model of boat presents it's own problems. I don't know when I'll get mine done, but I'll post the pic's.

Thanks Again!