Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I originally had this in the tracker forum but it seems real quiet over there;

Hi all,
I was at Bass Pro in Gurnee IL and boarded a bass tracker with the Vinyl floor.
I thought it was carpet until I actually walked on it; it had a nice ?grip? feel on my boots (nice dry showroom). I?d like to use this stuff in my old fish-N-Ski.

Now for the questions;
1. Who?s material do they use? I have a sample of Nautolex and it?s not the same. The salesmen did not know???
2. I read on another thread were they thought it was too slippery, how is the stuff to live with?
3. Is it tough enough?
4. On their website they sell Merideck and Marina-Marine flooring, looks like it could be either product in the photos.

I wanted to get back to Bass Pro during the week when they aren?t so busy (Boat show is going) but haven?t had a chance.

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I was like you are, sick of carpet!

I put the Nautolex vinyl in my '97 Tracker Deep V and couldn't be happier with it. It "grips" your footwear in the boat and I haven't had any "slip" issues with it even when swabbing the deck with a mop and detergent. The Nautolex can actually be considered abrasive, balling up your fist and dragging your knuckles across it isn't something you want to do.

I love my Nautolex because it sheds water instead of absorbing it like carpet, and since I ripped out all of the nasty azz capet in my boat and installed the vinyl, mildew growth has been zero in my boat!

Here's a link to my resto thread with some before and after pics:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=509163

I don't think it looks too shabby, and I get a lot of compliments on it out on the lake.

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

The vinyl floors are getting more popular with many pontoon boat users--especially fishermen.

Now, many people are ordering their top line pontoon boats deleting the carpet--and adding vinyl. It's maybe a $500-600 option, so it's substantially more expensive than top line marine carpet. They're also putting out a teak copy vinyl flooring that looks like something used on an old Chris Craft--beautiful stuff.

I've heard nothing but nice things about marine vinyl. I just wish it was a little more reasonably priced.

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I put vinyl on the floor of my Alumacraft when I redid it,....

From a maintenance standpoint I like it,.....

However it does get much warmer in the summer, To hot for bare feet,.........

And when I am fishing late fall and winter when it snows it is very, very slippery,...

I'm not sure if I would use vinyl if I had to do it again,....

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I like the way your project turned out, looks like a clean and very professional install. Is the trim around the hatches stock or a finishing touch you added?

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I have Nautolex in my boat and like it, though it does have a few drawbacks, heat, roughness. Those drawbacks can be solved by adding in snap-in carpet. I've had it in my boat for a few years and only found a couple times where it was annoying, when I was out with the family and not fishing. Throwing a bucket of water on the deck solved the heat issue.....

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

bnurczyk said:

I like the way your project turned out, looks like a clean and very professional install. Is the trim around the hatches stock or a finishing touch you added?

Click to expand...

The trim is aluminum angle that I cut and installed on the hatches and joints to cover small gaps/cracks to give it a more finished look... that's what trim does eh?!

The nap/pile on carpet is very forgiving and hides many discrepancies, the close tolerances of vinyl not so much.

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I have a very different opinion from most on this vinyl. So it won't be popular. But I really don't like it.

Someone mentioned it's popular with pontoon builders. That isn't true. In fact they HATE the stuff, but customers want it, so they have to do it.
In the years I was working for Bennington I saw exactly zero boats that had carpet issues.....HOWEVER, I saw lots of boats that were ordered with vinyl, and sent back within a year or less to have carpet installed. Usually because of lifting, rough texture, hot, and hard surface.

Me personally, I don't like how hard it is, how rough it is, how hot it can get, etc. I really like carpet much better. Plus carpet is a much more forgiving install.


EDIT:This post isn't meant to say I don't like the looks of the Vinyl installs. Especially in boats (don't care for the look on pontoons)

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

I absolutely love my vinyl floor http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2504.jpg Defender has the best prices on it. http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|311409|311410&id=23740

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

["Me personally, I don't like how hard it is, how rough it is, how hot it can get, etc. I really like carpet much better. Plus carpet is a much more forgiving install."[

That is why I'm trying to figure out whose flooring was in that Tracker that I saw at BP. It had a softer rubbery texture to it, probably still gets hot in the sun though...

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

bnurczyk said:

["Me personally, I don't like how hard it is, how rough it is, how hot it can get, etc. I really like carpet much better. Plus carpet is a much more forgiving install."[

That is why I'm trying to figure out whose flooring was in that Tracker that I saw at BP. It had a softer rubbery texture to it, probably still gets hot in the sun though...

Click to expand...

It sounds like you are talking about something other then Nautolex or Maridek marine vinyl flooring. There are several new products I have seen recently with a soft rubbery texture, something like SeaDek.

Re: Tracker?s OEM Vinyl floor ?Coastal Edition? questions (I'm sick of carpet)

Well I just got back from Bass Pro; I figured I’d stop in on my weekday off when it wasn’t so crowded. Anyway the stuff they use is a thin vinyl, but the embossing is done opposite of the Nautolex I looked at. The nautolex has raised ridges that are sharp with rounded relief in the embossing. The stuff in the Bass Tracker has rounded tops with sharp creases but it definitely has a more comfortable feel to it and mimics carpet. I think the Naultolex would be easier to clean though.

No one there has a clue what product is used in the boats they are selling??

For now I’m going to get more samples of different flooring, glue it to a small section of plywood and put it by the back door were the dogs come in, see what holds up, hoses off the best, and has the quality’s I’m looking for. I have the time, can't wait for the snow to go away.....