Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

THC1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
31
Hello: I just removed my 24' Lowe barge and I intend to redo the interior and flooring. It stays at the marina and I do lots of fishing so I want to remove the carpet and roll on a non-slip material.

1) Any pictures of finished jobs using a bed liner material for a barge deck?
2) Opinions of one product v. the other? Herculiner seems to be quite a bit cheaper.
3) Any idea how much I need for a 24' barge? Don't want to order to much or run out in the middle of the job.

Thanks,

THC1
 

Cubbyblue22

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jul 25, 2010
Messages
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Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

In my honest opinion I would never want to put something like a bed-liner material for the floor. 1) In the summer time when your on the water in >85* weather or higher that stuff is going to be soooooo hot your feet will literally burn. 2) The feeling on your feet walking around would not be pleasant....I'd much rather have a nice padded carpet when i'm done swimming in the river or lake with a rocky floor. I would be cautious as to how it all would look too. I think they do have different colors so that might help out rather than having a black floor.
 

Coast Ranger

Cadet
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Aug 8, 2011
Messages
21
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Any luck with your search? I'm doing a similar job. My pontoon has a rigid upper deck. I replaced the plywood and want to put something down to keep water from leaking through. Then carpet back on top. I'm thinking of something like PVC shower pan liner. I don't know if the adhesive will hold the carpet to it. Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks,

CR
 

lncoop

Vice Admiral
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Apr 18, 2010
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5,147
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

There are products available that are made for this application. They won't be cheap, but they'll work much better than truck bed or shower pan liner. Maridek comes to mind, and I'm sure there are others. Welcome aboard and good luck with the projects.
 

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
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May 15, 2011
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Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Do yourself a favor, and purchase a good heavy marine grade vinyl floor. Check PontoonStuff.com or GreatLakesSkipper.com.

There is a special mastic used, and the floor underneath must be in good shape. The installation requires renting a 100 pound vinyl floor roller to get all the bubbles out.

Then, your flooring will be indestructible. Hose it off, and it's clean.
 

THC1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
31
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Any luck with your search? I'm doing a similar job. My pontoon has a rigid upper deck. I replaced the plywood and want to put something down to keep water from leaking through. Then carpet back on top. I'm thinking of something like PVC shower pan liner. I don't know if the adhesive will hold the carpet to it. Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks,

CR

Looking at a product called evercoat and you can find it on Amazon. Rubberized marine coating.
 

VaGent

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
221
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

I'm considering a product called Kiwi-Grip for my pontoon deck. YouTube has a great video on it & the factory has told me if can put down on a plywood deck after it's sealed. A friend of mine has it on his plywood deck that he uses to fish out of all the time. It's 8 yrs old now & looks nearly brand new. Washes it down with regular dishing washing detergent & hoses it off. Very hard to slid on even when wet. Comes in colors too.
 

Coast Ranger

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Aug 8, 2011
Messages
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Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

I like what I read about Marideck. What's holding me back is the $450 price tag (with glue) to do 3 sheets of plywood. I'm leaning towards a good quality, rubber backed carpet. That should be about $170 for the same project. Can anyone comment on how well the rubber backed carpets keep water from seeping through?
 

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
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1,895
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Whatever product is used, it must be marine grade. The rubber backed carpet is probably not designed for this use.

Same way with plywood. Many will use a $35-40 regular 3/4" plywood and have to replace it in 5 years. My marine grade plywood deck is still good after 27 years, and it's about $75 per 3/4" sheet 4x8'
 

THC1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
31
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Looking at a product called evercoat and you can find it on Amazon. Rubberized marine

Ever coat skid-no more. Come in a grey color for this application and cheap. Should be able to do the entire deck with 3 gallons---150 dollars total and I need grey anyway.
 

Coast Ranger

Cadet
Joined
Aug 8, 2011
Messages
21
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Whatever product is used, it must be marine grade. The rubber backed carpet is probably not designed for this use.

The carpet I'm looking at is from Pontoonstuff.com, and advertised for marine applications. The plywood is 3/4" marine grade like you used. I put 3 coats of exterior grade latex top & bottom, and liberally on the edges. I'm a bit nervous about the water based adhesive sticking to the latex paint. Being on the upper sun deck, it won't get much traffic. The 16 oz. carpet should be fine up there.
 

BLC

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
83
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

I'm considering a product called Kiwi-Grip for my pontoon deck. YouTube has a great video on it & the factory has told me if can put down on a plywood deck after it's sealed. A friend of mine has it on his plywood deck that he uses to fish out of all the time. It's 8 yrs old now & looks nearly brand new. Washes it down with regular dishing washing detergent & hoses it off. Very hard to slid on even when wet. Comes in colors too.

Same here, actualy les you are the one who got me onto the stuff over on pontoonstuff.
 

doomanmxz99

Seaman
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
71
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Hey guys I did the epoxy floor coating to my deck two years ago and love it. Everything washes off easy and no worries about slipping. I put two non skid bags in it and then put the chips on top. Works great.
 

VaGent

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
221
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Have you installed it yet on your deck? I'm not able to do anything to our deck right now due to weather & a pulled back muscle. My son ordered it so we are waiting for it to arrive. We decided on the LIGHT GREY color instead of the WHITE.
 

THC1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
31
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Looking at a product called evercoat and you can find it on Amazon. Rubberized marine

Ever coat skid-no more. Come in a grey color for this application and cheap. Should be able to do the entire deck with 3 gallons---150 dollars total and I need grey anyway.

Update on Ever Coat......First off, I love the material itself. It's basically like a soft rubber flooring. No skid and very easy on the feet. The downside, you cannot roll this stuff and brushing it will not leave the desired appearance in my opinion. I found that you have to basically pour it all on and spread it out. No way can I do it in three gallons either, I'm at 6 gallons for a 24' barge.
 

guardrail22

Cadet
Joined
May 17, 2013
Messages
10
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

Update on Ever Coat......First off, I love the material itself. It's basically like a soft rubber flooring. No skid and very easy on the feet. The downside, you cannot roll this stuff and brushing it will not leave the desired appearance in my opinion. I found that you have to basically pour it all on and spread it out. No way can I do it in three gallons either, I'm at 6 gallons for a 24' barge.


I have my 89 Lowe 240 down to the wood in the driveway. Bought this boat a few weeks ago for a floating dock. Have it stripped to the deck. Plugged several big holes today. Used Marine Tex to fill around the plugs. Have to sand the deck as portions have been painted.

I'm down to Durabak or Herculiner in light gray non-skid. Carpet is out. To much overhandging vegitation to put up with cleaning carpet.

from what I've seen so far best surface prep is 80 grit sand paper so I am planning on going over everything with belt sander.

I need a gangway as well. Think about aluminum scaffold planks - 20% of cost of actual gangways. What has anyone else used?
 

jstatham

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
119
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

IMG_0728_800x600.jpgphoto5.jpgIt is probably too late but last year I completely restored my pontoon and put down Herculiner light grey and absolutely love it. They told me at the factory to but down a coat of Kilz then paint on the Hurculiner. My only complaint that it is like walking of rough concrete but this is my fishing boat and I am wearing shoes so no big deal. This stuff is tough and just rinse off and you are good to go.
 

bldtrailer

Cadet
Joined
May 21, 2013
Messages
8
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

I put durabak on my deck back in March and so far I like it. I got a beige color and it is not too hot on my feet. it is like walking on rough concrete but not uncomfortable to walk barefoot on.
 

OK Toon

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Messages
95
Re: Herculiner? Durabak? for Barge deck coating

I just replaced the deck on the swim side of our boat dock (not covered). I put down marine grade plywood and then applied 2 coats of Restore by Rustoleum. It's used on old decks to seal splinters and provide a non-slip surface. But it worked great on the new marine grade plywood. You can get it at any big box store and they can mix it to whatever color you want. We went with a light blue.

Dock - 2nd coat of Restore.jpg
 
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