Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

[scott&kellie]

Well I just got my new Wesco dual axel trailer and she's a dream going down the road. Installed my new depth finder/fish finder GPS combo. Working on getting the mildew under control but nothing is working on that home front. Any suggestions on that? Ok now on the subject, i'm thinking of replacing my carpet with Marine Vinyl flooring. Any insight to this project would be nice, is it slippery, does it get real hot on the feet (I have seen were you can add snap in carpet runners), whats a good top quality brand for the Marine Vinyl flooring? Most important Pros and Cons on this type of project. thanks for any replies.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

This has been discussed several times on here, and you can see some of the results if you do a search. I have light tan vinyl on our back deck and when it reaches 85 deg you can't stand on it, it will burn your feet off.
I know others on here swear by vinyl and I don't know what kind they have but here in Georgia I would never put it down.

 

[dls322]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Yes this topic has been discussed a million times, search the forums for a quick answer.
I agree that while it is easier to clean it would be a nightmare to walk on in the summer with the sun making it too hot.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Nautolex and Marideck are 2 well known types of marine vinyl flooring.

The vinyl gets hot baking in the sun, we just throw a bucket of water on it and it cools off. It has good traction, even when wet, but the grain pattern is uncomfortable on the knees and elbows.

 

[Grandad]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

If you're already battling mildew, I think your choice is pretty clear. Use something like Nautolex that dries quickly, not carpet. Wear water shoes or thongs if you need foot comfort. See current discussion in this thread, noting post #10 taking 3 days to dry carpet using an exhaust fan. - Grandad
See http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topics-questions-not-engine-topics/boat-dryer-618771.html#post4310020

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

I'd rather be playing on my boat than maintaining it. I ordered my boat last year with the vinyl and am very pleased I did so.. I keep it covered in the water all summer long and we use it primarily on weekends, so cleaining time is lost boating time. Rain water washes right off the deck as it flows easily under the furniture and under the rails. When it dries, it is dry. Not like carpet where it can take a long time to dry, especially if you get it wet and need to throw the cover on it and drive the 2 hours home. All it takes to clean is a loing handled scrub brush and a hose.

I am from MN/WI so our days in the 90's are limited, but we do get them. The surface does get warm, just like the vinyl on the seats do, however, if I found this to be a real problem, I woould spend a couple hundred and have some snap down carpet done. This would be the best of both worlds, but it is not a problem for me.

Everyone has their own conditions and there is no one answer to this question. If I garaged my boat after each use, I woould consider carpet, but for my usage, the vinyl is the way to go..

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

We just had the deck of our 24 Starcraft toon recovered with vinyl. The carpet was a mold magnet. Not too hot in the Alabama sun.

When this was done, we also had to deck drains installed just ahead of the rear sun deck. No more standing water.

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

We ordered our Party Barge with vinyl floors, LOVE IT! Spill a beer, wash it away! Greasy burger, fish guts, marsh mellow .... I put a 5gpm, 45psi water pump under the seats, so I have a garden hose on board all the time. The boat is primarily on the Colorado River in Arizona, it was 114* all last week and didn't have any problems with hot floors.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

We ordered our Party Barge with vinyl floors, LOVE IT! Spill a beer, wash it away! Greasy burger, fish guts, marsh mellow .... I put a 5gpm, 45psi water pump under the seats, so I have a garden hose on board all the time. The boat is primarily on the Colorado River in Arizona, it was 114* all last week and didn't have any problems with hot floors.

I would think anything would be hot at 114 deg. mine gets really hot at 85 in the sun. You must have a special kind of vinyl or tuff feet.

 

[CatYoung]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Has anyone tried replacing the decking with composite decking boards? Would not have solid decking but would look more like a residential wood deck with about a 1/16" space between the "boards". This should eliminate the mold/mildew worry. Saw a picture of one and looks like it might be the way to go. Thinking real hard about it, any thoughts on this?

 

[mtjbrown]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Wondering about doing the deck-over paint type they are advertising now?? That might be a thought.

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

I would think anything would be hot at 114 deg. mine gets really hot at 85 in the sun. You must have a special kind of vinyl or tuff feet.

Sandals or boat shoes. Never know what is on the bottom of that lake, cut feet or stubbed toes can really ruin a weekend of fun!

 

[scott&kellie]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Fleetwin

If you don't mind me asking what was the labor cost of having he vinyl installed? thanks for the input...

 

[The Woo Woo Kid]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Has anyone tried replacing the decking with composite decking boards? Would not have solid decking but would look more like a residential wood deck with about a 1/16" space between the "boards". This should eliminate the mold/mildew worry. Saw a picture of one and looks like it might be the way to go. Thinking real hard about it, any thoughts on this?

Actually, that might cause a mold/mildew issue as water would definitely come up thru the cracks while the boat is under way. Would likely even soak the topside of the flooring

Tongue and groove boards or cut an overlapping joint with the table saw, then sealed with caulking or some rubber would be better than cracks.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Marine Vinyl flooring Vs. Carpet

Everyone seems to love their vinyl floors, especially fishermen.

Some order vinyl floors with snap in OEM factory carpet. They seldom take time to put the carpet in.

I have a Bennington with carpet, and wish I had time to order one with the vinyl floors when my boat was new last year.