Re: replacing vynil? flooring
Then why do they call it marine vinyl flooring
(just kidding, you are 100% correct)
Marideck is another brand of marine vinyl flooring which I believe is a bit cheaper than Nautolex.
As oops! said, you might have to replace the plywood after the deck panels are up, 30 years is a long time for a piece of plywood in a boat, have to see what it looks like once the deck is up. If you are going to use the old plywood you will need to remove all of the old vinyl and then make sure the plywood is level with no bumps or depressions, if they are there it will show through the vinyl. Replacing the plywood might be easier and end up with a much nicer finished project in the end. I'd much rather cut up a few pieces of new plywood than scrape, pull and pry to old vinyl off for hours on end...
I just finished putting marine vinyl flooring in my Crestliner and have a few tips:
- Use stainless steel or Monel staples
- Use a laminate roller and go over every roll out every square inch of the vinyl to stick it to the ply and glue, starting lightly all over the surface to initially stick it down so it does not form a wrinkle, then going back with all your might.
- I found it easiest to cut the vinyl 3" bigger than a plywood deck panel, lay vinyl up side down on a flat surface, lay plywood on top of the vinyl, mark an outline of the plywood on vinyl , apply glue (I used spray contact cement) to the marked area on vinyl & ply, CAREFULLY hold ply over vinyl to align and set down, press ply into glue/vinyl, flip over, lightly roll out with laminate roller working from the center outward to push air out, roll out again with a lot of pressure. (if you are not sweating or breathing hard by then end of a 4x4 panel you are not pressing hard enough)
- Apply glue to one lip of vinyl and ply, wrap vinyl around an edge, roll out, wrap around to underside of ply, roll out, repeat of the other 3 edges, staple every 6" on underside with extra's on the corners.
Before doing any vinyl work, all of the plywood should be pre-cut, drilled sanded, sealed, treated, fiberglassed, epoxied, etc, etc...
