Snap In Boat Carpet?

[boaterdude83]

Hey guys - I have a question for ya'll. I have an 85 Scarab, and the guy I bought it from stored the carpet inside, which was eaten through by a mouse. Now the snaps are all in the boat. I was going to order just a standard carpet off ebay or something for about 50 bucks, but was worried that just the standard piece of carpet will rip right through and not hold. My boat is fiberglass floors, and I have a few access points, so I don't want to glue it down, But I do want to put carpet down for looks, and mainly to keep someone from breaking their neck when its wet. Does anyone know if the carpet will hold down with the snaps or possibly have any other ideas on where to get carpet.. I do want to keep it to a small budget. Thanks guys!

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

Hi,

You can get decent marine carpet fairly inexpensively, not sure on iboats? Cabalas has it, then cut to the and size/shape you want, take and have binding put around the edges so they don't fray (most upholstery shops can do this), and get a snap kit. Install the snaps on the carpet, the deck of your boat, and you're good to go!

peace!

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

Hey guys - I have a question for ya'll. I have an 85 Scarab, and the guy I bought it from stored the carpet inside, which was eaten through by a mouse. Now the snaps are all in the boat. I was going to order just a standard carpet off ebay or something for about 50 bucks, but was worried that just the standard piece of carpet will rip right through and not hold. My boat is fiberglass floors, and I have a few access points, so I don't want to glue it down, But I do want to put carpet down for looks, and mainly to keep someone from breaking their neck when its wet. Does anyone know if the carpet will hold down with the snaps or possibly have any other ideas on where to get carpet.. I do want to keep it to a small budget. Thanks guys!

I had great luck ordering removable carpet from www.corinthianmarine.com
My boat originally had glue-in carpet, and I ripped that out and had them custom make carpet that I added snaps too. Ask for Nick down there, he's great to work with. I ordered the Jr. Berber..its been great.

If you have the pieces that were eaten through and can still use them as a template, you would just send those in and they would copy them.

As far as using carpet that was designed to be glued in. I have only seen one, and acording to him it turned out ok, but I think if he had to to it again he would do berber. Just use a HEAVY duty backing..don't use the light stuff or it will most likely curl up on you and not last.

Here are some pics of mine.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

Get marine carpet with a rubber backing. Cut it to fit then take it to a carpet shop for perimeter binding. When it comes back, lay it in and mark the locations for the snaps. Install the snaps using a punch and die set.
I did this a few years ago to my old Wellcraft and it was MUCH nicer than the original glue-down carpet. With snaps, the carpet won't move because the rubber backing prevents it from sliding.
BTW the binding cost $1.00/foot but that was maybe 10 years ago. It's probably gone up since then!

EDIT:
Man, you guys are QUICK!!
Also, my boat had pedistals like Mtribe08, but with a flat deck. I cut the carpet to match the diameter, with a cut to the edge. Once bound it slipped right in tight and looked great.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

Im going to assume that this is a nice boat.
If so, man up and drop the coin for some nice carpet that is made for, or custom made for the boat.
Try contacting a Scarab dealer or two and see if they have a line on some NOS (new old stock) carpet.
If its not so nice then glue some astrotruf down and call it done.

In my opinion your better off with nothing, than crappy carpet that makes it look cheap.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

My Carver came with snap in carpet and after 20 years it's still looking good. It doesn't have the rubber backing, but I think that helps when pulling it out and stowing, it rolls up easier. Plus, being dark blue, it gets HOT! But it's easy to unsnap and dunk in the lake to cool it off.

 

[boaterdude83]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

Well the boats not perfect, but I try to keep it nice looking. The carpet, besides the fact that it will hide the panel for the fuel tank, is mainly because I don't want someone slipping and getting hurt. The guy who was a garage next to me will put an edge all the way around the carpet so it wont shred, so I figured if I could find some decent carpet at a good value, Have him edge it, I can install snaps where there are snaps already on the floor, and it will be a good look, good fit, and I don't have to worry about other people, or myself, slipping and falling.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

are you sur people would slip? Boat floors I've seen are all textured so you won't. But I'm not around many carpeted boats and never looked under one.

But if it's not glass smooth, lose the carpet altogether.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Snap In Boat Carpet?

Upholsterer here...

You can get the Berber-style carpet at a Lowe's or Home Depot, but it will have the jute backing. It's not meant to get wet, so after a dozen times of wet/dry/wet/dry, the backing will start to decay.

You can get decent marine carpeting from a lot of sources. Use your buddy Google to check supply, prices, & colors.

Have the edges bound by a carpet/uphlostery shop. Believe it or not, the going price is still right around a dollar per foot.

If you go with carpet without the rubber backing (not recommended), just mark the snap locations with a sharpie and the upholstery shop can shoot the snaps in very quickly with a press-n-snap tool. The dies that the DIY get don't really set them properly. If you get the rubber backed carpet, it tends to stretch more, and can be placed to fit just right. Have the upholsterer come out to the boat (or take it to them) to have the carpet snapped properly. You'll be happier in the long run.

Also check on line at www.snapincarpet.com for templates & prices. They do excellent work for a fair price.