Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

[jordache16]

I am considering replacing all of the carpet in my '82 Century Sport 2000 and am looking for some tips on doing this. Currently the carpet in the center of the boat is different from what is on the outside so there is a two tone thing going as you can see in the pictures. Originally I was just going to replace the center sections of carpet because these pieces are starting to fray and look bad (this is just the cheap outdoor carpet) but I currently have all the panels out of the boat to get reupholstered so I figured it would be smart to just re-carpet the whole boat while I've got the inside gutted.

First question: What is the easiest way to get the old glued down carpet up?

I have heard that spraying it down with an adhesive remover (such as Xylene) and letting it sit for a while before peeling it up is about the easiest.

Second question: Anybody have any suggestions on what carpet to put back in it?

I am going to go with a marine grade carpet (probably some type of gray) for sure but I don't know much about 'marine' carpet and have seen several different types (16oz, 18oz, 20oz, etc.) but I'm not sure what all that means. Also, keep in mind I'm not wanting to spend a ton of money.

Last question: What type of adhesive should I use when I put the new stuff in?

Will any old carpet glue work or do I need 'marine' carpet glue?


Thanks for any input, hoping to get her all ready to go by the end of April. With all new interior she'll be like a completely different boat. The old upholstery was the original (30 years old) and it was in pretty bad shape.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I got my marine carpet from Home Depot's web site. Search Results for*marine carpet*at The Home Depot They've got it in a number of colors in two different widths. I used their 6700 adhesive which is real cheap and works awesome.

In my boat, I used marine vinyl on the main deck and carpet on the side panels and bow deck. I'm a HUGE fan of the marine vinyl as opposed to trying to keep the carpet clean all the time.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2504.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2539.jpg

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

Thanks for the response, I was able to get a little work done this weekend around pulling the old carpet off of the center pieces. I got some adhesive remover from Menards, but it ended up being more of a gel instead of a liquid so that didn't work the best as it didn't really penetrate through the carpet down to the glue. Luckily I was still able to use the gel adhesive remover on the left over glue after I got the carpet up. The carpet was glued and stapled down around the edges so I basically just used a screwdriver to pull the carpet up around the edges. Then once all the edges were loose I was able to yank up on the carpet to pull it off the wood/glue. The staples were the biggest PITA and I don't think they were really necessary so I don't think I will use them when I put the new carpet down. I'm hoping the floor in the actual boat doesn't have staples in it, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't, as it makes pulling up the carpet that much harder and I would think staples would be bad to use anyways because of potential water penetration into the wook. I'm going to get a spray adhesive remover for when I do the actual floor in the boat. I need something that is going to penetrate through the carpet down to the glue; I know Menards had some 'Adhesive Remover' spray on the shelf so I'll probably just give one of them a try (I'm open to recommendations).

At any rate, I've got the carpet replacement project kicked off (no turning back now). I've got some marine carpet samples coming from a couple different places so when they get here I'll be able to decide what carpet/color I want to go with. I'm thinking either a navy or gray. Navy would probably match the style/age/color of the boat the best (i.e. navy would probably look like it came from the factory that way). I'm thinking gray would look the nicest/cleanest but I don't think it would match the style/age/color of the 30 year old boat the best. Plus, gray will show stains and what not more than navy would, but I'll make that decision once the samples come. I also ordered a few different weights to compare that as well (16oz, 20oz, and 24oz). At this point I'm leaning towards the 20oz as the price difference isn't that much when compared to the 16oz and the heavier weight is supposed to be more durable and resist wear better.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I had navy carpet in my last boat. It was a nightmare. One step into the boat from the ground onto the freshly cleaned carpet and it looked filthy again. Hated it. Go with something closer to the color of dirt like light gray or beige.

 

[gm280]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

Not exactly sure but doesn't the carpet glue remover only work after the carpet is removed. I mean don't you put up all the carpet first and then apply that glue remover to get the remainig glue removed? I actully don't know but that was my thinking anyway...

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I had navy carpet in my last boat. It was a nightmare. One step into the boat from the ground onto the freshly cleaned carpet and it looked filthy again. Hated it. Go with something closer to the color of dirt like light gray or beige.

Hmm, that's probably a good idea. I'll bet the navy would show more dirt now that I think about it.

Not exactly sure but doesn't the carpet glue remover only work after the carpet is removed. I mean don't you put up all the carpet first and then apply that glue remover to get the remainig glue removed? I actully don't know but that was my thinking anyway...

I guess I've seen a few videos where they spray the carpet with an adhesive remover, let it sit over night to soak in and then the next day the carpet is suppose to come up a lot easier. In another video I watched he just used a vice grip to grab a hold of the carpet in one corner and just started pulling it up little by little. Seemed like a lot of elbow grease, that's why I was thinking there might be an easier way. The only other technique I found aside from the spray was to use a dremel tool with a flat edge blade. Unfortunately I have the boat stored 3 hours away from where I live so I can't just go out and tug on the carpet to see how easy it comes up. If it comes up pretty easy then I shouldn't have much to worry about I guess.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I would consider new wood too, if the glue is uneven or hard to remove, I would sure consider ripping the old stuff off, tracing for a template and just cutting new wood, then new carpet. How does the wood look that you have removed already? Those staples are a pain in the behind to remove. Make sure you use stainless steel staples if you do use the stapler. Some guys like to wrap the carpet around the edge when doing the deck in sections. That's how I did one of mine. My wood was still OK but the work to get it prepped was too much, so just bought new stuff. If you decide to use new wood, I would seal that stuff well before installing carpet.

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

The wood under the carpet that I have ripped up so far looks to be fine. It was definitely treated with something and seems like it has held up really well. At this point I don't think the wood is anywhere needing to be replaced, I'm mostly just going for a cosmetic upgrade. Of course, as any boat owner will tell you: one thing can easily lead to another, so if I do find problems with the deck once the carpet is up I may have another job to tackle.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll post back in 2 or 3 weeks once I'm able to make some more progress (I've also got to replace the bellows on the outdrive so I have quite a bit to get done before boating season).

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

Thats a fiberglass boat, isn't it? If so, new wood on the floor isn't as simple as just putting more down or cutting out the old and putting more down. Its gotta be glassed in.

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

Well I've got a long 3 day weekend lined up to hopefully get a bunch of stuff done on the boat (replace carpet, re-install upholstery, pull the out drive and replace bellows, etc.). I ordered some marine carpet last week, ended up going with 20oz textured gray: Boat Carpet | Bayside

Not looking forward to pulling the old carpet up from the deck but we'll see how it goes. If it comes up really hard I may just go buy one of those flat head dremel tools. I got to thinking about the whole spraying adhesive remover down first and letting it sit, I'm not sure that would actually do anything b/c of the rubber backing that most marine carpets have. I don't think the adhesive remover would actually penetrate down to the glue to release it. I did get some more adhesive remover (different kind this time, it's a liquid not a gel) from Menards for putting down on the deck after I get the carpet up. When I was picking up the outdoor carpet glue I found more types of adhesive remover and floor cleaner stuff in the same section as the carpet glue, so I picked up some of that as well.

My current plan is to just use a vice grip to grab a hold of a corner and start yanking. Once all the carpet is up I'll put down the adhesive remover and let it sit for a little bit (I think instructions said 15-20 mins) and then scrape off the old glue. Then I will clean the deck really good using the floor cleaner stuff I got. I'll probably have to let it dry for a while before I move on to putting down the new carpet. While it is drying I will layout the new carpet and figure out how I am going to cut out each section. I am hoping the old carpet comes up clean and I can just use the old pieces as a template. Once the pieces are cut out, dry fitted and ready to go I'll start installing each section of carpet one piece at a time, first spreading out the glue with a v-notched trowel. Lastly, I have read that you need to use a carpet roller (which I don't have) or a heavy pipe to spread out and compress the carpet/glue so that it adheres properly and does not bubble up. If I can't find a heavy pipe I may just use the thin edge of a 2x4 and my body weight to do this by just slowly walking it across the surface.

Also, the upholstery got done last week which was way ahead of schedule. I haven't seen it in person yet but my dad sent me a picture and said it looks really good. Here is a before and after pic of some of the pieces:

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

Did your Dad do the upholstery? If so, and he's not a PRO, he surely did PRO quality work!!!!

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

No my dad didn't do the upholstery, I had it done professionally. My boat is just stored in my dad's shop which is 3 hours away from where I live.

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

Well I didn't get as much done on the boat as I was hoping. Was having some car trouble on the drive back home so I spent half the weekend working on the car instead of the boat. I did get the carpet pulled up which ended up not being nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. However, I found a little water in the gear oil and some gear oil up in the u-joint bellows when I pulled the outdrive off, so I ended up having to take that in to get resealed. As far as replacing the bellows goes, I didn't get much done there b/c I only got one of the hinge pins out. I got the first one out just fine but I ended up stripping the hinge pin tool while trying to take the second one out. I thought I had the tool in all the way when I went to remove the second hinge pin (even used a hammer to push it in) but I think I only had it in half way or so due to grease and gunk in the hinge pin. I'm hoping I didn't strip the actual hinge pin but after doing quite a bit of comparing of the one hinge pin that I got out to the one that is still in there, I can't see any difference between the two. It looks like it was just the hinge pin tool itself that stripped. I'm wondering if they make those hinge pins tools with slightly softer metal so that the tool strips out before the hinge pin. Anyways, I ordered another hinge pin tool (difference company this time) so we'll see how things go next weekend when I'm able to get back and work on the boat again.

The wood on the deck of the boat was about what I expected. There was a small section of plywood that was starting to flake and rot on the driver's side but other than that there are no soft spots or anything that is visually alarming, everything seems really solid. I cut the bad section out and inspected the stringers and foam, everything looks fine underneath. My current plan is to seal all the edges of the cut wood with epoxy resin and then cut out some new wood, completely seal it with epoxy resin as well, screw it in to the existing stringers to secure it and then fiberglass over the edges and screws. I find it hard to justify re-decking the entire boat (right now anyways) when there are no soft spots on the deck and there is just this one small section that has started to rot on the surface. I don't expect the patch job to last forever but if I can get maybe 5 years out of it (or more) before having to redeck the entire boat, I'll be happy.

At any rate, here are some pictures of my progress:

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I must say, You Sir, are the most fortunate, iBoats Poster I have seen. Most owners that pull their carpet find Nightmares to deal with but... Your's is a Pleasant Surprise. From what I see and what you say it appears that your repairs and intentions are Spot On and you will be back in business in Short Order. That's GREAT!!!!!!

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I think the glue remover is for use "after" the carpet has been pulled up, you don't put it on "installed carpet" and expect it to help with the carpet removal. You have mentioned twice about rubber backed carpet and this product not penetrating it. Pull the carpet, then apply glue remover to remove all the old glue build up from your deck

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I must say, You Sir, are the most fortunate, iBoats Poster I have seen. Most owners that pull their carpet find Nightmares to deal with but... Your's is a Pleasant Surprise. From what I see and what you say it appears that your repairs and intentions are Spot On and you will be back in business in Short Order. That's GREAT!!!!!!

Ha, thanks for the reassurance. I have seen several of these 'nightmare' threads as well, some of which are on boats that aren't even half the age as mine. I don't know if these old Centurys are known to be good boats that last a long time (from an interior perspective) but mine seems to have held up pretty well over the years. I've only owned it a year and half now but I do know much of the history of the boat as it was my grandma's boat for several years and then my late uncle's boat before I purchased it. I know my grandma kept it in a covered hoist all season and it didn't get much use during the year. Then in the off season it was normally stored inside at the marina however it was neglected a bit in recent years before I got a hold of it (engine was frozen when I bought it due to it not getting fully winterized).

I've been told that back in the day these Centurys were the boats to have. You don't see many of these around anymore but last Summer I actually tied up next to an identical Century Sport 2000 (minus the color) at the local waterfront bar. Come to find out these boats were actually purchased from the same marina 30 years prior. Interestingly, my boat has a 7 passenger limit (which seems a bit low as I could hold 9 easily) but I noticed that the other boat, which is exactly like mine, was an OR. I ended up talking to the owner for a short while and found that his boat was first registered in Minnesota which had something to do with it being classified as an OR, whereas my boat was originally registered in Iowa. Here are a couple pictures of the two:

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I think the glue remover is for use "after" the carpet has been pulled up, you don't put it on "installed carpet" and expect it to help with the carpet removal. You have mentioned twice about rubber backed carpet and this product not penetrating it. Pull the carpet, then apply glue remover to remove all the old glue build up from your deck

Right, I figured this out and mentioned it in my post from April 10th. I bought more adhesive remover for the sole purpose of cleaning the deck and getting rid of any old glue that was left behind after the carpet was ripped up. The carpet pulled up fairly easy without having to do anything special to it. I just grabbed a hold of one corner with a vice grip and started pulling. I got the idea of applying adhesive remover to the carpet first and letting it sit for a while before pulling it up from a couple videos I had watched about how to pull up boat carpet.

 

[jordache16]

Re: Tips for replacing carpet ('82 Century Sport 2000)

I was able to get a lot done this weekend, things are really starting to come together. I ended up resealing pretty much the entire deck with fiberglass resin. Originally I was only going to seal the driver's side, which is where the bad wood was that I replaced, but I figured I just as well do the passenger side as well since I already had the carpet up. The entire process ended up being quite a bit more work and took a little longer than I thought it was going to... here's a summary of everything I did from start to finish:

-Pulled up the old carpet
-Cut out the bad section of wood
-Cut a new piece of wood from 1/2" treated plywood and sealed it with fiberglass resin
-Screwed in the new section of wood
-Cleaned and prepped the entire deck and then let it dry for 2 weeks
-Sealed the deck with fiberglass resin
-Sanded the deck and then prepped it for carpet
-Cut out the new carpet pieces using the old pieces as templates
-Installed the new carpet pieces one section at a time using outdoor carpet glue, a trowel, and a carpet roller


At this point the carpet is 100% done and I have probably 75% of the upholstery back in the boat. The hard work is really starting to pay off, this boat hasn't looked this good in years. Here are some pictures I took with my phone showing the new carpet and upholstery in the boat. I have more pictures that I took why my digital camera which are much better quality so I'll put together an album with all of those once everything is 100% finished. I'm hoping to wrap everything up next weekend so I can have her back in the water by Memorial Day.