Remove glued down carpet...Gatorgrip?

[jake]

Has anybody out there removed their glued down carpet and replaced it with gator grip, or maybe refinished and installed snap in carpet.

I'm thinking about buying a 4RZ with a 6.0 and I absolutely HATE the glued down carpet. Were on our boat every weekend from April 1 through October 31st. My boat gets dirty. We eat on it, drink on it, bring our dirty feet on it.

I'd LOVE to hear from anybody out there that has overcome this HUGH obstacal.

Thanks!

[zad0030]

Sounds like a great idea!!

You could even install a drain and then it would be a snap to clean up!

That being said, depending on the year boat you have will depend on the flooring construction. Pre 2004 and you probably have wood.

[dingleberry]

Sounds like a great idea!!

You could even install a drain and then it would be a snap to clean up!

That being said, depending on the year boat you have will depend on the flooring construction. Pre 2004 and you probably have wood.

Zad - RZ4 didn't exist until 2008...but good point in case he happens to look at any older models.

[jwanck11]

I was thinking of doing the same thing! We have 4 kids and the carpet gets very messy very quickly.

[balair]

what do you mean by refinish the floor? do you want to fiberglass it? that would be quite spendy i would think

[mtnsmith]

I thought about the same thing since I use my boat in saltwater. The most cost effective would be either gator grip or this other flooring material that my friend told me about that is another type of stick down rubbery marine flooring. I'll ask mneal, another member, to post it, he got a sample and probably has the link still. I considered having the floor finished in a non-skid gelcoat, but it would be a couple thousand dollars and with the aluminum panel over the fuel tank in the middle, there is a large custom fab panel that would have to be made. In all fairness though, I am impresses with how well the carpet has weathered the salt abuse year round. I rinse it thoroughly with fresh water every few months and use a shop vac to get all the funky stuff out and then let it dry in the sun. Let us know what you end up doing.

Here is the stuff, it is made by nautolex, the decko dot and marine vinyl flooring. This link might not be the cheapest, but it had them both on one page.

http://www.defender.com/category.jsp...1409&id=311410

[jake]

mtnsmith - I think your referring to Seadek (www.seadek.com).
Thanks for your input. BTW...how is your boat holding up in the salt? Did you CC your engine? Any changes to your exhaust?

For the other folks that kindly responded, the interest is in the 2008 RZ4. If I knew there was more than 3 oz. of wood, I wouldn't buy it. (steering wheel and knob exception)

So! Typically 4 kids, we eat on the boat..chips, cookies, you name it.

I met a couple just this past weekend that had their 08 Ski Nat. out. Wife said she looked at the Tige but couldn't stand the idea of Carpet glued in. I told her the same story......It just doesn't make sense. The boats not made for a bunch of adults, it made for a bunch of kids. What do kids do best? Make a mess!
And who's knows best? MOM!

Mom's always right.........RIGHT?

Thanks again for all everyone's input.

[jake]

what do you mean by refinish the floor? do you want to fiberglass it? that would be quite spendy i would think

Dear balair: Refinish meaning anything but glued in carpet. Kinda like throwing out the house carpet and putting in anything besides carpet.

[chpthril]

My previous boat had snap-out carpet. It would not be a deal breaker for me either way if I liked everything else about the boat, but I will say that I spent way more time cleaning the snap-out then I have with the Tige carpet. The carpet in our Four Winns never dried between the backing and the floor, so every 3-4 weeks through the season, it was a slimy, stinky mess. I would have to pull the carpet out, clean and deodorize, hang over the fence and dry. It took a couple days to dry and you kept your fingers crossed that it wouldn't rain. By then, it was time to snap it back in and go out, so it seemed the cycle never ended.

With the Tige, I hit it with the shop-vac about once a month or as needed and at the end of the season when we slow up, I take 30 minutes to pressure was it and then the use the vac to pull most of the water out. So, in 3 seasons, I have 1.5 hrs of my time wrapped up in extra cleaning. Oh yeah, it's not uncommon to have 5-10 peeps, eating and drinking (we pack a lunch quite often), plus a dog or 2.

[zad0030]

Zad - RZ4 didn't exist until 2008...but good point in case he happens to look at any older models.

Oops, Duh!

[mtnsmith]

The boat is holding up extremely well, in all honesty better than I was expecting. I knew they were well built, but expected more problems as with any boat used in salt and used year round. I was not referring to the seadek product, but I do like it, thanks for the link. The only reason I would want to remove the carpet is it can get pretty hot in the summer. We have several nieces and nephews that go on the boat frequently and some friend's kids as well and I wouldn't say the carpet is really much more upkeep other than the occasional rinse/vacuum. I can say this as we had a full non-skid liner in our sea-ray before the tige so I have experience with both. I would have to say that if the carpet needed replacing I would only do it with some sort of less absorbent material. Oh, and my engine is not closed loop, I know too many people that have had more problems with their closed loop than people that have normal cooling. I just flush the engine and keep a close eye on things.

[mtnsmith]

The carpet in our Four Winns never dried between the backing and the floor, so every 3-4 weeks through the season, it was a slimy, stinky mess.

If I had removable carpet, I don't think I would ever put it back in except for the winter trips when we wouldn't be riding, booze cruises!

[chpthril]

If I had removable carpet, I don't think I would ever put it back in except for the winter trips when we wouldn't be riding, booze cruises!

I agree except for all the uncovered snaps that your toes seem to find

[jake]

Thanks Chpthril. I really enjoyed your post, and you put things into perspective well. You made me rethink this whole carpet complaint I have. What you wrote is so true it made me laugh. Oh, and BTW....the bottom line phase just kills me. I needed a good chuckle after hearing that some 48 year old idiot, with not 1 ounce of experience is now the president of the greatest nation on earth. Where's Daffy Duck when you need him?

My previous boat had snap-out carpet. It would not be a deal breaker for me either way if I liked everything else about the boat, but I will say that I spent way more time cleaning the snap-out then I have with the Tige carpet. The carpet in our Four Winns never dried between the backing and the floor, so every 3-4 weeks through the season, it was a slimy, stinky mess. I would have to pull the carpet out, clean and deodorize, hang over the fence and dry. It took a couple days to dry and you kept your fingers crossed that it wouldn't rain. By then, it was time to snap it back in and go out, so it seemed the cycle never ended.

With the Tige, I hit it with the shop-vac about once a month or as needed and at the end of the season when we slow up, I take 30 minutes to pressure was it and then the use the vac to pull most of the water out. So, in 3 seasons, I have 1.5 hrs of my time wrapped up in extra cleaning. Oh yeah, it's not uncommon to have 5-10 peeps, eating and drinking (we pack a lunch quite often), plus a dog or 2.

[Domsz06]

I have gator grip on the sides of my boat and it's great. I have carpet in mine and when I used it every weekend and we ate and drank on it and it was not an issue. I wash the boat once a month maybe and it was not an issue. I really don't think you need to pull it up, but each to his own.