Redoing My Floor...?? Help Please...

G

graxirena

Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
RO Number
17143
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75
Hi Guys,

I have a 19' Stratos Bowrider. I took the carpet off the floor and sides. I want to have it with NO carpet at all. So, this are my options:

1. Spray-on Bed Liner
2. Gel Coat

The bed liner will run about 600 to 700.00. It will cover gaps, etc.

The gel coat "I think" will be A LOT cheaper but I want to make sure I can find something 'bondo like' that I can use to cover gaps, etc. before rolling it on the floor.

Opinions Please? Thank you so much!!
 
I think the black bed liner color will absorb a lot of heat from the sun. Won't that make it seem really hot in your part of the country? Do they make that in other colors? You could always just cut some indoor outdoor carpet and lay it down? Cheap, removable for cleaning and easily replaced next year if it wears out.
 
My first boat was a 19' Maxum bow rider. I removed the glued down carpet and found some rotted plywood beneath. I really wanted to get rid of that carpet to ease the cleaning of the boat and eliminate wet carpet induced rot, but it was easier and cheaper to fix the wood and replace the carpet.

I later permanently fixed the problem by replacing her with a Grady White with no carpet.

If you need carpet, snaps make sense.

RWS
 
I will second the bed liner. It can be mixed in any color. Black is not an option in Tampa. One of the local shops can do this in a day.

Ken
 
+1 for the bedliner. The bedliner industry is branching out to different areas. Boats are one of them. Colors are numerous as is texture. As I understand it, the texture is a function of the distance the gun is to the covered surface. Probably a lot more to it than that. I recall reading last year a sport fisherman who did the cockpit in bedliner for greater traction and was quite pleased.

HTH. Keep us informed.
 
What happend to the original carpet and why do you want to change. Did it start falling apart or did you just start ripping it out?

What condition is the wood deck under current carpet. Is it rotted or will you be replacing it?

How old is the boat?

What is the primary purpose of the boat? Do you expect many people that are gravitationally challenged to be dancing on the deck?
 
The carpet was messed up, the floor had a couple of places where it was soft. It is not rotted, just needed some re-enforcement in two little places, just part of the construction. I got it all taken cared off. The boat is a 1989 Stratos Bowrider (they dont make them anymore). Gravitationally challenged? Aint we ALL get like that after a few beers???

Yes, the bedliner can be done in any color AND the texture can be rough, or soft. When I go on the boat with my buddies I want to have some traction, but when it is only my son (5 y/o) I dont want him to slip, fall and get all scratch up. So, the texture will be medium. Color? Debating between white and light grey. Which ever is cooler....

It is a nice boat for the use I have for it. Eventually I will sell it and get me a flats boat so I can go fishing with my lil one...
 
Spray-on bedliners are not that hot.
My dad has his truck sprayed and it is not hot at all.
Next time you see one, put your hand on it.
It is less hotter than my tan truck bed with no liner.
 
Just wondering if the wood deck is sound enough for the bed liner or gel coat to adhere, and if it can adhere, will it just start coming up and/or cracking because the deck would flex.

I had the same problem with three other boats that I owned. Two I just live with it until the rest of the boat fell apart around the soft parts in the deck. The boat I fixed, I put down a few layers of fiberglass and topped it off with a vinyl flooring material. The vinyl provided traction but was easy to clean. You may want to just top it off with non-skid paint.

Putting fiberglass on the deck is not all that difficult, especially if it does not have to be perfect. You can probably do it yourself for less than the bed liner.
 
quote:
Originally posted by rduhon

Spray-on bedliners are not that hot.
My dad has his truck sprayed and it is not hot at all.
Next time you see one, put your hand on it.
It is less hotter than my tan truck bed with no liner.

Click to expand...


Hotter meaning temp?
 
Fiberglassing the deck would be a lot of work. You can't just put gel coat over the wood. You would need some woven fiberglass cloth and a couple of layers of fiberglass mat. Sand that smooth as glass, then spray or roll the gel coat with a non skid additive. The bed liner would be a lot less work and I would think cheaper in the long run (considering materials and time), but it will look like a bed liner and not a fiberglass deck. Buy some fiberglass, polyester resin and gel coat and experiment with it and see if its something you can work with. There are many videos on youtube on working with fiberglass that can help. If you're not keeping the boat much longer I would seal the wood with a good coat of resin and glue down some carpet with outdoor carpet adhesive.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Crownline 242

You may want to just top it off with non-skid paint.

Click to expand...

Hector, I've done the above and it worked great. Used a sandlike texture added to a good brand of oil based paint.
Level out small areas with 2 part epoxy filler first.
It's the least expensive way to go.
The only drawback is it's a little rough on bare feet.

Buzz
 
Go with the bedliner. Just make sure it is what you want, because it ain't coming up easily.
 
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