marine carpet

[tassie]

hi we have got a boat and its got marine carpet in it we are having trouble to keep it clean and smell free is there any other floor coverings like rubber that i could use and where to buy it from any help would be great .

[Splash]

me interested in this one too guys!

[Kleyny]

What are you using to wash it with?
you can buy thin rubber from the rubber place with clark in it.

what i do is after washing the boat the rest of the suds get scrubbed into the carpet. works for me.

neil

[dogsbody]

Never had a problem with carpet before even after cast netting clean and smell free. I use diluted ct 18 wash.

Dave.

[Eagle]

The basic construction of a boat floor is 12mm or thicker plywood. The marine carpet is glued down with (usually) contact cement. Any other covering on the ply will most likely add more weight than the carpet. More weight equates to more fuel to move the boat. For this reason, I like the marine carpet, ie, it can be lighter than most other coverings. Any of the "hard" surfaces like dimpled plastic or rubber can become very hot to stand on in bare feet. The carpet can be wet down and it remains cool. So how to clean it? I am spoilt rotten where we live and blest beyond all other things. We have unlimited water obtained from our bore. To clean the carpet in our boat, I use the hose with a high velocity jet type nozzle, standard type from Bunnings. All the "loose or soft" blood and guts is removed with the hose first. Then I toss around one or two buckets of water with about 50ml of that blue detergent stuff mixed into the water. Cant remember the name of the stuff but it smells nice. This water/suds is then allowed to soak for a few mins. and then I bring out the secret weapon. It's my Karcher. Using the "fan" discharge nozzle I blast away all the remaining gunk and goo on the carpet. This cleans the carpet like new again and it has a lovely fresh odour, my wife loves the scent of it. It dries out quickly because of the short pile and always looks great. Definitely use a karcher, it will remove all the deep, dried blood stains in seconds. Some models can be used from a bucket as the pumping unit will self prime. However, make sure that the pump nevers runs out of water or you will have an instant meltdown. For all you boaties living with water restrictions at level 4 and worse, I guess you will be in trouble straight away. I always set the jockey wheel on a stand (so the boat is at an angle) and the water and yuck will drain out quickly. Regardless of the covering, high pressure water is the only way to clean the floor.

Eagle

[Flex]

As we speak I have just torn all my carpet up and chucked the useless stuff in the bin!
I bought a brand new 4.55seajay boat in november. It has a fully carpeted floor, after my 1st fishing trip in it I decided I hate marine carpet in boats. Firstly all hooks, and especially lures stick to buggery on the carpet. Little bits of mono you cut off dont vacuum up and the only way to clean it properly is to use a pressure washer.Which is now banned in parts of QLD.

I tore all my carpet off(it was stuck to a marine ply floor board). I got some simple outdoor acrylic based timber decking paint(no primer needed,I added this special non slip sand to the paint and gave it 2 coats.
Best thing I ever did,blood washes right off, easy to clean,no lures getting stuck in the carpet. Its non slip,alot lighter. And the best part is I siliconed around the edges so no loose sinkers,hooks, etc can fall down the sides and come into contact with the bottom of the boat and bore holes in it.You cant silicone around the edges if you have carpet.

Total cost, was about $80 and it has only taken me 2 days.

[Chimo]

Hi Tassie and others

Unfortunately I have glued down carpet in my Vagabond too and I added another layer of marine over that to sop up the spills and stains so if I ever want a nice unstained carpet I just have to take the top layer out.

Smells used to be dealt with with a soapy wash down followed by a of water with strong mix of the undiluted wheelie bin cleaner that is no longer sold as the stong version was said to be carcinogenic.

Since then after a long search I have got onto a better product that will disinfect and clean and leave everything smelling "sweet and nice". Its called Odour Kill.

Off the label;

"Odour Kill is a multi purpose detergent that cleans, disinfects and deodorises all in the one cleaning operation. Odour Kill finds applications in areas wher prescribed pescribed goods are not manufactured. These areas include such areas as toilets, washrooms,dormitories, industrial bins, kitchen garbage units and drains. Odour Kill comprises an effective benzalkonium chloride disinfectant.
Use at 20 ml per litre of warm water followed by a rinse." (kids bath water I guess these days)

I tend to not rinse very well to get extra long term odour killing and I guess the sun and wind on it breaks it down further.

With the top carpet out the glued in stuff dries very quickly and the top layer dries on a rope line before going back. Ripping good carpet out didn't appeal as it does nothing for resale IMO

Oh by the way' Elite Chemicals manufacture it.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers
Chimo

[mickc]

Flex
I hope you used the right silicon on the edges as most of them are acidic and will eat a hole in alli nearly as quick as hooks & sinkers

mick

[Flex]

Yeah I made sure I used a neutral cure silicon.

[tassie]

thanks for all your replies everybody really appreciate the help

cheers tassie

[Relic]

Another thing that can be done is simply to put water on any blood stains as soon as you see them makes it easier when you get home.

[WHALEOIL]

Flex
I hope you used the right silicon on the edges as most of them are acidic and will eat a hole in alli nearly as quick as hooks & sinkers

mick

Thanks for the tip. It never crossed my mind and I had better check to see what I have used.

[tigermullet]

Whaleoil?? Did that come from the following ?(say out loud and let it flow),

WHALE
OIL
BEEF
HOOKED

[WHALEOIL]

WHALE
OIL
BEEF
HOOKED

I did want
BEEFHOOKEDIFIKNOW
But, it seems to have been taken.

[tigermullet]

What a shame Whailoil, it must have been such a disappointment