Replacing 'dead' carpet...there's no turning back now!

[Wakesetter67]

Come on Vinnie go ahead and do the whole boat!

I met the Gator Step guys at the boat show, wish I did before I ordered all my SeaDek.

LOL I love my new Carpet, I think I was more excited about the Malibu Logo carpet then The dash...LOL

[Sunscape fan]

LOL I love my new Carpet, I think I was more excited about the Malibu Logo carpet then The dash...LOL

I like my carpet too!! I personally don't like the feeling of sea dec...jmo

[hvl2010]

That Seadek looks good. We have a place locally that is a "vendor" for them, and is getting their own CNC machine to cut the floors. i may try this, this Spring in my 2007 VTX. The carpet is way worn out. I may have missed it, but how did you deal with the unfinished fiberglass floor and adhering this stuff to the deck?

[WakeGirl]

Hey guys,

Soooo sorry for the delay on getting you an update. I was so excited when I FINALLY got my SeaDek in, I had to get the boat out!

Anyways, it's been quite the lengthy adventure. Unfortunately, I had to resort to emailing every exec I could find on Linked In before I got any real attention to my project. And then, magically I had my floor within a week!

I will say they want to be very exact about the pattern. There's really no fixing mess up and minor changes. Once the pattern is cut, you get what you get. So you want to right the first time. You know the saying, measure twice, cut once. Totally applies here.

Which means there could be ALOT of back-and-forth with SeaDek. But there's is ALOT of waiting when you're they're getting drawing made, cutting fit kits, etc. It took almost 6 months from the time I ripped up my carpet until I was able to install my new floor. I'd wished I'd known that sooner or I would have started earlier and not missed 2/3 of the season.

All that being said, I LOVE LOVE this floor. It looks great and feel fantastic. Doesn't get any hotter than the carpet.

.....

I'm going to say this for the benefit of others considering this project, so please don't take it as someone rubbing salt in your wounds.

My question would be, why couldn't you do the pattern without ripping up the carpet? I realize that it's a lot of work to pull the seat bases, etc, but if you take the pattern with the carpet still in place, then you could still put everything back together & use the boat until the new floor arrives. Then rip it up & install it, boom, all finished. 6 months is a long time to lose, especially since it sounds like you lost most of the summer.

And I'll echo the others: that looks really good. I'll bet you feel like you've got a new boat. All for the low price of $1600.

[Intense]

Trace, that's a fair question. In hindsight, that would have been a better idea.

When we started ripping everything out, it was February. However, with my crazy travel at the beginning of the project, it made it tough to make significant progress quickly.

However, once the back and forth process began, it took forever to get a immediate responses from Seadek.

If I'd have known the process takes so long, I would have done with you're suggesting.

And dedicated more time upfront and done the pattern more carefully the first time.

[WakeGirl]

FWIW, I probably would have done the same as you & ripped it all out at the outset. I just wonder with the benefit of hindsight if it would have been better to wait to rip it out, just for the benefit of those that are contemplating doing this.

I've never been a big fan of the beige interiors, instead favoring the gray based themes. But I've gotta say, it really makes that interior pop. I like it so much better than the carpet. Have you been out with it yet? It would be great to see some pics with it completed & all buttoned up.

[09vRide]

Would it be possible to only cut out the carpet area in the cockpit and leave the areas in the lockers and under seats? Or would this create an issue with exposed carpet seams and be difficult to make look nice at the seat base? I'm thinking that i dont mind the carpet under seats,etc. It is the cockpit area that stinks when wet and is the area i am most concerned with.

[robbennett]

Would it be possible to only cut out the carpet area in the cockpit and leave the areas in the lockers and under seats? Or would this create an issue with exposed carpet seams and be difficult to make look nice at the seat base? I'm thinking that i dont mind the carpet under seats,etc. It is the cockpit area that stinks when wet and is the area i am most concerned with.

I am planning on doing something like this. It will have to wait until winter now but the plan is to get monstaliner and line the areas under the seats and in the compartments. The interior where your feet go will be seadek for comfort. I saw a thread on WW where someone did this to a nautique and it looked amazing.

[SunriseH2OSkier]

Looks really good! Definitely something I'll consider when I finally get around to replacing my carpet. That said, I have one significant hesitation.

What is your experience with the adhesive backing on your floor? I put seadeck on my swim platform a few years back, and have an annoying air bubble that developed a few months after I installed it. Covers about a 6 inch x 3 inch area on the platform. Platform was very clean when I installed, did not have any kind of oil on it that would have contributed to the problem. In retrospect, I think the issue was caused by the mat being rolled up for shipping, causing the backing paper to separate from the adhesive surface, allowing dust/dirt or some other kind of compromise of the adhesive in this area.

Bad enough on my swim platform, but I'd be even more annoyed if it occurred in my interior. Have you had any issues with this?

[GatorStep]

Hey all, the boat looks grey, if you are considering doing something similar to this please consider GatorStep.com turn around time is 2 weeks average, pricing is very competitive, we have templates available for 2014/2015 23 LSV, 2014 and earlier 21 VLX, 2015 22 VLX and 2015 22 MXZ heres a couple shots of an LSV

[saxton15]

Hey all, the boat looks grey, if you are considering doing something similar to this please consider GatorStep.com turn around time is 2 weeks average, pricing is very competitive, we have templates available for 2014/2015 23 LSV, 2014 and earlier 21 VLX, 2015 22 VLX and 2015 22 MXZ heres a couple shots of an LSVA

Are the 2014/2015 LSV templates the same as the 2011?

[tzordan]

I am currently restoring my 2000 Malibu with all new vinyl and am torn between installing a Seadek or Gatorstep material in lieu of carpet replacement. Has anyone else switched on the older style boats? And if so do you have pictures you could shard? Thanks!

[Slurpee]

I am currently restoring my 2000 Malibu with all new vinyl and am torn between installing a Seadek or Gatorstep material in lieu of carpet replacement. Has anyone else switched on the older style boats? And if so do you have pictures you could shard? Thanks!

Not me. I'm in the same situation as you though. Remember to post YOUR pictures when you're done so I can benefit from your process.

[gravity]

Get a hold of agenda surf he offers pre cut pieces and is way better to deal with than the dicks at sea deck.

[gravity]

Or gator they do all the new centurions.

[robbennett]

Intense - How did you get your built in cooler out? I can't figure it out it seems like the screws holding it together are under the cooler itself.

[Intense]

Intense - How did you get your built in cooler out? I can't figure it out it seems like the screws holding it together are under the cooler itself.

The cooler...yeah, that was a pain. If I recall correctly, there were a couple L-brackets holding the cooler in place. Once those were gone, we had to slide the cooler rearwards, towards the motor. That was the only was we could figure out how to remove it.

And don't put that crap back in! As far as I could tell, it had nearly zero insulating properties. I went with the AO coolers that were made specifically for our boats.

[Ndawg12]

^^^ just pulled the larger cooler out of mine. Its a perfectly carpeted storage area that I can put a soft side cooler and some lead in

[robbennett]

Thanks great advice! I am basically doing this project except with the snow camo sheet material from Seadek. The lockers I am getting creative and pulling the carpet from the starboard on the floors and flipping it over. They are getting switched from left to right as well.

Also you weren't joking when you said this is a winter project. I completely underestimated how hard it is to remove the glue and carpet fragments from the flooring.

[JLT3]

On 5/14/2015 at 5:29 AM, saxton15 said:

Are the 2014/2015 LSV templates the same as the 2011?

Never saw an answer to this one.  I have a 2002 23 LSV so is there a difference where the template for 2004 will not work for earlier years.  Please advise.  Thanks!

Edited May 7, 2019 by JLT3
must have drank too much. I meant 2002 and 2004 not 2012. Sorry guys! I am looking to get rid of the old carpet and upgrade it. I did it on my previous boat but it was gel coat floor...

[wdr]

You wouldn’t think so, but every boat built is slightly different. I am putting in small pieces of Seadeck on mine now and one side is not a symmetrical copy of the other side. I got lucky on my ‘10 when I did the GatorStep with about a 98% fit from another boat template. If you are like me, OCD it will bug the heck out of you if  you don’t template your own boat. JM2C

[ahopkins22LSV]

If you order through Gator Step, they can provide paper templates that you can double check each section and make changes if needed. I did for our 2019 and glad I did because the windshield stop for the walk through was in a different location than the template! 

[UpperleftWake]

12 hours ago, JLT3 said:

Never saw an answer to this one.  I have a 2012 23 LSV so is there a difference where the template for 2014 will not work for earlier years.  Please advise.  Thanks!

2010 - 2013 is going to be different from 2014 - 2017. For example, the table mount in the main center floor panel appears to be in a different location per unit. This variance is sometime marginal, but if you are OCD like I and several other 'Bu owners, you will notice it! Other areas that could be different lay around the walk through, as well the sub depending on if the boat has a factory subwoofer or if an aftermarket subwoofer was installed.

Paper template test fit is required on the 2010 - 2013 23 LSV, prior to an order going into production.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

[saxton15]

12 hours ago, JLT3 said:

Never saw an answer to this one.  I have a 2012 23 LSV so is there a difference where the template for 2014 will not work for earlier years.  Please advise.  Thanks!

Template it.  It's a straight forward process and the results are worth it.  

[malibu2004]

I'm on template number 7 with gator step and it's still not close. They even came out to my house to template it and it's still messed up. They do have very good customer service but the template cuts aren't coming back correct. 

My first template was dropped off in January.