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American flooring budget mat install


Fman

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I power wash mine once a year, and often also hose it down once mid summer.  I put about 100 hours a year on the boat, and every month or so in the summer we do an outing to our local doggie island with anywhere from 3 to 5 dogs on board - who get wet and get loaded back in (retrievers, labs, and a boxer).  I have never noticed any problem with hair accumulation.  I will say it is somewhat scary if you pick up the edge of the deckadence after a couple of months and look under it.  Everything that falls on it seems to migrate through to the floor below.  Consequently, I do roll it up every month or so, vacuum under it, and then wash down the floor.  Other than that, it is the most maintenance free floor surface I have ever had in a boat..  Far less trouble to keep it looking great than other surfaces I have seen and tried.

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@Fman

was that 4x16 section that you bought, large enough to cover the boat carpet PLUS seam together the entire area under the driver helm?  (If I remember correctly, you had some extra matting laying around).  What size piece do you recommend buying for this job?

When you said, “I do have a separate piece for under driver helm because of the 4'wide width it comes in.”  I take it then that the left overs from the  4x16 piece was more than enough to be used for covering the area under the drivers helm? 

Just want to be sure what size I need to order.  Thanks again.

- Whitecap

Edited by Whitecap
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17 hours ago, Whitecap said:

@Fman

was that 4x16 section that you bought, large enough to cover the boat carpet PLUS seam together the entire area under the driver helm?  (If I remember correctly, you had some extra matting laying around).  What size piece do you recommend buying for this job?

When you said, “I do have a separate piece for under driver helm because of the 4'wide width it comes in.”  I take it then that the left overs from the  4x16 piece was more than enough to be used for covering the area under the drivers helm? 

Just want to be sure what size I need to order.  Thanks again.

- Whitecap

Yes that one piece will have plenty for the entire boat.

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FWIW, I bought 23 feet and it was enough to go the full length (bow to aft lounge, with seam on starboard side) and then do all of my areas under the seats, under the bow cushions, and glovebox.

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I want to use that for my 01 ssvlx. I have the taupe or beige interior and carpet with blue piping and blue color below the rub rail and blue tower. What color would y’all do for it? I’m not a fan of the taupe interior but it was very clean. Blue or grey? Do I need to pull the carpet to put this down? Will the floor require smoothing or painting? Maybe even the brown.

Edited by williemon
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1 hour ago, williemon said:

I want to use that for my 01 ssvlx. I have the taupe or beige interior and carpet with blue piping and blue color below the rub rail and blue tower. What color would y’all do for it? I’m not a fan of the taupe interior but it was very clean. Blue or grey? Do I need to pull the carpet to put this down? Will the floor require smoothing or painting? Maybe even the brown.

I would not put it over carpet, it needs to be on fiberglass to breathe and take advantage of all it offers.  On carpet you might get mildew from the carpet not being able to fully dry out.

They have quite a few options for colors, I am sure you could find something to match up.

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  • 4 months later...

At the very end of last season, my carpets were dirty and a bit smelly.  I took them out of the boat, hung them over the railing of the dock, and sprayed them down.  It took days to dry.  By day three they were still wet.  I had to go out of town for a work trip.  While I was gone, a monster storm line swept across the state, soaking the carpet and the gust front sent the carpets to the bottom of the lake. (Yes, I’m a jackass - lesson learned).  When I got home from the trip, I realized what had happened, and went free diving for my carpet in the hopes I could salvage them.  No luck.  Carpet was ruined.

sooooo...........

I had my wife order me the grey floor mat from AMERICAN Matt (link on the first post).  I got the 4x16 footer. Here is what I did step by step.  The process is super easy (once you get off your a** and finally do it).  I did it two days ago.  (Yes, the mats sat in my garage for months before I finally did it) It took about two hours from start to finish to complete the job.  Super easy.

1. First lay the mat upside down. The mat seems to be easier to mark on from the floor side, so upside down is a better way to outline your cuts.   Since a friend of yours has the exact same boat as you - grab your buddy’s carpet (since yours is at the bottom of your lake and unsalvageable) and lay the carpet upside down as well.  It will look like this.

EBA5454C-094C-4806-93E8-9DA8209965C4.thumb.jpeg.dd0366b5b656e06583624c570bb596bc.jpeg

2. Take a sharpie and outline the carpet, making sure the carpet is upside down as well.  I outlined the border by tracing around the carpet, but for style points, if you wanted a very snug carpet fit, you could add an extra inch or so to the boundary of the existing carpet.  This would make your mat fit just about perfectly in your boat (that is my guess - I did not do this.... but if I had to do it over again, I would add an inch to the border of the carpet and trace around it.)

2755F5BD-8C4E-4F7D-B544-788E83EA6E06.thumb.jpeg.a5b5551fcf8b38a3ab9b77056917ab78.jpeg
3.  Start cutting on your sharpie outline.  I used heavy duty Scissors for the corners and an exacto knife for the straight lines.

4. Then I laid out some white crate paper from dollar general.  I taped it to cover the captains floor under the steering wheel, along the right side of the captains chair, and wrapping around to the back of the chair.  Then I took a pencil and outlined the area of the paper that needed cutting.  I trimmed the paper where the pencil markings were, and I came up with this.

87610A66-A514-400E-88D3-B243D14D6373.thumb.jpeg.4e0fda97eea035224f89d8dec34bec36.jpeg

5. I flipped my paper upside down, and traced around it, using my sharpie.  Then cut the sharpie lines on the mat.  I flipped the mat over and laid it down on the boat floor, under the steering wheel, next to the seat, side of the boat, and behind the seat.

  A8D31962-DB59-40AB-9124-43852849CB77.thumb.jpeg.67ae3ac09feb8f18ff4c641bc8ba28c1.jpeg

 

 

Edited by Whitecap
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6.  Then I put in the main mat.  The finished product was beautiful!

48866894-C32D-42BB-BA8F-C870A99EF712.thumb.jpeg.41b04f01b172ec457ed1f2a65fdc2e80.jpeg72F566C5-1B92-4364-9E1B-6AD9958041FE.thumb.jpeg.ce2ed15408af427cf4991012247f1449.jpeg6574A821-87C4-4349-A5A2-F09E10A66C32.thumb.jpeg.bf7a092d5d22bcab83cdc10632e990b4.jpegC786A19F-9C89-40DA-8B2B-4BFCEE37E0D3.thumb.jpeg.af5ab50e453149354fff3f230423961b.jpeg
the matting looks a bit dark in these photos because I was installing the matting while inside the over the tower, boat cover.  Light was poor inside the boat, and it was raining and dark outside the boat.

I intentionally wanted that mat seem between the captains carpet and the main walkway.  I take out the main drain plug after every boating outing.  I put it back in before every boating outing. (4 times a week in the season).  It would be a PITA to remove the carpet if it is connected to the captains rug and wraps around the back of the seat. So, I thought it best to keep them separated, so I can get to the drain plug easier.

 

Edited by Whitecap
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  • 2 weeks later...

This is an absolutely amazing project. We had snap in carpet in our Axis and hated it. I pulled that soggy crap out within the first few weeks. 

Are you guys ordering the "Vinyl Mesh Pool Mats" or the more expensive "Premium Vinyl Mesh Mats"?

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4 hours ago, CBray4 said:

Are you guys ordering the "Vinyl Mesh Pool Mats" or the more expensive "Premium Vinyl Mesh Mats"?

Can't speak for the others, but I went with the Grizzly from DirectMat.

https://www.directmat.com/product.asp?productid=288

I certainly thought the harder of the 2 pool mats were way too hard on the feet, but for other areas (like a locker, or dock) they might be excellent. In this video I showed the two versions of the pool mats I received which were quite different.  The Grizzly mat wasn't out yet, so it isn't in the in the video, but I later I got samples and it was the closest I could find to Deckadence.  It is slightly thinner at 1/2" instead of 5/8" but without the nonskid backing they seem to be near identical.  But don't take my word for it, order your samples and judge for yourself.

 

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@CBray4

get the regular vinyl mesh pool mats, in my opinion........ no need for the premium ones.  I have been told that the regular mats are thick, heavy, and sturdy enough to last under heavy traffic / high use areas.  Mine feel thick, dense, and heavy duty.  The regular mat is also just soft enough to feel very good on bare feet.  They won’t move around, won’t fade, won’t get hot from the sun, are easy to clean (as the dirt passes through them to the bottom floor), they are washable with a quick garden hose, and easy to remove.. With such a cheap price, and the pride of a great new look from a do-it-yourself project -  I can think of very few drawbacks from this project.

 

I hope this write up helps you.

-Whitecap 

Edited by Whitecap
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Has anyone used these “mats” in a direct drive? V-drives might not need to make a seam right down the middle of their main open area, but DD’s do. Where would you seam the narrower, less expensive “mats”?

Edited by sjpostma
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12 hours ago, sjpostma said:

Has anyone used these “mats” in a direct drive? V-drives might not need to make a seam right down the middle of their main open area, but DD’s do. Where would you seam the narrower, less expensive “mats”?

I've been thinking this same thing for my Response.  Wondering how it would look to do a strip up each side of the motor box with a hatch cover.  Also wonder if that center hatch cover piece would be lost the first time I towed the boat.  In the deckadence seaming videos, the seam looks practically invisible once it's done.  Not sure if that's the case with these cheaper pool mats given they're not backed with the same material.

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14 minutes ago, formulaben said:

Find my seam.  (Hint, it's not the run in the middle that looks like a seam; that was from manufacturing and it less visible from other angles.)

20190602-144326.jpg

There's a lot going on in that photo, but is that a seam under the lead wake bag by the Gojo bottle?
Did you do your sidewalls in Chinese seadeck and vinyl wrap your seat bases with black vinyl?  I dig.

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Just now, UWSkier said:

There's a lot going on in that photo, but is that a seam under the lead wake bag by the Gojo bottle?
Did you do your sidewalls in Chinese seadeck and vinyl wrap your seat bases with black vinyl?  I dig.

Yep, the sandbag is holding it down; it runs forward under the helm.  When the seat is in you dont' see it at all...with a direct drive I supposed you'd have 2, one fore and one aft.  Sidewalls are GatorStep and yeah, black carbon Spradling vinyl on the seat base and cupholders in preparation for when I nuke all the other skins and totally change it up.  Good eye!

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2 minutes ago, formulaben said:

...When the seat is in you dont' see it at all...

I'm glad you mentioned a seat.  I assumed you had an orangutan for a driver, or maybe you just make the driver stand up. 

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Seaming with floor mats is super easy.  If done right, no one will be able to tell the seam is there.

There are several adhesives that will bond well with DECKadence Marine Flooring, however the most popular and easy to obtain is OATEY PVC “ALL PURPOSE CEMENT” 30818. Found in most hardware stores in the plumbing section.  

https://www.commercialmatsandrubber.com/mc_files/3/How-to-Seam1.pdf

Edited by Whitecap
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  • 2 months later...

I ripped out my carpet and put the floor mat down. In my last boat I rhino lined the bare fiberglass but this time I just left it bare and the mat is laying ontop and hasn’t been a problem. 
 But that’s just me, most people on here probably wouldn’t be caught dead with out doing a cleaner install and covering the floor somehow :)  

 

the carpet came up easy and had minimal glue to scrap off.
 

I did rhino line the gas tank center section the metal was to slippery for the Mat.  

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I have Gray on order for my 22 VLX, for it, I only needed a 12 x 4 piece, and just over $250.   Im not doing the compartments (at this time anyway), just the floor, and in front or the captains seat.   My current plan is to follow the template of my carpet (which is still in nice condition despite 240 hours of time).   I will probably add the snaps as well, just because Im a bit retentive. 

If it is even half as good as people have described here I am going to be delighted.   We do two weeks in a cabin at out local lake every year, and I wind up having to cover the boat while anchored in a cove... invariably, it will REEK because it is covered while the carpet is still wet.   I hope this helps even a LITTLE bit with that, as well as making the post trip clean up MUCH easier.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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