Replacing Carpet with SeaDek Flooring

[hawaiianstyln]

I don't know about Seadek but apparently they let you get the logos.  As for GatorStep, it's flat out no.  That is still a no as of this week as I'm working with them to wrap up my stuff.

[COOP]

4 hours ago, lorien said:

I decided that after all the prep that went into it, I was gonna pay a few extra bucks to have the template install done by a SeaDek authorized place.  We used Live 2 Wake in Northern California and they did a great job.  I was told I could have up to two logos, but I requested the two logos + the swim step.

Once I get the rest of it done I will send some finished shots.  It looks way better in person than it does in the photos...

 

Just curious how you took care of the gaps around the floor panel that covers the exhaust? The carpet acts as a gasket on that floor piece so it fits good.

[COOP]

2 hours ago, hawaiianstyln said:

I don't know about Seadek but apparently they let you get the logos.  As for GatorStep, it's flat out no.  That is still a no as of this week as I'm working with them to wrap up my stuff.

I'd bet Gatorstep is pretty upset with Malibu right now. When Malibu took the flooring in house they took a big chunk of money out of Gatorsteps pocket, and Seadeks. 

[hawaiianstyln]

25 minutes ago, COOP said:

I'd bet Gatorstep is pretty upset with Malibu right now. When Malibu took the flooring in house they took a big chunk of money out of Gatorsteps pocket, and Seadeks. 

I was thinking the same the other day!  Since Gator wouldn't let me get any Malibu logos and I've always been a fan of the old Malibu logo addition on the transom "Exclusive U.S. Open TowBoats", they let me do that on the swim platform.  I'm having them remove the "Exclusive", but I hope it turns out okay.  At least I get the digital graphics today/tomorrow before I pay to see how it looks.  looks funny then I'm ditching it.

 

[UWSkier]

7 hours ago, lorien said:

Sorry for the long silence.  The project is nearing completion, and like people said, it was a lot of work, but looks like it will be worth it!  The majority of time is spent prepping the unfinished fiberglass floor (pulling carpet, stripping adhesive, sanding, filler, more sanding, then we used expoxy primer and automotive urethane paint).  After doing all that we got it templated, and the SeaDek installed.  TO THE PERSON WHO SAID YOU CAN'T GET MALIBU LOGOS:  this is incorrect.  

If one of you tells me which free photo sharing site they use, I will add a bunch of photos from the project.

The only things remaining are to have the carpet on the engine cover and side panels replaced with vinyl....  

 

Project looks great!  Thinking of doing that with my '01 as the carpet is matted and stinky even after shampooing it.

On the engine cover, are you sure you want to go vinyl all the way to the floor?  Seems like that'll look rough after a few years of use.  At least on my boat, there are always things like skis, vests, etc rubbing up against that surface while we're out.  If I was going to redo my floor, I'd personally leave the carpeted part of the doghouse alone.

What'd you use to fill in the low spots in your floor?  I have a few of those that I'd need to level before doing the floor anew.

[T-rev]

Looks good!

[ahopkins22LSV]

That turned out absolutely awesome! Great work!

[lorien]

17 hours ago, COOP said:

Just curious how you took care of the gaps around the floor panel that covers the exhaust? The carpet acts as a gasket on that floor piece so it fits good.

Hey COOP,  for the ski locker and the rear access (for drive shaft / exhaust) I needed to completely remake those pieces.  As you said, they are wrapped in carpet so after carpet is gone they are simply too small to use.  I ended up using a plastic product called HDPE (also called "starboard") and cutting it slightly smaller than the openings.  When I reinstalled, I used foam tape , and also seadek pieces to fill in the gaps, so things were snug again.

This approach was recommended by the local SeaDek retailer and I think it was a good move

[lorien]

15 hours ago, UWSkier said:

Project looks great!  Thinking of doing that with my '01 as the carpet is matted and stinky even after shampooing it.

On the engine cover, are you sure you want to go vinyl all the way to the floor?  Seems like that'll look rough after a few years of use.  At least on my boat, there are always things like skis, vests, etc rubbing up against that surface while we're out.  If I was going to redo my floor, I'd personally leave the carpeted part of the doghouse alone.

What'd you use to fill in the low spots in your floor?  I have a few of those that I'd need to level before doing the floor anew.

Hi UWSkier,

the upholstery guy asked the same question, but the whole point was to get rid of the carpet, so I'm gonna roll the dice and see if it will work.  If it gets cut up over the years i will consider other options.  

on the floor I had to do a few things:

1.  in several places i grinded through the existing glass and exposed holes in the deck to foam in the hull.  For these I refilled with actual fiberglass to make it water tight.

2.  I then coated the whole deck with a thin layer of bondo filler.  The floor was pretty rough, with tons of pin holes and other deformations.  The filler was just to level things out

3.  Sanded it all down as close to flat as I could.

 

You can see this in the photos if you look at the two with filler (one is coated on and the other is sanded).  Ultimately I'm not sure how necessary this was, given so little of the floor is exposed when it's complete.  that said, it was one of those steps that I wanted to take b/c I had already done so much, it just felt like the right thing to do.  The SeaDek installer told me that my floor was the best one he had seen, so I guess that made it feel kind of worth the effort...

[COOP]

35 minutes ago, lorien said:

Hey COOP,  for the ski locker and the rear access (for drive shaft / exhaust) I needed to completely remake those pieces.  As you said, they are wrapped in carpet so after carpet is gone they are simply too small to use.  I ended up using a plastic product called HDPE (also called "starboard") and cutting it slightly smaller than the openings.  When I reinstalled, I used foam tape , and also seadek pieces to fill in the gaps, so things were snug again.

This approach was recommended by the local SeaDek retailer and I think it was a good move

Yup, you did the same thing we have done. 

[rschuster]

This looks FANTASTIC!  Thinking about this project next winter but doing DECKadence for the flooring.  This should allow me to keep the carpet intact on the side storage areas, passenger seat base, and carpet at motor box. Any pros or cons that you guys can think of with doing the DECKadence instead of the Gatorstep or Seadeck?