Carpet vs. Vinyl decks

[Midnight Stalker]

I'm going to be buying a new boat soon (probably a Crestliner) and can afford to put vinyl flooring in it, should I go with it or stick to carpet.

I move around allot when I'm casting so I want to make sure its not slippery when it gets went.

Does it tear easy?

Do you find after a couple years your carpet looks staid and dirty?

Lures getting stuck in the carpet is it really a problem?

Please any comments would be appreciated

[Jim R]

I can't speak to the vinyl as I have never fished on it. I have a crestliner with the dark green carpet and it's gone through two hard seasons and still looks like new. Hooks getting stuck in the carpet is not a problem. I do vacum it once a month and maybe wash it with dishsoap twice a year. It's really pretty easy to keep clean.

Disadvanges are that the dark green really shows the dirt, sand, etc. and it gets kind of hot on those warm sunny days.

[Dave in Walker]

One minus on the vinyl side is if you fish in the northern areas late in the fall they can get quite slippery, ice up they do, but vinyl sure is easy to clean up

[ToddM]

Why go with vinyl, why not put in a marble floor? Just kidding, I agree that unless you get some sort of textured vinyl that it could get very slippery and possibly not deaden the sound very well from moving about the boat either.

[Brad in Mich]

Muskies and Pike leave slime all over my boat,and sometimes blood from the hooks. What about clean up from this with carpet? Seems to me the slime and blood would dry in the sun, get hard and smelly,making it tough to clean. Carpet would absorb sound and vibration much better than vinyl.

[kmon]

I'd definately go with the carpet. The outdoor carpet used in boats releases hooks quite easily. And the dark green warms up quickly in spring and fall. If you really need to give it a deep down clean, tow it out for a drive in a rain shower (kidding)but it works great, esp. out on the highway. We did a little meat fishing for pike in the fall and did get quite a bit of blood and slime on the carpet. Released no problem under the hose when I got it home. Good luck.

[HerbB]

Brad in Mich,

If you handle the fish properly, you shouldn't be taking much slime off. We get some slime on our hands, but rarely do we get much on the boat. Are you laying the fish in the bottom of the boat? If so, try keeping the fish in the water while taking out the hooks and measuring it and just hold it up for a quick picture. A big net works great for that. Its much easier on the fish and makes for much faster releases. Nothing worse than spending 20 minutes reviving a fish when you could be casting for the next one.