Vinyl floor vs carpet

[rvrdrifter]

I have the option of going with a vinyl floor on my new boat enitrely, or main floor only and carpet on the bow platform. I understand the convenience of the vinyl and ease of care, and realize it will be slightly slippery at times, just curious about what others think of theirs. Carpet is safe, yet fades, stains, and wears down over time. I fish alone 95% of the time and am leaning towards all vinyl and no carpet. I left the boat brand out of the forum to discourage comments about maufacturers, I am only interested in feedback between the 2 styles of flooring, thanks.

[yarcraft91]

I have two boats. One- carpet, the other- vinyl covers all horizontal surfaces except the console. I prefer the vinyl for ease of cleaning and zero water retention, although the vinyl shows dirt more than the carpet does (light-color vinyl, dark charcoal carpet). Only time I found the vinyl slippery was when water froze on it. When I gouged the vinyl, it was easy to repair with adhesive. The vinyl-covered boat was my latest purchase and I'd chose vinyl again for my next fishing boat.

In the carpeted boat, I keep a big plastic tub in there to prevent the fish we catch from sliming the carpet and the crawlers from spreading grime- no such worries with the vinyl- just pour some water on it, mop with a towel, pump the bilge. Maybe I'm being too fussy, but the carpet still looks good after 18 years.

[stinkycat]

PK, you know what my boat is and I have no problems with power washing every now and then. When your done it looks brand new. A fellow WCer from Iowa has the same set up as mine and he had a frosty morning this fall and took a nasty fall in his boat. He said that he was glad he did not have the vinyl in the whole boat. I was contemplating this issue also when I purchased in 08 and was glad I stayed with only the ****pit of the boat being vinyl.
Happy Thanksgiving!

[AllenW]

I've had both, the last two boats were carpet and I wouldn't go back.

Fish guts/blood/sand/whatever come off easily with a little hosing and vacuuming and a good quaility carpet will look good for a long time.

I perfer to kneel, sit or stand on carpet also, much easier on the old bod.

And there's the safety factor, the one boat I had with vinyl got pretty slippery at times.

Al

[bvs]

I had vinyl, went to carpet, and now I'm back to vinyl and will never go back. Vinyl is a lot easier to keep clean and lasts a lot longer. Carpet stains and wears through really quickly in the the high traffic areas of the boat. I love flipping the switch on the 40psi raw-water washdown and cleaning all the muck out of my boat on multi-day trips. You really need a 1000+psi power washer to clean carpet in a resonable amount of time.

The only downsides to vinyl are that it gets hot in the sun, so its rough on bare feet, and it doesn't muffle sound so the boat's a bit noisier. Because of the noise, I don't mind carpet on the verticle surfaces and actually kind of prefer it. I've never had anyone slip in my boat and it's gotten pretty icy and slimy at times. If this ever became a problem a $10 disposable outdoor astroturf rug would solve the problem pretty quickly.

One thing to watch out for with vinyl is that that it is a lot stiffer than carpet. If it isn't installed right it peels up all over the place.

[ffishman]

My boat is 13 years old. The carpet looks great. A good cleaning once a year is all it takes. I've also owned both, and I like the carpet much better.

[mrwalleye5]

I make a point of steam cleaning my boat every spring. It gets the sand and dirt that is lodged into the bottom of the carpet. Sand wears out carpet faster the anything. I vacuum it nearly everytime I come back from fishing. The carpet in boats I have had over the years still look like new even after 10 -12 years.

W5

[MadMan]

For the ease of maintenance I would go with the vinyl hands down. This is my first fishing boat that is vinyl, and I wouldn't go back to carpet for anything.


Only time my all vinyl got slick was when I was fishing out in Lake Huron and got hailed on. Even then it was only slick for about 20 minutes. And I am probably like the rest of you, Mid December thru beginning of March is the only down time.

[Johnnie Candle]

First year with vinyl in the ****pit and I will never go back to carpet. So easy to clean and maintain. In the bow area I kept the carpet and feel that is the right thing to do.

The vinyl did get slippery at times, but I never felt unsafe. However, there is much more depth in the ****pit that in the bow of my rig.

I liked the look of one style of flooring in one area and another type up front.

Not sure you go wrong here. Enjoy the new rig.

[FJD]

Or you can buy a boat (brand left out) with snap in carpet and have the best of both worlds ! ;)

[MarkG]

So just choose your preference. EASY...or NICE.

I have had both. The carpet does require more care. I myself have chosen
to bite the bullet and spend the extra time for carpet care,,would not go back to vinyl. Day in and day out the carpet is more pleasant. The only thing different I would do is get a lighter colored carpet. Currently have dark green and shows every grain of sand and piece of cut fishing line. When new, I use to vacume about every other trip,but now not quite as anal about it. Just do it when starts looking bad.

Mine is 9 years old and every year after a good hosing down and a little scrubbing here and there with a brush(dont even use any soap) it still looks like new.

[beeman]

One of mine is quality carpet other charcoal vinyl. Real fisherman go vinyl, i use night crawlers and black crap they come with gets messy fast. Either one is fine just get something quality.

[walfshmn]

I have the snap in carpet in the area behind the windshield and took it out last June. It hasn't been back in since then and won't be until I sell the boat. It is so much easier to clean and keep clean. It is white and fiberglass so it doesn't get hot either.
Also a friend of mine has a light colored vinyl in his tin boat and it doesn't get to hot to walk on like it would if it had no covering so if you go with vinyl you might want to stick with a light color.
If I bought another boat it will have snap in carpet or vinyl.

[T Mac]

Vinyl for me.
Vinyl ****pit at least.

[EYE-FINDER]

Vinyl all the way.If you use any type of live bait,well,why would you want carpet?A hose and a mop and its all clean.

[Millerdog]

I have had both and if you fish lots or have dogs go vinyl.

[eyecatcher01]

i like the carpet look and comfort. on a 90* day i often run around barefoot and my girlfriend often does the same...vinyl can get really hot. the snap in/out carpet is the best of both worlds. this boat your looking at i take it does not have that option, i would fab up carpet to fit nicely and put some high quality snaps on it (a quality rubber backed carpet may need nothing). with some care carpet will last very long time. vinyl obviously lasts along time as well but i have also seen vinyl start to peel up at edges and needs reglued.

[SALMONGUY]

Definately Vinyl, it is so easy to keep clean. About 5 minutes with a little soap and a scrub brush and its like new. Its really forgiving with spills, slime, and hooks. Also its just an observation but would a boat with carpet weigh more then one with vinyl?

[eyecatcher01]

Also its just an observation but would a boat with carpet weigh more then one with vinyl?

maybe by like a few pounds...unless soaking wet and full of sand.