Vinyl floor instead of carpet.

[Jimmy Jig]

I have it on my '07 Lund. Would I get it again, Yes. Is it slippery?, yes when wet.
Easy to clean up, vacumn works the best, around the edges, that where the bedding ends up. To avoid slipping when wet, I bought two pieces of carpeted mat at Menards. 2x3 for about $5. each. I have them by the seats. I have female SS flush anchors in the wooden flooor and use 2 or 3 screw bolts to hold them to the floor. If you don't fasten them down they will blow out on the highway. If they get wet I remove them and dry them out.............would I get a vinyl floor again, yes......

[vteye]

I bought a 2010 Dominator came with the Vinyl floor and love it.
Nightcrawlers, gulp juice, pike slime you name it hit it with hose and its gone. Vacumning is also much easier. Floor is thick, textured and durable I would never do carpet again.

See no drawbacks to a vinyl floor and would clearly recommend.

[HARSH]

Personally I like the vinyl floor option over carpeting. I have had vinyl floors in the past and liked them. The only disadvantages I found were that they were noisy, slippery in freezing weather, subject to fading after prolonged exposure to the sun and sharp objects could and did put cuts or gouges in the vinyl.

Listed below here is another reasonable priced option I went to this year. It that has worked very well for me with all the fishing I do. You might want to give it consideration.

I run a Ranger 620T as many of you know. A very good boat. This year instead of going with the snap in carpet option I went with a 1/4 inch commercial rubber mat over the standard (Non Slip?) fiber glass floor. I ordered the mat off the internet and it showed up in three days. Material and shipping costs were $130.00. It was cut to fit the floor contours with cutouts for the seat base holes and the bilge access door. This I did myself. The low cost surprised me.

Here are some of my observations I found after a season of using the rubber mat.

1. Like a vinyl floor it is extremely low maintenance. A pail or two of water cleans it off at the end of the day.
2. The cushioning effect of rubber makes it very easy on your feet and legs during a days fishing. Which is why factories install rubber mats at work stations. My dog loves it over the hard standard fiberglass floor.
3. Biting flies and bugs do not like the rubber floor as well as carpeting as it does not retain fish slime, blood or crawler bedding. Spills are no problem. No sour smells in wet weather. No mildew.
3. In the rain or when running rough water it does not absorb or retain water. Wet, soaked carpeting does add weight.
4. It is much more quiet than a fiber glass, vinyl or carpeted floor.
5. In rough water nothing slides to the back of the boat. If it gets wet, traction actually increases.
6. The edges do not fray, snag hooks or discolor from the sun.
6 Virtually indestructible, made out of pure rubber, I doubt regular use would wear it out in a lifetime. Look at how long a tire lasts.
7 Cost. Surprisingly low.
8. Easy to remove or put back in. Simply remove the seats and remove. No snaps, retaining clips to mess with.
9. Actually the rubber mat looks good in the boat. I wish someone would say that about me. LOL!

For those of you who fish a lot this may be a relatively inexpensive option to consider adding to what ever kind of floor you have. Especially Vinyl or fiberglass. It has worked well for me.

Pete Harsh / MR.TILLER

[gobblestopper]

Only thing I don't like about vinyl on casting decks is that the screws are hard to kneel on. Other than that clean up is great with vinyl.

[Box]

I rehabbed a pontoon and old Alumacraft, and used vinyl. After that, I will never own another boat or pontoon without vinyl flooring. Then get/make the carpet like REW said, for those occassions you want it, or for a boat I really like Harsh's idea of the rubber matting , that sounds great! And not too spendy either.

Other thing nobody mentioned, but if you have dogs, the dog hair flies right off the vinyl, unlike the hair collection property of the carpet Also, water will run off the flooring with vinyl, making the plywood floors under it last longer than the floors under carpet which get soaked and retain moisture for up to days and days afterward. After replacing spongy floors, I want to do whatever I can to make them last longer.

Vinyl can and does get hot though, on bare feet, even light colors, when in the summer sun. That is when the carpet would be nice with kids or dogs.

Enjoy the new boat!

[Miami Vice]

When my vinyl floor was about 7 years old I noticed some black spots in it. I thought the vinyl was wearing down to the base level and needed to be replaced. I tried cleaning the spots with a pressure washer, a stiff bristle brush and nothing worked. I had a friend look at it, and he told me it was black tar. We take our boat to the beach and my guests were picking up small tar balls on their feet, and then unknowingly they were bringing the tar on to the boat. Then over time the sun was baking in the tar.
My friend suggested I get a brass wire brush, and "flood" the area with a liquid cleaner called Roll On Roll Off. He told me never to let the area get dry where I was using the brush. Sure enough the brush removed all the tar and the floor looks like new.
The floor is a light beige, and it gets very hot here in Miami Beach. I would hate to think about how hot a gray floor would get.
I found one little tear in the floor and I bought a tube of GE silicone caulking in a beige color and applied a tiny drop of the silicone with a jeweler's screwdriver over the tear, and it sealed it.
I never had a problem with the floor being too slippery.
Vinyl is great.
Miami Vice

[locomoto]

Thanks for all the input folks. If I decide to pull the trigger on the Alumacraft it will have the vinyl floor option.

[shorthairsrus]

i like my carpet -- one reason and one reason only bare feet

[Lake Wisconsin]

I like the idea of a custom cut rubber floor, but assuming it is black, how hot is the floor on those sunny summer days? Too hot for bare feet? How about the dog - too warm for him?

Originally Posted by HARSH

Personally I like the vinyl floor option over carpeting. I have had vinyl floors in the past and liked them. The only disadvantages I found were that they were noisy, slippery in freezing weather, subject to fading after prolonged exposure to the sun and sharp objects could and did put cuts or gouges in the vinyl.

Listed below here is another reasonable priced option I went to this year. It that has worked very well for me with all the fishing I do. You might want to give it consideration.

I run a Ranger 620T as many of you know. A very good boat. This year instead of going with the snap in carpet option I went with a 1/4 inch commercial rubber mat over the standard (Non Slip?) fiber glass floor. I ordered the mat off the internet and it showed up in three days. Material and shipping costs were $130.00. It was cut to fit the floor contours with cutouts for the seat base holes and the bilge access door. This I did myself. The low cost surprised me.

Here are some of my observations I found after a season of using the rubber mat.

1. Like a vinyl floor it is extremely low maintenance. A pail or two of water cleans it off at the end of the day.
2. The cushioning effect of rubber makes it very easy on your feet and legs during a days fishing. Which is why factories install rubber mats at work stations. My dog loves it over the hard standard fiberglass floor.
3. Biting flies and bugs do not like the rubber floor as well as carpeting as it does not retain fish slime, blood or crawler bedding. Spills are no problem. No sour smells in wet weather. No mildew.
3. In the rain or when running rough water it does not absorb or retain water. Wet, soaked carpeting does add weight.
4. It is much more quiet than a fiber glass, vinyl or carpeted floor.
5. In rough water nothing slides to the back of the boat. If it gets wet, traction actually increases.
6. The edges do not fray, snag hooks or discolor from the sun.
6 Virtually indestructible, made out of pure rubber, I doubt regular use would wear it out in a lifetime. Look at how long a tire lasts.
7 Cost. Surprisingly low.
8. Easy to remove or put back in. Simply remove the seats and remove. No snaps, retaining clips to mess with.
9. Actually the rubber mat looks good in the boat. I wish someone would say that about me. LOL!

For those of you who fish a lot this may be a relatively inexpensive option to consider adding to what ever kind of floor you have. Especially Vinyl or fiberglass. It has worked well for me.

Pete Harsh / MR.TILER

[mrwalleye5]

I have a Pro Guide with gray vinyl and carpet. Quite a temperature change on the bare feet between the two. The vinyl being way warmer.