1974 Winner Cobra flooring

[taholmes160]

HI folks:

We have a 1974 Winner Cobra runabout -- its been well loved over the years and needs some work. among other things, the yellow outdoor carpet inside it is falling apart -- badly -- underneath it appears to be a grey textured plastic / rubber compound of some sort that appears to be applied directly to the decking material. Im wondering if that could be (at least for a while) used as the flooring without the carpet. the carpet is just simply a MESS. Replacement of the carpet is the long term goal, but right now financially is not feasible, so im wondering if we can pull the old nasty carpet and get by for a couple years till money eases up and we can re-carpet (and replace the seats)

Thanks
TIM

 

[Freebee]

the carpet is only a decorative covering on something that serves as a structural layer underneath.. removing an old tatty carpet can only be an improvement surely.

 

[taholmes160]

@Freebee -- im with you -- the carpet is nasty, Dad (who actually owns the boat was worried that the carpet might be to protect the whatever is below (I know its not, but dads a bit older school than I am and tends to fret about things like that) -- so I wanted to put his mind to rest

 

[kashurst]

The carpet is cosmetic/anti slip. It will just peel off, hard work, wear work gloves, use pliers/grips etc. Replacing them is completely normal.
The grey rubbery stuff underneath is likely the glue. As the carpet has been glued or is glued to the grey stuff, it is likely some of the grey will come away with the carpet. Underneath the grey rubber/glue is either a wooden or fibreglass surface. Bearing in mind the deck is strong enough for adults to stand on, don't worry about breaking it. Getting the glue off may require a few different approaches. I have recently been removing very old contact adhesive from fibreglass. I used a heat gun and a scraper to get most of it off, then toluene solvent, paint brush and scrapers. Depending on what the glue/rubber is an electric chisel or a multitool with a variety of scraping blades might be the worth a try.

Once you get it cleaned back. post again and people will no doubt have a few ideas for budget concious coverings, various paint options, marine carpets, flow coating etc, grip tapes etc.

 

[taholmes160]

@kashurst the carpet is not glued down, just lying loose on the floor

here are some pics I just shot of the mess -- sorry for the bad focus I have a dumb phone and it sometimes takes dumb pictures

 

[kashurst]

That looks like someone has put carpet on top of marine carpet. 40+ years later it's all a bit knackered.
As I said before you won't damage the boat with a bit of scraping back. Boats are generally very very strong. Much stronger and more heavily built than cars or caravans. I can appreciate your father's caution. but don't worry, you won't break it. The black side panels are just marine plywood with vinyl glued on. Nothing you can't get on Ebay or amazon for not a lot. The seats have worn through a bit, but again, Ebay and Youtube etc are your friends.