Boat carpets - any thoughts?

[coopec]

I've always used non-slip carpet I can just cut with a hot-knife. Easy to replace, easy to remove for cleaning, even just to shake the sand out.

IMO, varnished wood floors are just too slippery for safety. Also, for those that sail in cooler climates, carpet is a LOT WARMER on the feet and for the whole cabin than bare wood. It keeps the cold from the bilge down in the bilge.

I like that!
I presume the "non slip carpet" is foam backed?

 

[coopec]

How about wood effect vinyl flooring in a fairly light colour???

Eros Hayle Vinyl Flooring | Tapi Carpets & Floors
[ Just some company chosen at random ]

Actually we've just had that laid throughout our house! I presume you mean vinyl planks?

Something else to consider

 

[coopec]

Some people have very narrow and prescriptive ideas about everything to do with boats. There are a few things that one can say with certainty that are wrong, but many matters are entirely the owner’s choice. I have sailed both with and without carpets and enjoyed them both. For those whose attitude to sailing verges on the agricultural, carpets could well be an unnecessary nuisance, but when, like us in later years, you are living on a boat for three months, the comfort of a carpet is a pleasure. In the case of my current boat, with a large mat at the base of the companionway, and the galley uncarpeted, it is easy to access the galley or heads without dripping water on the carpet. Spilling milk would be a Yachmaster fail in my book.

I have got vinyl floor tiles for the (small) galley areaso a few spills should not be a problem.

As you say "some people have very narrow and prescriptive ideas".

I agree but in my case I have little choice anyway: whatever I decide to do has to fit in with the theme of the rest of the yacht - brass hinges, rattan, timber paneling , bulkhead lanterns.... When I went to the upholsterer and picked out a fabric that I liked he explained you can't mix styles.(He had seen photos of the interior of the yacht). He then gave me a choice of about 40 fabrics to select from.

 

[Elessar]

I'm busy securing the floor "panels" into the yacht with over-lapping strips to stop items falling down between the panels and into the bilge.

My next move is to cut holes for finger pulls and then lay the carpet. What color carpet would be suitable?

My first thought was charcoal but that might make the interior too dark? (The timber paneling is darkish) The ceiling is light gray.
I don't think blue or green would be suitable but maybe beige or champagne? Any thoughts?

View attachment 127055View attachment 127056View attachment 127057

Despite the fashion in motor boats for cream carpets I go for speckled charcoal.
Full polypropylene no wool and you can clean it with bleach. It also dries easily.
Cut it with a rope hot knife and it seals the edges to stop fraying. It stinks when you do it and I doubt the fumes are healthy so take care.

 

[coopec]

Despite the fashion in motor boats for cream carpets I go for speckled charcoal.
Full polypropylene no wool and you can clean it with bleach. It also dries easily.
Cut it with a rope hot knife and it seals the edges to stop fraying. It stinks when you do it and I doubt the fumes are healthy so take care.

Very interesting Polypropylene

 

[Elessar]

Very interesting Polypropylene

View attachment 127098

I buy regular carpet to avoid the boat tax.
Eg
Polypropylene Carpet | Buy 100% Polypropylene Carpets Online | Man Made Fibre Carpets | OnlineCarpets.co.uk

 

[johnalison]

Maybe foam backed with stitched edgings is the way to go? I wonder how that would handle 3 separate panels that flex slightly when stepped on? But I could easily stiffen the floor panels by gluing (or screwing) a timber slat on the underside.

I'll go for a plain carpet - likely beige or champagne

CHAMPAGNE

Our original carpet was foam-backed and in the end it was the foam that crumbled and necessitated replacement. Also, it wasn’t rigid enough to stop buckling, meaning that the carpet needed to be fastened down with studs. My new carpet’s backing is solid black rubber. This is not as thick as the foam but is effectively non-slip and its rigidity means that the carpet, which fits snugly into the spaces, doesn’t need additional fixing. Colour is entirely optional. If you want fluorescent green you are welcome to go for it.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

To my mind, carpets in boats are as impractical as carpets in bathrooms.

 

[johnalison]

To my mind, carpets in boats are as impractical as carpets in bathrooms.

Thousands of boat-owners would disagree with you, but that doesn't make them right - or wrong.

 

[Ian_Edwards]

I've used Dirt Catcher mats over the years, they are washable at 60C and you can spin and tumblle dry them.
You can use a vacuum cleaner on them, or just shake them over the side.
They dry reasonably quickly, and I put them in the cockpit to dry on a good day, if they get wet.
I wash them as required, perhaps a couple of times a year, and I spend 100 days + on board in a non-Covid Year.
Nonslip and you can cut and fit with a craft knife, they don't need the edges binding.
I find them more comfortable than bare boards and a lot less slippery.
Official Dirt Trapper Mat® | Dirtcatcher Mats®
I've tried offcut from good quality wool carpets, but they just get soggy and go musty.

 

[capnsensible]

Thousands of boat-owners would disagree with you, but that doesn't make them right - or wrong.

Yeah, no right or wrong. But I can't see how carpets are gonna be kept dry if you actually go sailing. I obviously missed something in 21 years of living aboard, however, every day is a school day.

 

[doug748]

Our original carpet was foam-backed and in the end it was the foam that crumbled and necessitated replacement. Also, it wasn’t rigid enough to stop buckling, meaning that the carpet needed to be fastened down with studs. My new carpet’s backing is solid black rubber. This is not as thick as the foam but is effectively non-slip and its rigidity means that the carpet, which fits snugly into the spaces, doesn’t need additional fixing. Colour is entirely optional. If you want fluorescent green you are welcome to go for it.

Yep, I just buy cheap end of roll bargains, costs a few shillings to replace every couple of years, looks good and kind on bare feet. The black backing types can stick hard to varnished floors so needs to be watched, no biggie as the residue is fairly easy to remove, maybe with the help of a bit of white spirit.

.

 

[johnalison]

Yep, I just buy cheap end of roll bargains, costs a few shillings to replace every couple of years, looks good and kind on bare feet. The black backing types can stick hard to varnished floors so needs to be watched, no biggie as the residue is fairly easy to remove, maybe with the help of a bit of white spirit.

.

On second thoughts, I remember that the backing of ours is also beige, not black, but it is 'solid' rubber rather than foam. I don't have a good picture of the saloon but I bought enough carpet to lay the fore and aft cabins as well. This is the aft cabin, which shows the value of having the edges bound to give a tidy effect.

 

[doug748]

Looks very good with the edging.

 

[Elessar]

Yeah, no right or wrong. But I can't see how carpets are gonna be kept dry if you actually go sailing. I obviously missed something in 21 years of living aboard, however, every day is a school day.

Mine doesn’t stay dry. Neither does your wooden floor. My carpet doesn’t get slippery…….

 

[thinwater]

I like that!
I presume the "non slip carpet" is foam backed?

Yes. As others have pointed out, the foam backing only lasts 5-10 years before crumbing, but you can cut carpet at 2-4 feet/minute with a hot knife. Cutting a new carpet is a 5-15 minute job, and you have new carpet!

I tried other edge methods before I started using a hot knife (any 150W solder gun will do it, fitted with the right blade), but the hot knife rules for this.

Hot knife

 

[thinwater]

Yeah, no right or wrong. But I can't see how carpets are gonna be kept dry if you actually go sailing. I obviously missed something in 21 years of living aboard, however, every day is a school day.

Mine stayed dry. Did you have a dodger? A hard top? Different boats, different long splices.

If they got wet we hauled them out to dry, but that only happened every few years, generally due to a wave strike with a hatch open.

I find wet, varnished floors dangerously slippery. In the summer, feet sweat.

 

[thinwater]

... Slippers keep feets warm.....

How cute.

Slippers don't help keep the air warm, carpet does.

 

[Elessar]

Yes. As others have pointed out, the foam backing only lasts 5-10 years before crumbing, but you can cut carpet at 2-4 feet/minute with a hot knife. Cutting a new carpet is a 5-15 minute job, and you have new carpet!

I tried other edge methods before I started using a hot knife (any 150W solder gun will do it, fitted with the right blade), but the hot knife rules for this.

Hot knife

Exactly what I do. I get the felt backed though.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I would say don't use some sort of laminate Amtico is used on top end boats and for the quantity you would need wouldn't cost too much, then you can use a loose carpet when moored or in harbour.

A second vote for carpet slippers (when the boat is stationary)