Glue, stud or Velcro marine carpet to ply floor of small yacht?

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Dougy

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What glue should I use to fix marine carpet to my ply floor? Or...should I stud or Velcro? Floor is in 6 small segments of sealed ply.
 
It's a no brainier for me. As the previous poster suggested don't use anything that is going to permanently alter the floor (unless your planning to replace it). I would use double sided tape.
 
We have a couple of small carpet rugs, about 1m x .7m in the deck saloon. They have rubber backing, so don't move around. Easy to roll up, and shake over the side. Buy cheap, and replace when they get dirty, which they unfailingly do.
 
Remember, you'll need to replace it on a regular basis. Mine is currently 5 1/2 years old and carpet replacement is starting to edge towards the jobs list.

The original as built fitting was to have studs for the carpets. I don't know how well it worked as I never saw those carpets. Studs were screwed into the fibre glass inner moulding. Presumably corresponding studs were attached to the pieces of carpet.

When I bought the boat the replacement carpets were just placed in position - an unsatisfactory arrangement as they moved and the backs had disintegrated. I went for gluing the carpets down when I replaced them using spray on adhesive, as I knew I'd have to lift them at some stage. A few small areas are loose where I regularly need to lift them to access the bilges. Not at all sure I'd want to glue carpet to plywood.
 
Dougy said:
What glue should I use to fix marine carpet to my ply floor? Or...should I stud or Velcro? Floor is in 6 small segments of sealed ply.
Click to expand...

If you cut the carpet in one piece so it is a snug fit all round against the furniture /enginebox/etc. so it cant move you should not need to fix it down and it will be easy to lift for cleaning/access. If you want to divide the area into two pieces of carpet for easier access below just fix a thin strip of timber across the sole , say 30mm x 6mm, to act as a retainer.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
As others have said, make sure you can lift it. So no glue,

A few pop studs or some battens to hold it in place.

If you get gel-backed bathroom carpet, it shouldn't move around much anyway.
 
It will also get wet if you go out in enough weather to have wet people in wet oilies going below.
So it will either need to be rolled up in wet weather or taken up and dried afterwards.
Velcro sounds like a fair plan, it can be stitched to the carpet and glued to the floor.

Slight thread drift, an 'outdoor' doormat or cheap nylon carpet sample in the cockpit can absorb a lot of dirt and really help keep the saloon clean, particularly alongside or when the boat is on the hard for winter. Don't leave wet carpet on the cockpit sole for months though, it may promote osmosis.
 
Hmmmm. Sounds like glues out. Will go with the Velcro idea. My floor is in 6 small panels all lftable to access, ( I have no idea) like it when I bought it so I think it needs to be fixed somehow. Thanks everyone from saving me the what looks like could have been a big mistake gluing it.
 
Dougy said:
What glue should I use to fix marine carpet to my ply floor? Or...should I stud or Velcro? Floor is in 6 small segments of sealed ply.
Click to expand...
I do none of these, preferring to cut carpet-tiles to shape/size and use no fixings.
In 25 years of sailing (6/12 living aboard now) I've found no reason to regret my choice.
The boat was new with clip-on studs - totally useless when going to windward.
The carpet tiles allow one to replace (as necessary as some parts of the boat have far more traffic), shampoo and dry individual tiles and are comfortable upon which to walk. Buying remnants make them very cheap.
One disadvantage - if you get diesel in your bilges.
 
You don't say what shape the sole is. I wsa lucky in that my sole is just a through walway and a a cheap, rubber-backed carpet runner is a fairly close fit. It doesn't move around and can simply be rolled up and carried outside for cleaning. Carpet tiles are similar in that they have a good strong rubber backing to keep them in place - I've seen bathroom carpets shedding their (much lighter) backing all over the boat.

Rob.
 
Our carpet was fixed with studs but one or two corroded and tore out, so we made do with Velcro. This wasn't entirely successful unless we used heavy duty stuff, and even then it tended to come apart. When I came to remove the remains of the glue recently it took me for ever, even with a solvent.

Studs are best, but my new carpet is snugly fitted and I am going to try without for a season. The carpet is rubber backed and won't slide on the wooden sole. It will look best if the edges are bound. Mine cost £75 for three mats in a 10 metre boat to have done.
 
Taking advice from here, I just did this. I got some rubber(feels like rubber) backed mats and chucked 'em down.
They dont move at all, but can curl up - no problem really except for the clumsiest.

Wife likes 'em, daughter likes 'em - no more moaning about cold feet.

Result.
 
Dougy said:
Hmmmm. Sounds like glues out. Will go with the Velcro idea. My floor is in 6 small panels all lftable to access, ( I have no idea) like it when I bought it so I think it needs to be fixed somehow. Thanks everyone from saving me the what looks like could have been a big mistake gluing it.
Click to expand...

From my experience the velcro itself is fine, but the problem is the glue that holds the velcro in position.
It's never as strong or resilient as the velcro hook and loop joint, so it slides around and makes a sticky mess. Best way is to fix the individual velcro pieces mechanically, i.e. stitch or screw in place.
Alternatively press studs as you originally planned, although they can make a hard bump which can be a trip hazard if not carefully positioned.
 
We've had carpet fitted but not fixed, for years. It is top quality commercial grade and has survived a sinking, I used a pressure hose to rinse off the salt and put it back when dry. I don't agree that cheap or rubber backed carpets (flotex excepted) are suitable unless you are prepared to replace them on a regular basis.
Heugafelt tiles are good if you can get them to stay wedged as they too can be hosed and swapped around to age evenly.
 
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