Replacing interior carpet 260.

R

Royal Lichter

Member
Jan 22, 2018
66
Boat Info
2005 Sea Ray Sundancer 260
Engines
Single MerCruiser Mag 350 MPI w/ Bravo III
hi!

I’m looking to replace interior carpet in my 260. Do not want anything other than normal good old fashioned carpet. Will pulling it up damage the fiberglass? Should I maybe use a heat gun?

I can get the original Corinthian Marine.

Looking for people who have done this before. Do not want hardwood or anything other than normal carpet so please don’t suggest.

Any tips?

Thanks in advance!
 
you should not damage the fiberglass and a heat gun can help but it will still be a mess. All of the old adhesive will need to be removed. I recently did that job and a wire cup brush in an angle grinder made short work of it.
Shawn
 
In most cases, the carpet is glued down with Superman's glue - so just be prepared for a fight. Heat gun is good, but the problem is balancing enough heat to soften the glue without using too much that it melts the carpet... a fine line. But, like Shawn said, you're not going to damage the structure underneath - you can be pretty rough with it.

If you don't currently have them, have you thought about simply installing carpet runners? This was an option and many boaters (myself included) like keeping the carpet runners installed all the time. They can even be installed over/around the step/shelf by the midcabin. The factory option used color-coordinated Sunbrella canvas, fyi, but it can be made out of anything. It would certainly be A LOT easier to do this. Just a thought.
 
Royal Lichter said:
Any tips?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I would actually find a marine carpet installer to give you an estimate. You can save by tearing the old carpet out yourself and then let the professionals take over to do the install. You might find it to be very reasonable and get a better outcome in the end.
 
Little Ducky said:
I would actually find a marine carpet installer to give you an estimate. You can save by tearing the old carpet out yourself and then let the professionals take over to do the install. You might find it to be very reasonable and get a better outcome in the end.
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I agree! Pulling up the old stuff and prepping the surface is grunt work and doing it yourself will save you some cash. Boats have lots of curves and sloped surfaces that can challenge even a professional carpet installer. Doing all that work and not being happy with the finished product would be a bummer.
I second the suggestion of Sunbrella runners. I’d definetly install them over your new carpet. They really do save you from dirt and stains.
You can wash them in a machine every year or whenever they get dirty, let them air dry on a sunny day, and then re-waterproof them.
It’s part of my regular Spring make ready routine.
 
The boat had runners when I got it. I had them cleaned and they shrunk. I purchased a new pair from Great Lakes Boat Top but the template was wrong, and I realized it eight months later, so I am not going to be able to return them.

I will definitely be sourcing some appropriate runners after I install the new carpeting!
 
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Or instead of Sunbrella runners could just make some Infinity runners.

I had 1/2 decent carpeting in my 98. It required a good scrubbing and then I had snap out infinity carpets made to jazz up the interior.

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What you posted above is what they were suggesting I do, actually... hmm... it is actually tempting after looking at your photograph, but I'm not sure it will cover all of the disgusting stains on my carpet. I cannot decide whether I am okay with that or, the original look. There's something to be said for original, but that's also a nice upgrade.

The blue stains on the bottom most section (and the sides a little) are driving me absolutely bonkers... and I am ready to spend money to get rid of them. The rest of the carpet is not that bad.
 

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Looks like you already have the snaps for the runners. Any chance you still have the runners or maybe they're hidden in a compartment somewhere? Ripping up carpet is not a quick and easy task! The runner's will take care of any stains on the horizontal surface. Maybe you could try cleaning any vertical sections a little harder with some other solutions? Or... find some fabric and vinyl spray paint that closely matches your carpet. You can pretty much make the stains disappear and you can likely make it match about 95% to the carpet color. Feathering/blending it away will help, too. The painting would be an easy fix.

FYI, that piece of vertical trim underneath the head door can be removed in about 3 minutes. You could just recover that piece in matching carpet (if you can find it), or possibly in a contrasting color?
 
Lazy Daze said:
Looks like you already have the snaps for the runners. Any chance you still have the runners or maybe they're hidden in a compartment somewhere? Ripping up carpet is not a quick and easy task! The runner's will take care of any stains on the horizontal surface. Maybe you could try cleaning any vertical sections a little harder with some other solutions? Or... find some fabric and vinyl spray paint that closely matches your carpet. You can pretty much make the stains disappear and you can likely make it match about 95% to the carpet color. Feathering/blending it away will help, too. The painting would be an easy fix.

FYI, that piece of vertical trim underneath the head door can be removed in about 3 minutes. You could just recover that piece in matching carpet (if you can find it), or possibly in a contrasting color?
Click to expand...

The runners are long gone. I had them cleaned and then they shrunk by 30%. I tried stretching them back into place but it was futile, I tossed them. I do not want to simply hide the stains, they are driving me nuts and I want it right.

The vinyl spray paint color is a fantastic idea... I appreciate that very much!!! The carpet isn't screwed up other than being stained...
 
Ah, but if you put new carpet runners down (easy enough to make a pattern)... isn't it then "out of sight, out of mind"? ;)

I haven't done this in a long time so I don't remember the brand (but google should help), but I used a brush to help lightly work the paint into the carpet and feather the paint out to help it blend. It was a bit of combination of brush work and just straight spray painting... sort of a "learn as I went" type of thing.

For future use, after cleaning them, install them immediately while they are still damp.
 
Hi guys, finally made some decisions. Replacing a minimal amount of carpet (3 small pieces) inside, and then I am having custom made Infinity runners for the cabin.

$1400 for everything all in, materials and labor, I am happy.
 
The thing about carpet runners is they just keep the carpet looking nice for the next guy. I bought my boat for ME to enjoy it. I'm gonna start with a good carpet shampoo and see where I need to go from there.
 
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