Rubber Backing on Snap In Carpet

In another thread I was accused of being single minded, so to show how well rounded I am, consider this: "Have you ever stepped in a fresh cow pile on a flat rock?"..Well, that is about how slick a cloth backed carpet is going to be on a boat deck.

To correct a misconception, Sea Ray chooses the backing it does because of its cutting process for the carpet, not because it is cheap. They use a CAD system to plan the carpet utilization for minimum waste (fall-out). After the planning is finished, the layout is electronically loaded into a computer controlled cutter. Blades are about $100 ea. and the down time to change a broken or worn out blade is substantial. The fibers, yarns, threads, and cements are not a problem, but the rubber backing is. Foam rubber normally contains all sorts of debris from rocks to glass.....very small particles, but more than enough to dull and break cutter blades. Sea Ray specs very high quality backing free from comtamination for its carpeting..........unfortunately, none of it seems to last very long if you don't keep a coat of wax on the deck underneath it.

An alternative to gluing a cloth backing on the carpet is to roll a coat of white roof coating ......I think its urethane, source is the house trailer roofing section at Lowes. I haven't tried it, but others have.

My own solution to this is to replace the cockpit carpet with cut and bound indoor/ outdoor carpeting.......I used about the same Berber that Sea Ray uses, only with no backing. We cut/trimmed the carpet to fit snug against the side walls of the cockpit to keep it from moving. I'm on year 3 and so far so good.......you just have to be really careful with the binding when you remove it for cleaning the cockpit.
 
OK... but I would argue that someone like snapincarpets probably cuts more product in a year than even Sea Ray does... since they are catering to the entire boat market and not just Sea Ray replacement market (I guess here though). The difference in price from the "good backing" to the "cheap-o backing" is only a few dollars... literally.. Why doesn't this shop have that problem?

So I still don't get why Sea Ray continues to use a product that they know falls apart in a year... literally...
 
I'm not defending the cheap-ass carpet backing....I just know the why:

The difference between Sea ray and snapincarpets.com is about $3.0 mil worth of computer pattern making, grading and cloth/carpet cutting equipment that facilitates volume production vs. a cutting table and a $650 cutting machine where they cut one replacement set of carpets at a time.

We used to install incentive pay plans in cutting centers and the only way a Gerber or Lectra cutter will cost justify is if you run it so the knife is in the goods all the time. One of our measured variables was clock time vs. cut time.......a good day was 97%. So, if you break 4-5 blades a day....each costs you about 20 minutes, you can see the effect on efficiency and thru put.
 
my carpets are 6 years old. I wax the cockpit and pull the carpets up once a week and rinse them. The backing is starting to degrade a little leaving little black specs on the non-skid. That hoses right off because it's not allowed to bake on. During the winter I rub a rubber reconditioner on the backing so it doesn't dry out and crack. I'm betting I can go another 3 years with this carpet.
 
I will clarify - I bought clear vinyl off a roll at Walmart. I used the comparison to the shower curtain for a visual - but this roll was thicker than a shower curtain. I wanted something that water would not stick to and added support for the snaps, so I choose vinyl rather than cotton. Anyway, I have glued this to the rubbery material on the back of the carpet to keep the remaining portions form sticking to the hull and separating from the carpet. It has worked well for me and the carpet dries out just fine with this attached. Don't get me wrong, I would not pull hard on the two as it will separate with force because the rubber is not like new, but I have removed the carpet a few years now and it has held up. I know I will need new carpet from Snapincarpet's but this allowed me to extend the life a few years. I do not need to clean the cockpit when I remove the carpets anymore and, having the vinyl under the snaps, they do not pull thru the thin carpet.

For those who do not think I am crazy - I can take pic's if you wish....
 
An alternative to gluing a cloth backing on the carpet is to roll a coat of white roof coating ......I think its urethane, source is the house trailer roofing section at Lowes. I haven't tried it, but others have.

Frank,

Could you elaborate on this. Seems like a good idea and easy to do if it works. My carpets are still somewhat new but did experience the backing problem on our previosu boat.

Thx,
 
TurtleTone said:
my carpets are 6 years old. I wax the cockpit and pull the carpets up once a week and rinse them. The backing is starting to degrade a little leaving little black specs on the non-skid. That hoses right off because it's not allowed to bake on. During the winter I rub a rubber reconditioner on the backing so it doesn't dry out and crack. I'm betting I can go another 3 years with this carpet.
Click to expand...

Mine only had a few little "crumbs" at the start of the season.. now they are a mess and falling apart as we speak. Once it begins, the end comes quickly. good luck with that 3 year projection.
 
boatrboy said:
I will clarify - I bought clear vinyl off a roll at Walmart. I used the comparison to the shower curtain for a visual - but this roll was thicker than a shower curtain. I wanted something that water would not stick to and added support for the snaps, so I choose vinyl rather than cotton. Anyway, I have glued this to the rubbery material on the back of the carpet to keep the remaining portions form sticking to the hull and separating from the carpet. It has worked well for me and the carpet dries out just fine with this attached. Don't get me wrong, I would not pull hard on the two as it will separate with force because the rubber is not like new, but I have removed the carpet a few years now and it has held up. I know I will need new carpet from Snapincarpet's but this allowed me to extend the life a few years. I do not need to clean the cockpit when I remove the carpets anymore and, having the vinyl under the snaps, they do not pull thru the thin carpet.

For those who do not think I am crazy - I can take pic's if you wish....
Click to expand...

Yes, post some pic's

Peter
 
I decided to tackle it before it gets out of hand. I ordered that durabak and will apply it to the backing this winter like Peter did. Peter, is it still holding up well?
 
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Mike,

I've only done the urethane on the back of some non-Sea Ray carpeting we use on the swim platform as sort of door mats. I rolled it on with a 1/4" knap paint roller, 2 coats and it is holding up well after one season. I really can't speak for recoating factory carpets because I have never done it. I'll ask some of the guys who have next trip to Fla.


wish2fish,

I'm not really sure what you are is asking.
 
to get the black dots off the cockpit floor, I used a low powered pressure washer. careful to not set it to a pinpoint stream. You'll cut through the gelcoat.
to get stuck carpet up with minimal tearing, put a water stream from a hose under the edge of the carpet, and just keep flooding it and gently lifting as you go.
 
Yeah the Durabak and the Grizzlygrip look to be the same stuff.
 
You guys have turned into a bunch of urethane-painting hillbillies.

Sea Ray should be proud.
 
I just put new soles on my boots with the stuff. And I fixed a hole in my jeans.

Damn it Gary, see what you made me do... I bantered.
 
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PMvdb395DA said:
Yes, post some pic's
Peter
Click to expand...

Here are the links to the photos of my carpet. It is hard to see but you can tell that the foam is missing underneath the vinyl. If you scan thru the other pic's you can see the foam stuck to my ping pong table when I moved it to take photos (the one piece I did not apply the vinyl to). I hope the pic's are good enough to give you an idea of what it looks like.

Mark
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/boatrboy/270 Sundancer/?action=view&current=IMG_3489.jpg
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/boatrboy/270 Sundancer/?action=view&current=IMG_3490.jpg
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/boatrboy/270 Sundancer/?action=view&current=IMG_3489.jpg
 
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