Season #5(ish) on the cheapo Amazon EVA Flooring - tear off and replace

[Stee6043]

We've had quite a few threads over the years on the cheap EVA flooring alternatives to SeaDek. I installed it on my upper and lower platforms in 2018. When I replaced my swim platform in 2021 I also installed it on the new one.

The flooring on my upper platform lasted about 5 seasons. Zero issues with adhesion, zero issues with staining, cleaned it only with Simple Green. But mid-last summer the black spot shown below started to form. And it grew rapidly. I think we must have spilled something on it...or it just finally wore to the point that the color was wearing off. Not sure. What's confusing is the newer material was also starting to lose it's color in spots after only 2 seasons. So...root cause of the failure is unclear.

Removal of the older material was a process. It was stuck down very well. It took three separate cycles of soaking with mineral spirits and then scraping. The lower/newer material came up much more easily. I likely didn't prep the new platform properly (acetone) as one of the pieces was actually coming loose last year.

With the mess that was left we really had no choice but to reapply new flooring. I quoted professionally installed EVA flooring at $2,500 with a lead time of "unclear". So we went forward with more of the cheap stuff . I'll be treating this stuff with 303 this weekend. Hopefully this is a 10+ year solution with better prep and care.

So yeah...this is what it looked like.

We went darker with the new stuff and really like it. Here's to hoping!

 

[Strecker25]

woah. The new stuff looks great but what a daunting task that must have been when you first pulled up the old.

We've had EVA material on both of our boats. The 290 was ebay EVA and the 410 has aquamarine. When the kids are a bit older and not destroying everything they touch I'll likely replace the aquamarine. We'll be tempted to go with a more resilient material like nuteak but,....$$$$$

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE LOOK...............

Really would love to !

But for us here dealing with the Florida sun, well.....

Once I go foam, I'd be a customer for life !

If I had the boat stored under cover, I'd do it in a heartbeat !

I even removed the carpet snaps & filled the holes - (potential source of water intrusion)

BEST !

RWS

 

[Stee6043]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE LOOK...............

Really would love to !

But for us here dealing with the Florida sun, well.....

Once I go foam, I'd be a customer for life !

If I had the boat stored under cover, I'd do it in a heartbeat !

I even removed the carpet snaps & filled the holes - (potential source of water intrusion)

BEST !

RWS

Thanks, Dancer. This foam stuff is about a thousand times cooler than the synthetic "weave" flooring. I can't walk on my own cockpit floor in the heat of the day without flip flops, sadly. The foam, even this dark, is highly tolerable.

This light of a gray is unbearably hot mid-day (though the stuff is indestructible):