So what do we like, similar to Seadek flooring

[Jacādie]

I have heard there are alternative brands, some may argue, superior to the Seadek brand.
What do you have and how would you rate it? What are the pros/cons?
Thanks for you input.

 

[swaterhouse]

My new to me boat came with Aquatraction. So far we are really liking it. It does not get hot in the sun, dries relatively quickly and has fantastic grip, wet or dry.

 

[Jacādie]

anyone familiar with this?
https://www.marinemat.net/snap-it-series.html

I like the fact that it uses the existing Carpet Snaps. It's removable.

does any other maker offer this feature?

 

[Lazy Daze]

You can add snaps to pretty much anything - including Seadek.

You mentioned you came across some brands that were touted as superior - which ones are they and why are they superior?

 

[Jacādie]

There are differences in the materials ans the claimed benefits is not holding barefoot burning/heat issues and the pore density of the material making it less likely to hold spill stains.

 

[370Dancer]

I did the E-Bay thing, mostly because I wanted light grey with a white seam.
Pro: cheap cheap cheap. that means any piece that gets damaged can be readily replaced without shedding a tear.
Con: the glue used between the layers tends to seep into the white seams over time, and it's brown. 6 mil material means don't drop a wrench on it, or drag a refrigerator over it.
Pro: I can clean this with a low powered pressure washer, period. Closed cell foam does not absorb anything.
Con: If you put a point on that water stream, you can carve your name in it. Wide blade of water, about the width of one of the "planks".
Con: The color shading will vary, even within the same roll.
Con: You will be cutting this by hand unless you can perfect your template and find a hydro-cutter that will let you bring your own material. It will always look like it was cut by hand. The flat parts aren't too bad, but the edge of the upper dive platform is still a work in progress. I haven't found anything suitable to lay a clean edge with. there is a radius horizontally, and the edge rolls off.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284376724129?epid=23045088621&_trkparms=ispr=1&hash=item42362c72a1:ga4AAOSwnBdgSIAN&amdata=enc:AQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSwcmzw5CLtzTE60FqHcnq2Mb5dLXYNB5vhEqhdE%2BgsrxlFh4UdoCJfG73HBxKKryalZjtHkAWaIriRCff6PpYpzvSVLQhl2%2FBB8HvX6mE5zCpwSv9vI%2FwBq4Qw7eU1ifK53mz1OzCgj%2F7RZmgyBq600JUPYRXSToZ0BQ7pE4rgx0aKQ2Zj4f9c%2F2trpI2kDbR%2BIlVl1WhjULIxz0%2FpncpcatOaWeXd3x1erUH01tHwrn9MPp51OebG5HGvQrjz53fSdas6n%2BM9T%2FM%2BUTn3kJiOY5KW%2BSOw584K9rxTdb36sZHodl9QlVhVFqYlpFhnXT9AEPZH8KizQIZjULzIDG4KU0F5tVUg1RqH9l1t2%2BXTZvxxt50QZsnz%2FkOHiTLm9fQxq4xudP0r%2FJhoGqNYPjRpCar%2FCPFJeJPh4Q0CVj9WBWU9aHJfl%2B%2B1qUsRQP7LfnrLdflVsMFMjRM9R5vGA0PR1GlLoin1BJ6cL8NTxyqPN0gBugWoOiEGhPjnhXLSZRJ1JQvW%2FK4YnRkDKRGsR%2Ftv605LVvgH6Je8I5AHF%2FFxrNh4yBnGW3iRpwrz7uUpxdFZHoJWfDtE5tI2GUwu2EJKd55Y4puViZcI8FsrLgPGoJx8Znn9Ao9C%2F%2Fmjud7miv8zTNsUb9ZJd9lnUL3JsdfSZKwQ4SDt2pVdg5pxwQ8ONliKbgveFlFDDJYcOCBX%2Bqg7peTeR5BQiRcYJLhLuitqU%2F8lsm4HQNafRylu%2B7%2Fp2IiEliF%2FyABrMdKmyvFWvzhbJ9jVzSSFJ8ktXLvRbPVeYZC119s7GlYUgbFyIOeWPEh75mXSPAAL7aH8Dk%2BmtfEDAtONbLbw6zuRlWBq3SgJA%3D%3D|ampidL_CLK|clp:2334524

This is after about 4 years old now.

I wish one of them would start making a "turned version" of this, where the boards run perpendicular to the length. those would be great for dive platforms. This one above is 3 pieces to get across 12.5 feet.

 

[Lazy Daze]

There are differences in the materials ans the claimed benefits is not holding barefoot burning/heat issues and the pore density of the material making it less likely to hold spill stains.

I suspect any "claims" are just generic. If they specifically comparing their product to another similar product - that's different - but I highly doubt some company is going to actually say "better than X brand because...". I'm not saying/pushing to buy Seadek, but at least with that you get a professionally cut product that is "known" good. I also dout you're going to find anyone that has had Seadek AND another product for any length of time to offer a real world comparision. 370Dancer's looks very nice - but note that he took on the large task of doing all the cutting himself.

Dancer... just thinking outloud here about your platform edge... You may be able to make a tool. You could use a compass drawn along the aft, vertical edge of the platform as your guide while the other tip of the compass ran along the foam making a cut mark. Set the marking tip an aesthetically pleasing distance forward of the afte edge of the platform. The trick would be to make sure you're holding the compass at a fixed angle the whole way across. NOW... imagine this... replace the "marking tip" of the compass with a razor blade or razor knife. This way you would be making the cut using the tool, rather than having to come back and cut the line by hand. You wouldn't need to cut all the way through the first time - just enough to establish your cut - then finish the last little bit by hand. Anyways, again, that's just off the top of my head - maybe you can use that as a starting point and fine tune a procedure?

 

[370Dancer]

I did build a tool for the rounded edges of the floor hatches, which were all vertical edges, so they were easy.
I envision something that rolls along the outer edge of the platform, at a fixed height (hard part)that I could use a marker on the other end drawing my cut line. I've done it a couple of times freestyle, and it's ok, but not "finished". Looked at some flexible vinyl, like I used in my cabin flooring for the transition between the salon and mid cabin. Worked great there, but with all those compound angles on the platform, even small versions would bunch up on the radius. One other member used calk, and made his own edge.

 

[Jacādie]

Seems the gluing is the biggest issue.
370Dancer you did a really nice job!
I'm gonna talk w/ the local Marine Mat dealer tomorrow about the marine mat snap on product, since it will go on where the carpet snaps already exist. so far I've looked at the following:
Ocean Grip
Sea dek
DekIt
AquaTraction
PlasDek
Flexiteak
isiteak
Gatorstep
Flexiteek

Ugh, so many choices.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'm gonna talk w/ the local Marine Mat dealer tomorrow about the marine mat snap on product, since it will go on where the carpet snaps already exist.

Like I mentioned above, so will SeaDek and, I'm sure, other foam products. Some of those products you looked at, like Plasdek is a completely different product. Plasdek is PVC based and not at all foam-like. But it probably has the closest feel and look to actual wood.

 

[Shenanigans77]

Seems the the gluing is the biggest issue.
370Dancer you did a really nice job!
I'm gonna talk w/ the local Marine Mat dealer tomorrow about the marine mat snap on product, since it will go on where the carpet snaps already exist. so far I've looked at the following:
Ocean Grip
Sea dek
DekIt
AquaTraction
PlasDek
Flexiteak
isiteak
Gatorstep
Flexiteek

Ugh, so many choices.

Full Marine Mat job on my 320. I have a buddy thats a dealer so it was an easy choice for me. He steered me away from snapping it down tho, mine is all stuck. Snap down gets stuff under it and you have to scrub the deck when you pull them out anyways. I scrub mine and rinse it right out the back. Really happy with it

 

[Stee6043]

I also went with the cheapo Amazon flooring. It cleans up very nicely with Simple Green and a stiff brush.

I'm pleased for the money I've got into it.

 

[Pierpressure1]

I too went cheep with the Amazon/EBay EVA flooring. It looked great four years ago when I installed it but has steadily degraded to the point where it needs to be replaced. All of the high traffic areas have worn to the point where the black under laminate is bleeding through.

Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and put down a higher quality product from Seadek or one of the others mentioned in this thread. Not looking forward to this project.

 

[Jacādie]

Ok, so the one thing that is clear re decking.2 different dealers, $1000 price quote difference. Same brand (Marine Mat, in this case), color and job. Shop your installers.

 

[370Dancer]

I too went cheep with the Amazon/EBay EVA flooring. It looked great four years ago when I installed it but has steadily degraded to the point where it needs to be replaced. All of the high traffic areas have worn to the point where the black under laminate is bleeding through.

Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and put down a higher quality product from Seadek or one of the others mentioned in this thread. Not looking forward to this project.

what did you use to keep it stuck to the floor? I used a glue around the edges that I think will lift if I use a heat gun on it.

 

[Pierpressure1]

what did you use to keep it stuck to the floor? I used a glue around the edges that I think will lift if I use a heat gun on it.

I used the adhesive backing that came with the flooring. Still had to use heat gun to remove. It left residue behind that acetone did not remove. Will have to try something else before putting down replacement flooring.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Acetone evaporates so quickly that it is sometimes ineffective on stuff that is thicker/denser. In that case, saturate a rag and allow it sit on the stuff for a minute. Or, try products like Naptha, mineral spirits, GooGone, etc. You will still likely need to allow them to sit to soften the glue - best done out of the sun. However, you don't really NEED to remove ALL of it if you're just going to glue something down again.

 

[copb8tx]

I had my Seadek installed professionally across my cockpit and swim platform. I loved the look, feel and grip of the product. The installer flew in from Florida and was very professional and is well known. It appeared he prepped all surfaces very well before the install.

The boat was always kept on freshwater and in a very well covered slip but even with that pieces on the swim platform began lifting after 5 years. I would re-glue edges as soon as I saw them coming up but eventually the entire piece would come loose. I'd clean the back of the material and the deck, not an easy task, and reapply with Gorilla glue. I'm surprised Seadek doesn't offer some type of repair adhesive or kit.

Considering my boats living environment I would have to wonder how well Seadek would hold up on a uncovered saltwater boat baking in the Florida sun.

BTW, my one tip to pass along to anyone regluing their material to a surface that isn't perfectly flat is to use 40lb bags of play sand to apply the pressure across the material evenly on all surfaces. It conforms to the contours and holds the edges down perfectly.

 

[Jacādie]

My buddy showed me this: https://infinitylwv.com/pages/flooring-collection
He has a center console and primarily uses the boat for off shore fishing. It get loddy and fish gutty to an extent, most here would be horrified. He swears by it. It hoses off easily never stains, never get hot from the sun and offers nice cushioning underfoot. It's about 1/2 the price of sea dek and similar surfaces. Available as snap in or adhesive bond. There are other companies in this type of material. Has anyone looked into this?

 

[Lazy Daze]

My buddy showed me this: https://infinitylwv.com/pages/flooring-collection
He has a center console and primarily uses the boat for off shore fishing. It get loddy and fish gutty to an extent, most here would be horrified. He swears by it. It hoses off easily never stains, never get hot from the sun and offers nice cushioning underfoot. It's about 1/2 the price of sea dek and similar surfaces. Available as snap in or adhesive bond. There are other companies in this type of material. Has anyone looked into this?

Very familiar with it. Sea Ray has been using it for a number of years now, as are others. Pontoons use it, too. However, I'm not sure why your buddy says it doesn't get hot - it does. It can get hotter than SeaDek-style products. Think of it as vinyl carpet. Nice stuff, though - it all comes down to what you want and what's important to you. It's available in lot's of colors and patterns.