Removing nasty carpet lining

[bsavoie]

I've got my 1987 24 Offshore out of the water for some maintenance. We pulled all of the teak trim off and are cleaning and oiling it. The two cubbies in the cockpit have a nasty outdoor carpeting that we'd like to remove and replace with something else. The glue holding it in seems quite strong. Does anyone have experience removing this stuff? Ideas for a replacement? Maybe we should just scrub it? Thanks for the help!

 

[richie rich]

Beautiful and nasty stuff isn't it? The carpet is held down with rubber contact cement...I just pulled mine out...its a bitch, but its really the only way....where its tucked under other boat parts that can't be removed, I cut close with a razor blade...to remove the old glue, use acetone......just don't go nuts with it or you can hurt the gel coat finish.

 

[bsavoie]

Did you replace the carpet with something else or just leave it as gel coat?

 

[richie rich]

I'm leaving it as is for now....carpet just attracts water and odors....it had to go...if I decide to pretty things up some day I may go to a hard surface like teak veneer or something

 

[Bob's Cay]

Have been thinking about removing the carpet on mine too. Checking some corners on mine it does not appear to be gelcoat under there. Just unfinished fiberglass. I wondered if this area could be sanded well enough (by someone without much patience) to be painted.

 

[bdevlin5983]

I replaced my "cubby carpet" on my '86 204C this spring, and in my case, it was simply unfinished fiberglass underneath. Getting mine off was relatively easy, with only small areas of cement left, which I got off with acetone and a wire brush. Also in my case, the "shelf" portion at the bottom was simply plywood wrapped with the carpet, as were the pieces that border up to the cabin bulkhead. I traced these and replaced with marine grade, figuring if it made it 24 years on the original, marine grade should give me at least 10-12 more years. I then took a roll of marine carpet I ordered from Cabelas (dark navy blue) and traced the old carpet, made the cuts, and then installed with 3M Adhesive spray and contact cement (depending on the area). In all, the job took about 3 hours, and looks 1000% better than the nasty outdoor light blue carpet that was on there.

As a note, my helmstation is ALWAYS covered when not in use, and has been that way for 24 years, which may have contributed to why mine was in decent shape.

Hope it helps!

Bren

 

[richie rich]

That sounds like a decent fix...but what exactly is marine grade carpet? Does it not absorb water and odors? Whats the backing made of? Sanding and gelcoating / painting the exposed wood areas will work too, but it wil take a lot longer than the re-carpeting idea.....I'd like to see what this stuff is made from before doing what the factory did all over again.

 

[bdevlin5983]

That sounds like a decent fix...but what exactly is marine grade carpet? Does it not absorb water and odors? Whats the backing made of? Sanding and gelcoating / painting the exposed wood areas will work too, but it wil take a lot longer than the re-carpeting idea.....I'd like to see what this stuff is made from before doing what the factory did all over again.

The carpeting I used from Cabelas is a very tight nap with a rubber backing, so water doesn't go through it, but dries off the surface. I have been really happy with it, and it definitely dries quickly, even if you saturate it with water...

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat21298&hasJS=true

Liek I said though, my helmstation is covered 24/7 when not in use...

Bren

 

[richie rich]

Its on sale too...may have to check it out....Thanks!

 

[bsavoie]

Ugh, looks like mine was "repaired" by someone concerned it was coming loose. It will not be coming off easy, so it will not be coming off this season. Mine has unfinished gel coat underneath. I'll add it to the list of off-season projects.

 

[bdevlin5983]

Ugh, looks like mine was "repaired" by someone concerned it was coming loose. It will not be coming off easy, so it will not be coming off this season. Mine has unfinished gel coat underneath. I'll add it to the list of off-season projects.

Yeah, I got lucky that mine was 100% original and came off pretty easy... Now, where the nasty carpet lives in the cabin along the sides, I am not so lucky, as its holding fast. I figured I would wait til she was on the hard to do the cabin, as it will definitely take more time...

Now if I could just figure out something to do with the damn monkey fur......

Bren