Are you in the process of replacing the carpet on your used pontoon boat? If so, here are some helpful tips to do the job yourself. I was recently asked by a client, was he thinking of replacing his pontoon carpet with indoor/outdoor carpet tiles and whether or not they could be used on boats.
I informed him that I would not recommend the use of carpet tiles as the sun and water would rise up in the corners over time. I always recommend using a solid piece of indoor/outdoor rug or marine grade rugs.
Remove all of the pontoon furniture, including the steering console and floor trim, until you get to the plywood. You can now remove any part of the rug that has stuck to the plywood, as well as any old adhesive left behind. You may need to do some sanding to get to a fresh clean surface. Now is a good time to inspect any plywood that may need repair or replacement.
The next step is to spread the new carpet on the pontoon and wait a while for the carpet to flatten out. Once the new carpet is ready to install, roll back half of the carpet and glue down the new carpet and boat floor. I recommend using marine grade contact cement spray. It allows you a couple of minutes to maneuver the rug into place and remove any bumps in the rug. I prefer to glue at a temperature above 50 degrees and make sure to use a good new razor or carpet razor.
Now proceed to do the same steps with the remaining section of the pontoon boat floor and carpet. You may want someone else to help you with the installation, as a second set of hands is not a bad thing. Now is a good time to go to lunch, as you need to allow the rug to settle down a bit before the next step.
The next step is to cut off the protruding sections of the carpet and install the floor moldings. Now you can reinstall the furniture and steering console of your pontoon boat. Installing pontoon boat mats isn’t really a big do-it-yourself project, especially if you ask for help.
