Replacing carpet on a pontoon boat

I sure can, It is not that hard to do and I really think many people can do it. And you will save some money by doing it yourself too. What is the hardest part? Removing the old carpet from the deck because it is glued.

Preface: When the boat is manufactured, the carpet is glued to the deck before any seats or other items are assembled on the boat. Therefor we will do the reverse, take the boat apart, replace the carpet and then re-assemble the boat. Keep in mind, This is the right way to do the job and have a professional result that you can be proud of. You may want to take some pictures as you do this to show your friends and as a reference when putting the boat back together.

This is what we are going to do, details listed below in order.
The Bimini top, railings, seats and console need to be removed from the deck and stored out of the way. When that is done, remove the trim from the outside edges of the deck and remove the old carpet.  Then we will install the new carpet, the trim and re-assemble the boat.

Tools and supplies.
coffee can or other container to keep bolts and screws in, box knife, wrenches, rubber mallet, pliers, screw drivers, sockets, ratchet, wire cutters, masking tape, ink pen, but connectors for wire, plastic wire ties, 1 trash bag, scraper, Come-along, c-clamp or vise-grip, right angle grinder, staple gun and 1/4 to 3/8 staples, 2 gallons contact glue, an old used paint roller and handle or pole, marine carpet as wide as the deck and long enough to cover the boat, a heavy roller such as a tile roller or yard roller.

If you don't have a roller, use a 4x4 block of wood and a large hammer.(this takes longer, but works)
After rolling the carpet out over the glue, use the block of wood on top of the new carpet and hit it with the hammer while moving the block with each hit until the entire area has had a hit. This sets the carpet into the glue.

1. Disconnect the battery. Do this first and you won't have to worry about any live wires.
Wires: Be careful not to damage or pull any wiring as there may be courtesy lights, stereo speakers and navigation lights that have wires. Most wires have connectors that will simply pull apart. If NOT, cut the wires and label then with masking tape and an ink pen for future reference. The cut wires will be spliced back together with but connectors that will be crimped during re-assembly.(don't be afraid of wires, as long as the battery is disconnected)

2. Remove the seats from the boat.
Put all the screws in a coffee can, just put them all in there. We will sort them before re-assembly.
Generally the seats are just screwed to the wood deck. Remove all the screws. Some seats may be fastened to the railing as well. As you get a seat all loose, remove it from the boat and continue until all the seats are out of the boat.

3. Remove the Bimini top, railings, railing supports and lights from the deck.
Do this before removing the console to make it easy.
As you take the bolts out, put them all in the coffee can. Do NOT loose the bolts, we will sort them out before re-assembly.
Remove the Bimini top first. There will be one wiring plug for the anchor light on the console side of the boat(disconnect it). Please be careful when removing the Bimini top as not to damage the anchor light, they are expensive. Then remove the railings and set them out of the way as you get them loose.

4. Remove the console.
You do not need to take anything apart in the dash board, it is all removed as an assembly.
We must disconnect all wires that go down through the deck. You will see the hole in the deck where they come up into the console. If there are plastic tie wraps in the way, cut them. We will put new ones on during re-assembly.  First disconnect the wiring harness. There is usually plugs that can just be pulled apart. The factory does this to make assembly fast. Any wires that do not have plugs, disconnect them or cut them and label them.(label as numbers like 11, 12 and so on) You do not need to know what the wires do, as long as you label them, number 11 hooks back up to number 11, and so on.
Disconnect the steering cable. Most all pontoons use a rotary style helm and the steering cable has a quick-disconnect feature. Get a light and look up inside the console where the cable goes into the steering helm. You should see a PULL CLIP. Pull it out and put it in the coffee can with the screws. After the clip is pulled, there is a push lock on the helm right where the cable goes in, push it and give the cable a tug. It should come loose. You may have to cut some plastic ties that are on the cable under the deck. You should be able to push some of the cable down through the hole in the deck.
TIP: The steering cable will pull out of the helm and it is covered in grease !! Use a trash bag to cover the greasy part.
Now the easy part: remove the bolts that hold the console to the deck, remove the console assembly and store the console out of the way.

5. Remove the outer trim from the deck.
Remove the corner pieces from the front and back of the boat, 4 in all. LOOK under the edge of the trim and you will find some small screws along the underside that hold the trim to the deck, remove them. After those are removed, start at one end of the trim with a screw driver. Wedge the screw driver between the deck-wood and the trim, to pry it away from the deck. CAREFULLY work the trim loose working your way down the side of the boat. Please do not get too aggressive with it, we don't want to bend it or put a kink in it.

Now we should have a clean deck with nothing on it but carpet.

6. Remove the carpet.
Use a razor knife or box knife and cut the the carpet 6" in from the edge all the way around the whole deck. This will prevent the edge of the deck wood from being damaged or de-laminating during carpet removal. Most boat manufacturers staple the edge of the carpet to the deck right at the edge in order to hold it while the trim is assembled to the the deck. After making the cut, start with removing the outer 6" of carpet  while being careful not to damage the edge of the deck-wood. Use a wide blade scraper to help. After you get  some loose from the deck, try pulling it towards the outside or even-with the side of the boat.
OK, now that's done,
lets do the middle part of the deck. Start by pulling the carpet by hand, if it won't come loose. Scrape about a foot loose across the back. Usually the back carpet is in better condition. After that is done, get a c-clamp or vise-grip and clamp it onto the carpet. It helps to roll or fold the carpet before clamping to give the clamp a better hold. Go find that old come-along and hook one end to the clamp or vise-grip and the other end to the front of the boat. Then just winch the carpet back till you run out of cable or the carpet tears. Do that again and again till the carpet is off.

7. Preparation. . . . This can take some time and effort
The surface must be smooth and free of dirt.
Use a scraper to clean off any small areas of carpet that still remain. A right angle grinder can help the get old glue and carpet off. If there are any low spots due to de-lamination of the plywood, use any waterproof caulking or wood filler to fill those spots. What ever you use, it should set up hard.
When your all done removing, scraping and grinding.. Sweep the deck off thoroughly

Half way done and we have a clean wood deck with nothing on it.

8. Install the new carpet.
Unroll the carpet on the deck and position it so it hangs over the edge all the way around.

The control cables and steering cable may still be sticking up through the deck.. if so...position the carpet and cut an X with the box knife in the new carpet,, push the cables through the cut and leave them sticking up through the new carpet. That cut will be under the console, so it won't show.

Leave the carpet in place and roll half of it back to expose the wood deck. I generally do the back half of the deck first and then glue the front half of the deck. It is easier to do the front or back half each time because the carpet will rolI back easier than doing it from side to side.

Pour a gallon of the glue onto the deck and use the long-handle paint roller to spread it around evenly. Roll the carpet back out on top of the glue, and use a heavy roller on top of the carpet to set it into the glue.

When that half is done, roll the non-glued half back and brush some glue around the console area wher the cables are sticking up.

Then repeat the step for the other half of the carpet... pour the other gallon out on the deck, spread it around with the paint roller and roll the carpet back out ontop of the glue, use a heavy roller on top of the carpet to set it into the glue.

If you don't have a roller, use a 4x4 block of wood and a large hammer.(this takes longer, but works)
After rolling the carpet out over the glue, use the block of wood on top of the new carpet and hit it with the hammer while moving the block with each hit until the entire area has had a hit. This sets the carpet into the glue.

     Go around the edge of the deck with a box knife and carefully trim the excess carpet even with the edge of the wood. Grab the stapler and staple the edge of the carpet to the wood deck. The staples need to be no more than 1/4" from the edge, all the way around, about 1-2" apart.

9. Re-assemble the boat.
In the reverse order that you took it apart, just put all the pieces back together. Start with the trim around the deck. Use the rubber mallet to pound it back on the edge of the wood... TIP: when you have the edge mostly in place, bolt the corners to it. The trim can be pounded on the end to move it forward or backward to line up the corners. Finish pounding the trim on, put the screws back in the bottom side of the trim to hold it to the deck.
TIP: Use the scraper to push any carpet under the trim that got pushed back when pounding the trim back on.

10. Finish putting all the pieces back on the boat.
The trick with the screws an bolts is to dump out the can on a surface close by and sort them all by size and length. This makes it easy to find the ones you need. Start by counting the number of places that need the same type of bolt, then back to the sorted bolts for the stack with that number.(many times that's all you need to figure it out).

Have some questions? Reply to this post....

Hey, thanks. I will be back when I have question

I'm redecking and carpeting our pontoon boat and was needing some insight on how to disconnect throttle cable from our pontoon.

This is in step 4.

Disconnect the steering cable. Most all pontoons use a rotary style helm and the steering cable has a quick-disconnect feature. Get a light and look up inside the console where the cable goes into the steering helm. You should see a PULL CLIP. Pull it out and put it in the coffee can with the screws. After the clip is pulled, there is a push lock on the helm right where the cable goes in, push it and give the cable a tug. It should come loose. You may have to cut some plastic ties that are on the cable under the deck. You should be able to push some of the cable down through the hole in the deck.

Look up inside the console, you should see the "pull clip", most of them have a small paper tag on it. After you pull it, push the cable "up" to take the tension off, then use your finger or a screw driver and push the release on the helm, then pull the cable out. The release is right where the end of the cable goes into the helm. It is not marked with anything, it's just a plain piece of metal flush with the cable entry point. Once the release is depressed, you should be able to pull the cable casing out of the helm. The inner core of the cable will just pull out after the casing is loose. The inner core of the cable is greasy, so watch what it comes in contact with. This is why I keep a trash bag handy, to cover up the greasy part after pulling it out.

The throttle cable and shift cables have small bolts holding the core of the cable and a clamp holding the casing.

It would be good to know more details about what type of control you have.

There are many different types of control boxes on the market and many are made by the engine manufacturer too. Also, there are different styles of control boxes, flush, surface and side mount.

Take the cover off of the box and have a look. If it is a flush or surface mount, you can unbolt it from the console and you will see the fasteners holding the cable and casing.

If it is a side mount, you can either split the halves and take the cables loose or disconnect the cables from the engine and pull them out with the control box.

Thanks Dave for the thorough reply.

I have a related question. I too have to replace my carpet but my idea is to lay down heavy plastic first. My last pontoon's floor rotted so I thought this might protect the plywood.

Do you think this is a good idea or might it encourage mold or more rot?

Thanks.

don

Were you going to put it under the plywood, on top of the plywood or both?

Plastic:
If you put it under the wood, you would have to glue it to the bottom side before putting the wood on the pontoon frame. If you didn't glue it on first, it would sag and allow water to lay on the plastic.

If you put it on top of the wood, under the carpet, then the carpet could not be glued down.

I am not real sure what type of glue you could use that would not attack the plastic.

FRP:
It might be the same as using an FRP(Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood) product. They use FRP on semi trailer walls and motor home walls. It is plywood that has an outer skin of fiberglass. I am not sure if they use treated wood for the core of FRP, I think it's just kiln dried core.

Aluminum:
Some boat manufacturers use aluminum decking which won't rot, but it costs a lot these days.

Treated wood:
Most boat manufacturers use treated plywood that has been dried so the chemical is not wet to allow the top side glue to stick.
I think treated wood is the best way to go and should last close to 20 years without any other materials added.
You could paint the treated wood with an oil base paint or water resistant paint after it has dried out some..
Then assemble the deck after the paint is thoroughly dried.

I would think that the manufacturers would have used plastic if it would work, because it would give them a selling point over the other manufacturers.

Hello... thanks for all the advice... is contact glue..... the same as contact cement and if so... the directions say to glue both sides... is that necessary... thanks....???

Most of the time I use hidebond or Weldwood Contact Adhesive(Landau Top & Trim HHR Solvent Type, Spray Grade) that I get from http://www.MiamiCorp.com ..They are in Cincinnati Ohio

I see they have a regular marine carpet glue now.. but I have never used it
http://www.miamicorp.com/default.aspx?page=item+detail&itemcode=K398

It is basically 'Flammable' contact adhesive. I like the flammable better than the non-flammable.. I just think it works better.
Do not try this out in the hot sun, you will not get the bond you want.. Do it on a cloudy day... The glue will set before you get the carpet down and stitched.

In most cases you would coat both surfaces, however, the rubber back carpet will(may) get eaten by the adhesive if you do that(overkill).
This is the reason for the 'heavy roller' to force the carpet into the glue. And when you pour the glue on the deck, roll it around with the old paint roller(spread it).. well, there is plenty of glue.

You could coat both the deck and carpet, but you better work dam fast or have 2 people on the job..

I use a gallon on the front half and a gallon on the back half of the deck.

Do not let the glue set up, pour it out, spread it out, roll out the carpet and force it into the glue(using a heavy roller, or block of wood and a hammer). That process is called 'stitching'. They do the same thing with tire patches.

Some glue is the white paste stuff, that is the same, but you have to trowel it out.

I also do many other types of carpet on boats that require a tight fit on corners, lids for bass boat wells and others where I do brush the glue on the deck or lid, then brush glue on the carpet back as I put the carpet on.

Some places, it is necessary to get the bond.. but a pontoon deck is all flat.. and the carpet is stapled all around the edge of the deck so it won't have a way to start delamination(and allows the edge rail to be reassembled easier)