Vinyl vs. Carpet flooring in pontoon?

[lightpants]

another vote for vinyl

[woolznaz]

Being in AZ I love our carpet. The sun is so hot that I think vinyl would be a disadvantage in the summer. The carpet (as well as everything else) dries crazy fast because we have such low humidity so "mold" or dripping water for days is not a problem. However, if I ever remodel the boat, I think I would go with snap in carpet over vinyl -- best of both worlds. As stated above I also like the fact that carpet could then be changed out at some point without removing any furniture, etc. Our carpet is 8 years old, though, and still seems almost new so I think the restoration need is still a few years away.

[Strake]

However, if I ever remodel the boat, I think I would go with snap in carpet over vinyl -- best of both worlds.

As one who's had snap in carpet ( in our Sea Ray 250SLX) when each new season came along and we would start boating again before I would put the carpet back in, I would always get a PAINFUL reminder of the snaps by running a bare toe or two into the snaps

I'm looking forward to this new Toon with full vinyl. All we need now is Spring time. So far, all I got to do was bring the boat home from the dealer one afternoon for a 30 minute boat ride, and one other afternoon out on the boat for another hour and a half running time.

[TarheelBorn]

Bennington offers seagrass carpet. It feels like carpet but is a vinyl. Water just runs off, no mold or mildew, best of both worlds. 2 thirds of my boat is seagrass with the faux teak on the rear. Really enjoy the combination.

[moregooder]

carpet in the cabin vinel outside the fence

[Discovery]

I have vinyl easy clean up. yes it gets warm at time just pour some water on it and it cool. I would say go with vinyl you can add carpet runner if needed.

I throw in for vinyl too. I am doing what Greghvac is saying. Thought about snap in but I also didn't like the thought of stepping on the snaps as Strake mentioned. Plus snaps come loose or are a pain to snap on or off at times. At least when securing mooring/travel covers.

[BobL]

I think an important factor in your decision is what you do (i.e. fish) in your boat and where you use the boat. I live in Louisiana and it is wet, humid, moist, and sticky during the summer. Where I live, your carpet will get wet 40-50% (or more) most of the time with afternoon thunderstorms (whether you are docked, riding, or trailering).

First pontoon was carpet - I constantly fought mold

Second pontoon was vinyl with snap in/out carpet - paid $1500 extra for the option and the carpet came out the second time it got wet and I never put it back in

Third pontoon was straight vinyl (fake teak) - I will never go back to carpet

[zoom650]

Vinyl is just too easy to clean. The mud, the blood, and the beer wash right off.

[HandymanHerb]

Vinyl is just too easy to clean. The mud, the blood, and the beer wash right off.

Then if you take it fishing it's easy to clean up too, not just for dumping bodies anymore

[Cornej1]

We ordered vinyl. The Bennington seagrass option is so cool but added over $1000 to the cost so we went with just the vinyl. Thanks for the input!

[JeffS]

We ordered vinyl. The Bennington seagrass option is so cool but added over $1000 to the cost so we went with just the vinyl. Thanks for the input!

It's unfortunate that the seagrass is as expensive as it is. I really don't understand the upcharge...seems like they are charging what they can, rather than what its worth.Here is an article about the woven PVC flooring revolution. An interesting read if you're in to that sort of thing. http://marinefabricatormag.com/articles ... ution.html

We have the Seagrass floor and absolutely love it. Very happy with the product and are glad we opted for for it. But of the two - carpet or vinyl...good choice.

[ron nh]

Yep, there screwing you on the seagrass since its become so popular, on the 2014's i've been looking at it was under $500 2015 pretty much everyone at $1000. looks & feels great

[Soonertoon]

Had carpet. Great for the summer Oklahoma heat, but it always looked dirty and no amount of cleaning could ever make it look nice. Plus, it always held moisture which leads to mold. New boat has vinyl. Hotter , yes but waaaay easier to clean and doesn't have the molds smell of carpet.

[woolznaz]

At first glance i thought the decision is really based on where you live. Then I realized, it's really not. For example, I live in the desert southwest where it is pretty much always sunny, warm, and dry. The carpet (light carpet) is much cooler on your feet. It never stays wet or moist, because everything dries so quickly out here. So, here, carpet is clearly my choice. Now, if I lived where it is not warm, or where things always stayed moist, damp and subject to mold, would I prefer vinyl? Nope. I would absolutely still go with carpet. Then I would immediately call a Realtor to move me and my boat the #%@* out of there to somewhere warm, sunny, and dry.

Winter is optional. Mold is optional. Clouds are optional. Cold is optional.

[OK Toon]

I think it all comes down to what you do on your boat. We don't fish from the boat, so we enjoy carpet (at least in the main area). I think on our next boat I'd like to get the vinyl outside the playpen at the bow and stern. In Oklahoma, it gets hot enough to dry the carpet quickly so we don't have an issue with mold from being wet and dripping. The only place we have mold right now is at the stern outside the playpen because the cover doesn't cover that section. When we used to store the boat on the trailer up next to our lake house, the carpet stayed soaked from the rain and the trees shaded it too much to let it dry quickly. But we store it on a lift at our dock now, so that isn't an issue anymore. The only issue now is the goose shit that I keep finding back there.