Anyone ever been in or own a boat that has bedliner instead of carpet? Carpet gets so dirty, so fast...

The "new" boat I bought has to have the carpet replaced with something. I'm seriously considering a bedliner product. It seems the Durabak is somewhat popular online as a boat floor covering. I can get a urethane coating that would be tougher, but it will be a hard coating. I don't want a rigid covering, I want it to have some flex to it.

So, discuss....

To each, their own, but I like carpet. If it is done wright and looks factory color matched would be the only exception. But that's my opinion. If you plan on keeping it, do what makes you happy.

I like both. No preference. Much easier to keep the bedliner style cleaner

Don't get a dark color and nothing that would be slippery when wet.

Ben, I'd probably feel more comfortable about using the bedliner if I'd ever been in a boat that it had been used in. If I go that route I'll have to modify the deck lids so they'll still sit flush with the deck when closed but that won't be hard to do.

I fished out of a flat top (think thats the name) the entire deck (whole boat) was the truck bed type liner. It was really easy to spray off after use and was not slippery at all. Carpet does seem quieter to me though

Bed liner will be slick when wet. I didn't like it. We had to sandblast it out of a boat and used a roll in for boats. It was actually cheaper and was a lot better. Also check out seadeck when I carpet my boat I think that's what I'm goin with.

Linex is not slick.

Stick with carpet. Not a fan at all of the bedliner.

get some wear on it then get it wet. It's like ice.

Mines 11 yrs old, is that old enough? Mine is like sandpaper.

The Xpress I owned for 2 years had a roll on bedliner on the floor done by the previous owner.
I liked it except it was black. If it had been gray instead of black it would have been perfect.
The guy who did it said hardest part was getting the glue up to put the liner down. He and a buddy worked 2-3 days on the project.

his didn't have any grit. It was slick before it was wet. When it was wet you couldn't stand. What we put back in had a little.

My Dad has a 18' Xpress and he on purpose bought a camo one for the Linex rough texture. There are a few spots that the camo is coming off but that does not bother him.

Buddy and I rebuilt an old flats boat from the bare hull up, and used a tan roll on bedliner with the little micro beads for traction, and it was a breeze to clean up and looked great.

I've got bed liner in my Sea Ark. The whole thing is aluminum tread plate sprayed with bed liner. It's been fine. Mine is a bone color and shows dirt quick. It's a catfish boat though,so I wouldn't have wanted carper to throw net fulls of bait on and land 50lb slimy catfish,not to mention all the shad guts and other catfish bait that would already have ruined carpet.

If I was a fancy bass fisherman who never got dirty,I would probably have a shiny boat with high quality carpet.

The carpet in my bassboat was in terrible shape especially in the floor area. My boat is a dual console so there wasn't much room to move around while working in the floor. I carpeted the decks, but I used the textured grey Durabak for the floor. I am very satisfied with it. All the dirt from the front deck carpet eventually ends up in the floor area. Now, I just hose out the floor, and it matches the carpet and boat well. Don't be afraid to give the Durabak a try.

If you decide to go with Durabak, make sure to follow the manufacturers instructions. The prep work is key. I used a roller and brush to apply the Durabak. Make sure you wear a good pair of rubber gloves. If you get it on your skin, it won't come off without pulling your skin with it. I found this out the hard way.

If it's the same one I'm thinking of, the "flattop" is made here in Alabama and is as you described: the whole deck was a bedliner-type covering, either with grit or some kind of tackiness that helped prevent slippage. I fished out of one several times with sneakers, sandals and bare feet with no problems.

http://www.flatopboats.com/


For giant lakes where you might just want a trolling motor or a 10/20 hp stick on the back, they were great. Not as much fun to paddle when the t'motor battery dies, though.

I got my toolbox Linexed to match my bed. The second dealer was terrible. They didn't do proper prep and it has been peeling the last four years. When painting metal prep is everything. Furthermore, they won't warranty tool boxes.