Why you should recarpet your boat for instant bling

Carpet. It’s everywhere. Some good, some plush, but often pretty terrible if not downright grubby on boats.

Fact is, few things in a makeover give the luxe feeling and clean look of fresh-laid carpet underfoot.

In fact, boating-refurb experts say recarpeting is among their top three easy, affordable and instant ways to rejuvenate a much-loved old rig.

WHERE TO CARPET
For those with a big boat or motorcruiser, carpet might stretch from the cabins to the saloon. It’s going to be odd shapes running between bunks, out to the foot of the cabin doors and with a long strip down the companionway. But even in a trailerable half-cabin, some carpet will help prevent condensation and improve the comfort factor.

Some new weatherproof carpet in the outdoor areas of your boat can work wonders. New carpet will give a luxury feel underfoot in your cockpit and flybridge, protect gear on deck and in side pockets, and make boating more pleasant, especially in winter. It also has a welcome cushioning effect that's kind on the feet when bouncing around on those long stand-up offshore runs.

Most carpet made to measure can be loose fit, preferably hemmed on the edges to prevent fraying in outdoor areas, and attached with press studs for easy removal and cleaning. All carpet in a boat should be marine grade.

CARPET CAPERS
Justin Paulsen from Carpet Capers in Labrador, SE Queensland, has seen a pile of recarpeting marine projects in his time. These range from extensive fitouts on commercial craft to trailerable pleasure boats and everyday runabouts.

Paulsen uses premium marine carpet from the Marine Plank range, as in that common teak-look effect, and the Marine Plush range, which is the same product without the faux caulking. The polypropylene carpet is solution dyed and has anti-mould qualities as well.

Paulsen says his marine carpet installations on commercial craft subject to high traffic have stood up well even after three years, but most recreational boaters will get five years and more even in exposed areas.

It’s always good practice to keep your carpet dry and clean, he says, and some boats will get more than a decade out of it if they look after their carpet.

MAKE A TEMPLATE
"Most boats have ‘moulds’ already. You can use your existing carpet as a template or make a template yourself very easily using a roll of brown paper and some masking tape," Paulsen says.

"I had a 50-year old guy in the other day. He just used stencil paper to mark it all out. We just cut it to shape and away he went. I can cut carpet for a 17-foot bowrider in half an hour, while you wait," he says.

In keeping the new age of DIY, Carpet Capers has moved into the inline carpet-supply area and boaters can send in a template and the carpet will be cut and mailed out in a few days. The website also has a pile of DIY tips to help you get out.

A LOOSE LAY
Paulsen says installing carpet isn’t rocket science and  made-to-measure new carpet can simply be loose laid, and press studded outdoors, rather than glued in. Not gluing carpet in outdoor areas is the way to go for easy removal and cleaning.

Inside your boat, 90 per cent of cabin carpet is also loose laid using carpet cut to fit. Carpets just sit on the floor. Some add underlay, but the Marine Plush product feels nice underfoot as it is, Paulsen says.

The rough cost of recarpeting an 18-foot runabout is about $500 for, say, five metres of carpet, plus delivery. Recarpeting a Riviera 40 might set you back a couple of grand.

Recarpeting is an affordable way to get an instant effect, says Paulsen. Carpet and delivery prices are online at http://www.carpetcapers.com.au.

Meantime, you might want to heed the line about things being swept under the carpet. You can hide a multiple of sins with some carpet. When buying a preloved boat, wherever possible, rollback the carpet and have a good look at what's hiding underneath.