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Bedliners for boats?
It was a tough decision to make.
I had a beautiful Nitro Bass Boat with a custom cover but I had
just dove into the guide business so it had to go. It
simply would not fish the way I needed a boat to fish with
clients. I needed space and a center console was the only
boat for me.
It was sad to see my Nitro leave
but I had my eye on a 17 foot Center Console that I thought was
perfect. What I didn't know is that the engine wouldn't
last 30 days and that from the day I bought it the carpet would
start going south. Carpet you ask? Yes carpet.
Back in the mid to late 90s boat
manufacturers cam up with an idea. They would dress up the
center console bay boats to be more appealing in the showroom
They dressed the gunwales and the deck up with bass boat carpet
and left the floor bare. Some manufacturers like Kenner
carpeted the whole thing. This was a bad idea as when it
gets wet, its gets heavy and with carpet just on the gunwales it
added quite a bit of weight.
I have fished out of the boat for
3 years and my clients have watched the carpet deteriorate,
literally, right under my feet. The main area was the
point where I stepped up on the deck. It began wearing due
to the movement one makes running the trolling motor and taking
clients fish off. The carpet under my feet on the deck
just disappeared from rotating my foot back and forth to run the
trolling motor.
This is a picture of the boat when I got back
from a multi species trip on Lake Hubbard Creek
It became apparent that I would have to replace
the carpet, gel coat the interior, poly-urethane paint it or,
yes, use a pick up bed liner to save the boat from the sickly
look that had erupted. The first person I talked to
suggested the gel coat. I knew that would be the best but
there were several caveats such as 100% removal of all carpet
glue which I soon found was impossible. I'll never forget
when my neighbor, who paints cars said, "Just spray it with a
bedliner". It is the "JUST" that rings through my ears.
I took off, the project was on its way and I
couldnt believe the ease of the carpet removal. Michael
Bristow of North Texas Fiberglass said it best when he said if I
would just wait another year the carpet would blow out.
This is after the boat after carpet removal
and the point of no return. I actually guided a trip in it
at this stage. I warned them ahead of time.
Next was the removal of the components and that
was pretty easy compared to the chores around the corner.
I think it took about an hour to remove the TM, the depthfinder,
the hatch, the rails and a rear rocket launcher I installed.
Components removed (Note the cracked
windshield)
I had read a ton about glue and carpet removal
and everything pointed to Acetone. I personally found it a
pain and a pneumatic sander with an 8 grit paper to be the
trick. Once I got started it took me about an hour to get
98% of the glue off.
Sanded
I met Joe Benevidos at English paints in Grand
Prairie. He told me he would hook me up with a clear bed
coat, the white pigment, the spray gun and he took care of me
with masking tape and paper. he told me it would take 2
gallons at $85 a gallon. My neighbor seemed to think a
gallon would cover the boat which proved to be wrong so a second
gallon was necessary. The following picture is how far I
got with the first gallon. It was at this point I thought
I had screwed up big time and there was no turning back. The
blow gun set at 40 PSI took forever but anything higher didnt
look good. I wonder if I could have primered the
fiberglass. You could see through the bed liner and my
stomach was turning.
Imagine what I was thinking at the end of the
first $85 gallon of bed liner! Wasn't looking good.
I took the Friday before Christmas off to really
dig in and see what I could do. Bright and early I woke up
and thought " Since its already textured maybe I could roll it
with a 3 inch roller and touch up with a brush". Off to
Depot I went and I picked up what I needed. I then went
and got my 2nd gallon of bed liner and started rolling.
This was the key! It all started to fall into place and it
began to look good. My friend Mike McBrayer showed up with
a 12 pack and helped me for about 8 hours.
In the end, I think it is a good application.
I didn't say great as its personally hard to work with.
You can do it in your driveway as the paint is to thick and
globby to go airborn. There was at least 20 man hours for
me alone and thanks to Mike who really helped me put the
accessories back on.
Here she is. Note I also replaced the glass for $90
shipped, contact me for more info on that one but it sure beat
the old windshield.
I bought a cover on Ebay for $120 shipped and i will be
taking better care of the interior of the boat.
The floor was previously painted and the guy at Home Depot
said it was nothing more than an oil based exterior paint and
suggested semi gloss.
Here is a closer pic as requested.
C
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