flooring

[jim k]

purchased a hatteras 1994 42 ft cmy haven't picked it up yet. the maine salon has carpet that needs to be replaced, any one know if there are panels under the carpet to access the engine room? would like to replace the carpet with wood any suggestions

[bobk]

Jim k, welcome to the forum. You can get lots of opinions and some good advice here.

Suggest you think twice about going to wood. Carpet has many advantages and a good quality carpet will look good for a long time. Of course I like carpet. My suggestion is stay with carpet, use a light color polyester and use the shortest pile and highest fiber weight you can afford. It will not fade, show wear and rarely need cleaning. And BTW, use a firm, good quality pad below it. If 3GT carpet fiber is still available, check it out and compare to other fibers.

Bobk

[MikeP]

Can't answer the question re panels under the carpet for access to the engine room on the 42, there are such panels on our 53.

We replaced much of the carpeting on the boat with Amtico flooring and I plan to replace more of the remaining carpet with it in the spring. There are a lot of different products and folks have their favorites but we like the Amtico a lot. We used their "teak" with 1/4 strips of "warm beech" between them to give it a teak/holly look but they have tons of different options from different woods to tile/stone/etc.

It wears extremely well - We installed the first "run" of Amtico back in '05 and it looks like it was installed yesterday.

[Beckytek]

I have the same boat in the 40 ft version. Yes there is a large hatch over each engine. I have carpeting covering the floor so they are not obvious. Flooring is a personal preference thing. Go with what suits you. I like carpeting for it's noise dampening and ease of maintenance.

[Boatsb]

Its all in how you use it. I think wood is beautiful but impractical for a family with kids and dogs. My golden retriever and I were just hanging out on the boat today and he likes the carpet. I like the fact it does not get scratched up and can be replaced easily. If it were just a few adults and we were not water rats ( fishing, swimming, kayaking ...) tracking sand in and out I might consider wood.

[TROUBLE]

Funny how everyone thinks different. I went to wood instead of carpet because of the kids. I find it to be a lot easier to keep clean. I dont even go crazy anymore when they dont wipe their feet. No more vacume and all it takes is a quick wipe with one of those swiffer things.

to each his own though

ART

[Mel Tucker]

I thought about wood flooring when my carpet needed to be replaced. I made the decision to stick with carpet because of engine noise reduction with carpeting. Much better than wood. Just pick a color that will not show wine stains ( or drink only whites).

Mel Tucker
Taylor G
43 DC

[Boatsb]

They make wine in white?

[Mel Tucker]

Scott, Yep, white wine can be almost colorless. I often pour a bottle or two of cheap Chardonnay into my fresh water tank to prevent freezing in the winter months. I'll bet your dog would love a bowl of water spiked with Chardonnay! Mel

[Angela]

Funny how everyone thinks different. I went to wood instead of carpet because of the kids. I find it to be a lot easier to keep clean. I dont even go crazy anymore when they dont wipe their feet. No more vacume and all it takes is a quick wipe with one of those swiffer things.

to each his own though

ART

I'm one of those who totally agree. To me, carpet has no business on a boat. When I had light-colored carpet, I was the shoe natzi. Now that there isn't one fiber of carpet on the boat, I don't sweat it when folks walk on the boat with shoes on, so long as it's not those hard, pointy high heels. I have a whole lot less dust from the carpet fibers, too.