EVA foam decking

rooftop

rooftop

Smolt
I was at the Portland Boat Show last Wednesday before the weather hit and saw a booth for a guy doing decals, restoration, and EVA decking. He even have a before/after Willy's drift boat that looked pretty fantastic.
IMG_3066.jpeg
I started to think about how great it would be to replace the crappy floor mats on my Clacka with foam and wondered if anyone else has done that. It seems like it would be great for bare feet and for cleats, and be safer than slippery mats that always seem to catch fly lines and shift at the wrong time. Anyone currently use it in their drift boat or fishing boat? How does it fair with spilled blood & beer? Did you have to sand the floor down for proper adhesion?
 
Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
I'm putting EVA decking on a few spots in my floor/front deck replacement on my open sled boat. Haven't used it yet but I'm excited to give it a go. I'm mostly just putting it on the front casting platform. Main floor will just be textured deck paint.

I have the roll of it sitting in the garage. Won't get installed until nicer weather prevails.
 
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Jeff Dodd

Jeff Dodd

Steelhead
I installed foam hydro turf (?) on a modified V Jon boat I owned. I installed on the front casting deck. It was nice and held up well. I sold the boat the following year, so that is a short amount of time using the product.

It was real nice for standing, terrific for the dog, and was cooler than aluminum on hot days. Cleaned up easy.
 
Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
The one thing I'm still not sure on is edging it. I feel like if it's on a primed piece of plywood and I cut it flush with the edge, it's not going to look great without some kind of edging. Been trying to find pics of others work but not seeing much that fits my situation.
 
Jeff Dodd

Jeff Dodd

Steelhead
Evan B said:
The one thing I'm still not sure on is edging it. I feel like if it's on a primed piece of plywood and I cut it flush with the edge, it's not going to look great without some kind of edging. Been trying to find pics of others work but not seeing much that fits my situation.
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I understand. My situation was right up smog to the gunnel, so that helped with the finished look. If they made a finished edge to install outside of your cut edge, that would be smart!
 
D

Draketake

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
Question for you guys please. Ive been eyeing this product but I wonder how it holds up to boot studs or cleats, when installed in high use areas.

Thank you for your time.

Bob
 
H

headduck

Steelhead
Check out sea dek. They cut edges at 45. Looks great. Used a lot in marine applications. I have yet to spring for it.

www.seadek.com

SeaDek - The Original Marine Flooring

SeaDek's PV/EVA foam boat flooring blend is designed to be comfortable. Our products offer safe, non-slip alternatives to other marine traction products.
www.seadek.com www.seadek.com
 
Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
headduck said:
Check out sea dek. They cut edges at 45. Looks great. Used a lot in marine applications. I have yet to spring for it.

www.seadek.com

SeaDek - The Original Marine Flooring

SeaDek's PV/EVA foam boat flooring blend is designed to be comfortable. Our products offer safe, non-slip alternatives to other marine traction products.
www.seadek.com www.seadek.com
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I was going to go that route but it's so much more expensive than any of the equivalent products you can cut yourself. Being a cheapskate, I went with the "DIY" route. Getting close to applying my first section of it. Stay tuned.
 
rotato

rotato

Steelhead
What about a hot knife fabric cutter
i originally bought one to cut nylon sails for a pond boat class I taught
ive had good luck cutting lines and different material with it as it “seals” the edge by melting it

probably stinks so do it outside
 
Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
rotato said:
What about a hot knife fabric cutter
i originally bought one to cut nylon sails for a pond boat class I taught
ive had good luck cutting lines and different material with it as it “seals” the edge by melting it

probably stinks so do it outside
Click to expand...
It's pretty easy to cut with a sharp utility knife. It has adhesive backing with a paper layer to protect the adhesive, so I could see that complicating the hot knife plan.
 
Kfish

Kfish

Flyologist
Forum Supporter
I used Seadek in my 16ft center console skiff since 2019 and it's great. It's close to it's original color, minimal staining and I haven't washed it at all other than the water splashes inside the boat. It's great for bare feet in the summer.

It sticks really well, I recently added a flat deck in the front and had to remove some of it. It was a motherF'r to remove :)
 
Buzzy

Buzzy

I prefer to call them strike indicators.
Forum Supporter
Regrets for thread drift - as I look at the EVA foam decking and Sea Dek I wonder at the application of carpet in fishing boats. I've been looking online at used boats (and a few new ones) and find it odd, at least to me, that many fishing boats come with carpet rather than some type of decking that you can easily clean (fish blood comes to mind) with soap and water and perhaps some elbow grease.

@Kfish - a few of the carpeted used boats I've looked at I wondered about the chore of removing the carpeting and replacing it with the above mentioned materials. I bet it's a heck of a chore.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.
 
Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
Buzzy said:
Regrets for thread drift - as I look at the EVA foam decking and Sea Dek I wonder at the application of carpet in fishing boats. I've been looking online at used boats (and a few new ones) and find it odd, at least to me, that many fishing boats come with carpet rather than some type of decking that you can easily clean (fish blood comes to mind) with soap and water and perhaps some elbow grease.

@Kfish - a few of the carpeted used boats I've looked at I wondered about the chore of removing the carpeting and replacing it with the above mentioned materials. I bet it's a heck of a chore.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.
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As someone currently replacing an entire floor that was previously carpeted - never again. I bought the boat with it and it did last for 20yrs (for the previous owner that kept it in the garage), but that plywood underneath it was beyond shot. To the point it was hard to remove. And the first salmon that hit the deck permanently gunked it up.
 
SurfnFish

SurfnFish

Legend
Forum Supporter
Buzzy said:
Regrets for thread drift - as I look at the EVA foam decking and Sea Dek I wonder at the application of carpet in fishing boats. I've been looking online at used boats (and a few new ones) and find it odd, at least to me, that many fishing boats come with carpet rather than some type of decking that you can easily clean (fish blood comes to mind) with soap and water and perhaps some elbow grease.

@Kfish - a few of the carpeted used boats I've looked at I wondered about the chore of re..moving the carpeting and replacing it with the above mentioned materials. I bet it's a heck of a chore.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.
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carpet is cheaper for the boat manufacturers to install...they buy it in thousands of sq' yard batches, pattern cut and rack until install.
Replaced the carpet on my 97' Crestliner Fish Hawk in 06' with a 'hoseable' low pile, tight weave from Bass Pro Shop. A full day of work, came out great. Key to removing factory boat carpet is a heat gun and a sturdy floor scraper.
 
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