| I've been involved with two boat re-carpet jobs. It really isn't difficult
at all and you should be able to do it yourself if you can handle a
screwdriver and putty knife without hurting yourself. Simply remove any and all hardware that will keep you from peeling the
carpet up (that's the screwdriver part). Then, using the putty knife, begin at one corner and start peeling up the
carpet, scraping it free from the deck. Keep these pieces as intact as
possible because you WILL be needing them. Then, once you have all of the carpet removed (and saved, preferrably
numbered to the corresponding location on the boat), use this old carpet as
a template for the new stuff. I would suggest that you make sure the nap of the carpet all runs in the
same direction, or the job will look like crap. Once you have the pieces cut, dry fit them to insure proper fit. Once that
is done, and the deck, lids and all other carpeted surfaces are cleaned of
old glue residue, trowel on the new carpet glue, using the proper trowel and
adhesive. A carpet store can help you out there with the proper selection. Lay down the new carpet pieces, rolling from the center out to remove any
air bubbles. Bingo, you're done. Crack a beer, let dry for a couple days.... There's no reason why you and a buddy couldn't have this done in a weekend. |
