Replacing carpeting with wood flooring

We have a 32 ft. Nordic Tug (2000) and are hoping to replace our carpeting with some type of wood floor. What type should we consider?...teak & holly, cork, bamboo, Nu teak, synthetic teak & holly...too many options to narrow down. Looking for durability, less expense. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm clueless. I thought one started with a wood floor and then added a carpet.

Patriot said:

What type should we consider?...teak & holly, cork, bamboo, Nu teak, synthetic teak & holly...too many options to narrow down.

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It's such a subjective thing that I'm afraid the only person who can narrow it down is you. I can tell you what I would prefer--- teak parquet or teak and lighter wood strips like Mark's cabin sole--- but that's just me.

An advantage of fake wood is that it's generally cheaper than real wood. Sometimes a lot cheaper--- if you've bought raw teak lately, which we just did the other day for a boat project, you'll know what I mean.

And I suppose there is the resale value of the boat to consider. Use something other people might not like and you can make the boat harder to sell later if you're concerned about that.

But in the end you're going to have to decide for yourself what you like the look of and what you're willing to spend and so on.

I used cork and am very happy with it. Easy to install, naturally sound absorbent, tolerant to a lot of abuse.


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Nordic Tugs installs Amtico flooring at the factory these days (maybe it's an upgrade?). On the boats I've been on, Amtico looks nearly identical to the real thing. No idea what it costs.

Let us know what you end up with. I've got a 2000 Nordic Tug as well, and it's due for new flooring in the not-too-distant future. Real wood won't stand up to the dogs that are occasionally aboard, and I haven't really looked into alternatives yet...

Some flooring is naturally No Skid , which might be a concern.

Replace carpeting

Retriever said:

Nordic Tugs installs Amtico flooring at the factory these days (maybe it's an upgrade?). On the boats I've been on, Amtico looks nearly identical to the real thing. No idea what it costs.

Let us know what you end up with. I've got a 2000 Nordic Tug as well, and it's due for new flooring in the not-too-distant future. Real wood won't stand up to the dogs that are occasionally aboard, and I haven't really looked into alternatives yet...

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Do you know what kind of flooring they install under the carpeting? I assume it's plywood but don't know without pulling the carpeting up. I have attempted to contact Nordic Tug but as of yet have not received a reply. Grrr. We were looking at NuTeak and we love the look but we also know some folks that installed cork but haven't seen it. We are not planning to install it ourselves, so need to find a dealer. We are on the loop and are going back to our home for Memorial Day thru July 4 and thought we'd like to have it done while we are gone. We expect to be somewhere around the Chesapeake and will need to look for someone reputable in the area to do the work.

nautibeaver said:

I used cork and am very happy with it. Easy to install, naturally sound absorbent, tolerant to a lot of abuse.


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Could you send me a picture of your cork? Did you install it yourself? We know some other Nordic Tug owners who installed cork and absolutely love it.

Greetings,
Wood in lieu of carpet? How about wood grained carpet?

Looked at the plastic teak and holly but didn't like the look. Went with 1/4" teak and holly plywood. Three coats of polyurethane. Looks great, we think.


Bob

When we bought Willy there was carpet. We tore up the old carpet and painted the plywood floor w latex floor paint. Floor pain is formulated for follrs and "wears like iron". Dark green. Have a 2' X 2.5' throw rug just inside the salon door to wipe wet feet on. Still happy w the ply and paint. That reminds me .. need another coat of paint. This old pic shows the floor.

Here is the pics. I installed it myself. Had Carpet installed too, last year. It is coming up and cork going there.

We have cork in laundry room and mud room at house. 10 years in, I knew it was a good choice for the boat. Looks like new still.




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Patriot,

Check with Ben Wilde for info (ben@wildeyachts.com) on the use of Amtico. Before Nordic Tug offered Amtico as a factory option, Ben was installing the vinyl laminate as a dealer option.

I would second the vote for cork. We have cork flooring from Wicanders, 'Auburn Series 100'. It looks like burled walnut, but is maintenance free, as well as sound proof, solvent proof, sound insulating, and feels good underfoot. I think it's supremely practical for a boat, and looks great.

I just put cork in my kitchen and am thinking of doing the same in my NT.

I have some type of super hard wearing tight knit (probably nylon) glued down carpet Think of a couch from the 50's. It really isn't bad, just isn't great for sweeping or vacuuming.

If I could pull that up and glue down a cork of the same thickness I could keep all the teak trim pieces.

I like teak, the real stuff, not plywood veneer. 1/4 inch thick 1 1/2 wide strips glued and screwed then bunged. I use 5200 for the stickum and 3/4 inch screws with fender washers to hold it down till the glue sets. Then pull the screws, drill the holes out to 3/8 inch with a forstner bit and glue in bungs. Then sand it all smooth. Its a lot of work but will last the life of the boat. My wife is into doing inlays and likes complicated patterns, fish, sealife, etc so I try to incorporate that as much as possible. If I knew how to add pics I would show one of a engine hatch she did, with a yellowfin tuna busting flying fish. All naturall wood with no stain. It looks awsome.

Don't do it. Just put new carpeting down. Most guys who install carpet can handle a boat. But, unless they are shipwrights, most carpenters can't put down a cabin sole. (hint: it ain't like laying a floor)

kulas44 said:

If I knew how to add pics I would show one of a engine hatch she did, with a yellowfin tuna busting flying fish. All naturall wood with no stain. It looks awsome.

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I'd like to see that. To include a photo with a post select advanced, scroll down to manage attachments, open that, select the first "choose" button, navigate to your photo (there is a file size limit for attachments), tap your photo which will take you back to the attachments window, select "upload"' wait for the photo to do that ( it will indicate that it's loaded farther down in the window), and lastly select "submit reply." That's it.

You can attach up to ten photos using this method, one for each "choose" button. Your post will look like this one.

Why do people like carpet?

How it feels w bare feet?
Is it "up town" or classy looking?

Why would a builder or an individual put carpet in a boat?
Boats live in a very wet world and carpet seems not to fit logic.

Carpet holds smells big time. First mate ordered it all gone, and it is. Boat smells much better. Laid down vinyl plank in the pilot house, looks great, and everybody's happy. The rest of the boat is just plain aluminum deck with rubber cover that you can roll up and take outside to hose off and clean. Got it at Grainger, its the stuff they use in restaurant kitchens that's easy on the feet and non slip.

I put 1/4" T &H plywood over the old plywood and carpeted floor.
The cost is almost the same as Plasteak. The Plasteak looks pretty good but I wanted the plywood - just because. For around $10, Plasteak will send you samples of their T & H imitation with different finishes.
Mu Salon is about 9' X 10' and the total cost was around $1K. That included the new under layment and solid teak trim on each piece. Most of my floor lifts out in 8 Pieces for engine access.

Carpet gets real ratty fast in a boat. We go to Wally World in the fall and buy throw rugs for the winter and throw them away in the spring.

alormaria said:

Don't do it. Just put new carpeting down. Most guys who install carpet can handle a boat. But, unless they are shipwrights, most carpenters can't put down a cabin sole. (hint: it ain't like laying a floor)

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Hire an independent floor guy not a big box store. Ask for ref.

Rob

Our boat came with this diamond pattern 1/4" thick fiberglass . I had never seen it before and thought it was aluminum at first . The fit was not very good so when we rebuilt the wheel house I recut all of it to get a better fit . We just put a carpet runner on top of it . It's some tough stuff .

I removed the badly worn teak and holly plywood in my boat and built a new laminated 3/4" thick cherry with narrow white maple strip floor. 10 coats of two part urethane clear coat and it still looks great after 8 years.

TDunn,
No shoes allowed .. right?
Beautiful.

Boat shoes are fine. Two part urethane clear coat is hard as nails.

Carpets seem to do OK here because we don't have the humidity of those east of the Rocky Mountains. Weather was tolerable when we were in Louisiana in January, however.

It should not be that expensive to create a boat look floor from stock materials.

If just the "look" is important the sheets of ply with a paper thin glued on "Teak and Holley" .

If you travel much , duplicating a genuine ships floor might be a help in rough conditions.

The traditional floor has the Holley strips stand proud by 1/8 of an inch or so, to be no skid when the vessel was underway.

Today IPE and other hardwoods are imported from Brazil as house decking , and should wear as well as teak at 1 /10 the cost.

Being lazy , I would consider Loinseal , as far easier to maintain.

Kulas,

Either cost is no object for you, or maybe you have a low-cost supply of Teak in Louisiana; if the latter is the case, where do you supply your Teak from?

Several years back (maybe 10) I bought 2 bundles of teak on ebay. Ruff cut 2 inch by 6 inch by 10 foot long, plantation type. bundles were 4 foot wide by 4 foot tall, however many boards that is. Cheap, cheaper than just about anything else used in a boat. Shipping was expensive. I have a big bandsaw and a big surface planer so resawing and planing is not a big problem. I really need a drum sander. I've used most of that teak but I also bought an old 44 foot wood boat that had miles of 3/4 and 1 inch teak decking. All 2 inches wide. Beautiful stuff. And the hull was mahagony on bent oak ribs, lapstrake (clinker) built. Meticulous dissassembly was required but I was able to salvage an incredible amount of lumber. I have more time than sense, but I do love the feel of fine wood. However, I have never grown to like the smell of teak shavings. And, dont use the sawdust or shavings for plant mulch, it kills them. When planing after dark you can turn the lights off and see the blades sparking on the silica in the teak. Really tuff on tools. I much prefer to work with the old teak as compared to the newer plantation stuff.