I made the leap of tearing out the 20 year old cabin carpet from our 2002 410DA to replace with waterproof vinyl plank flooring. I've done this project but on a much smaller scale in our 1998 290DA, so I have a process in mind.
This is a completely different beast than our old boat, though. More hatches, curves, sloped floor in places, and uneven fiberglass underneath the old carpet.
First order of business is to remove the carpet. There are HORROR stories about this step. My advice - use a multi-tool with an oscilating scraper blade set to the fastest speed. Work the blade slowly as you pull the carpet back and it will release the glue cleanly. Patience is your friend on this step and will save lots of scraping and aggravation later
Next up I make a template with construction paper. Its available at lowes for cheap in the paint section. This will let me lay the floor out at home to cut the pieces ahead of time. more on that later
Once home - I trace the paper pattern in chalk so I know where to assemble the flooring to cover the necessary area. Then, get the orientation right (I want the seams to line up with the hatches and run parallel to them). Assemble the floor, lay the paper over the top, and mark it. Now, here's where I'm changing my strategy from the 290. That boat has a small area so I was confident in the template. The 410 has a lot more room and as a result a lot more room for error. I am going to mark and cut the first couple pieces that will go under the galley but the rest I will leave marked to be cut at the boat. My theory is it will leave room for adjustments instead of me being off by 1/4"+ all the way around since the template isn't perfect.
I picked a cheap-ish 3mm floor first. I liked the color in the store, but once I put it in the boat I hated it against the cabinets. I've since returned that product and went with a waterproof 6.5mm vinyl with pad attached. This is a premium floor at about $3/sqft, but it SO much nicer. It will hide some imperfections in the floor and is the right color for our taste.
The floor I hated:
the new color:
This is a completely different beast than our old boat, though. More hatches, curves, sloped floor in places, and uneven fiberglass underneath the old carpet.
First order of business is to remove the carpet. There are HORROR stories about this step. My advice - use a multi-tool with an oscilating scraper blade set to the fastest speed. Work the blade slowly as you pull the carpet back and it will release the glue cleanly. Patience is your friend on this step and will save lots of scraping and aggravation later
Next up I make a template with construction paper. Its available at lowes for cheap in the paint section. This will let me lay the floor out at home to cut the pieces ahead of time. more on that later
Once home - I trace the paper pattern in chalk so I know where to assemble the flooring to cover the necessary area. Then, get the orientation right (I want the seams to line up with the hatches and run parallel to them). Assemble the floor, lay the paper over the top, and mark it. Now, here's where I'm changing my strategy from the 290. That boat has a small area so I was confident in the template. The 410 has a lot more room and as a result a lot more room for error. I am going to mark and cut the first couple pieces that will go under the galley but the rest I will leave marked to be cut at the boat. My theory is it will leave room for adjustments instead of me being off by 1/4"+ all the way around since the template isn't perfect.
I picked a cheap-ish 3mm floor first. I liked the color in the store, but once I put it in the boat I hated it against the cabinets. I've since returned that product and went with a waterproof 6.5mm vinyl with pad attached. This is a premium floor at about $3/sqft, but it SO much nicer. It will hide some imperfections in the floor and is the right color for our taste.
The floor I hated:
the new color:
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