EVA foam decking

The "hardest part" is getting a decent template, and then a decent cut. I have tended to butt pieces together to cover an entire area rather than make pads that are limited to the width of the material. I have certainly had varying results doing that. Mine is light grey with white "caulking". very cool, even in the Florida sun. I am seeing some of the adhesive that is used to marry the grey foam to the white foam leeching out from the edge of the caulk seam. It is yellow. Thin but I notice it. Certainly not perfection, but for a 20 year old boat it is way good enough, and serves the non skid purpose perfectly. $160 total and I have a LOT of material left over.
Here is my story in pictures:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ks7z57nxxvw3u2l/AAC5XmBjjXukHb_GYIra98WPa?dl=0
 
And, after looking at the pics, if you can think of some kind of edging material I can use to go around the outside of the upper dive platform to dress up the edge, I'm all ears. Everything I have messed with doesn't like the radius on the 2 outer edges, or the sharp turns around the coaming lockers, etc. I tried to make a rolling knife to trace the edge of the platform, and cut the foam about 1/2" back from the edge, but there is a significant slope on the vertical side, so it's been very difficult to maintain the distance. Doing it by hand has proven to be sloppy at best. The 90 degree edges on the cockpit hatches were a breeze.
 
Tomco said:
We are looking to do the same (probably not this year) so I'm really looking forward to seeing how yours turns out. I've read all the threads and have a similar preference towards Plasdek vs the EVA. Interesting that you are doing your bridge - it seems that most use carpet but my wife questioned why we wouldn't do the bridge as well.

Will you be installing it yourself? doing the the swim platform as well?

/Tom
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Just finished the installation of the PlasDek. Very happy with it. New window shades arrive tomorrow and then I think it will be time to take a hiatus from boat mods!
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Carpe, wow, that looks great! I really like the look in the cockpit area, very clean and neat. Did you do the install or have a 3rd party?
 
Did it my self with the help of a friend that did his on his own. Just a little patience required to carefully spread the glue with out getting it where you don't want it. Took better part of a morning to do the major sections.
Carpe Diem
 
my3sons said:
Carpe, very nice! Which color Plasdek is that?
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The color is mahogany with onyx.
We went dark because we have the darker interior cabinetry and flooring.
Got rid of the original dark wood blinds and put in day/night shades. Really improved the feel of the cabin.
 
Carpediem44DB said:
The color is mahogany with onyx.
Got rid of the original dark wood blinds and put in day/night shades. Really improved the feel of the cabin.
Click to expand...

What color did you go with for the shades? Our boat has the day/night shades now but they are a neutral color ... looks kind of washed out with the other salon colors. We were just talking about a change to bring a little more contrast to the salon.
 
My 1 year old made a mess of our EVA floor (and does every weekend) so instead of the normal boat soap/brush treatment I hit it with Starbrite non-skid cleaner and a hard bristle brush. Came like new
 
I have a few grease spots from my BBQ and soap & water are not cutting it... I have been worried about using something stronger and damaging it. I have a scrap piece I have been meaning to test some degreaser or something on it and see what happens.
 
Tomco said:
What color did you go with for the shades? Our boat has the day/night shades now but they are a neutral color ... looks kind of washed out with the other salon colors. We were just talking about a change to bring a little more contrast to the salon.
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Tom, I went with ivory because we have such dark interior wood. It really brightens up the salon but blacks out completely to keep the oppressive global warming out;)
 
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Tomco said:
What color did you go with for the shades? Our boat has the day/night shades now but they are a neutral color ... looks kind of washed out with the other salon colors. We were just talking about a change to bring a little more contrast to the salon.
Click to expand...
Here are a couple of pics of the shades we choose. I think they contrast well with our rather dark interior
Carpe Diem
 
That does look nice Carpe! We like the day/night blinds - they work very well.
 
Stee6043 said:
Here's how mine turned out earlier this year. I think I stated previously that I'd do SeaDek if I had to do it all over again. My feelings haven't changed :)

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May I ask why?
 
RBB said:
May I ask why?
Click to expand...

Just the amount of work to template and cut the DIY foam sheets. Had I know how much work that was going to be, Seadek would have made more sense. The Seadek install would also look a bit cleaner. More professional, obviously.

My cheapo deck has held up great though. No regrets really...
 
I'm interested in this Chinese EVA stuff. The ones I'm finding are in rolls that are 3 to 4 feet wide. But, if you are trying to seam it together, how do you do that so it looks clean and straight? Does anyone have experience with putting two "runs" together? Can you make it look professional? As you see in the pic below, even the seams they show on the Ebay ad are crooked.

Also, what about how it's holding up? Anyone with that stuff on their boat for more than a year still happy with it?
 

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