Adhesive for boat carpet

[Sy]

I replaced the flooring on a 16 foot fishing boat last spring based on information I found in this forum and it worked out great!

I am now helping a relative replace the floor for a 20+ foot pontoon boat and had a question about what to use to attach the carpet to the new plywood pontoon floor (has fiberglass resin on the plywood). For the fishing boat I used an adhesive that had sort of a thick consistency and was spread on using a trowel type tool. It worked well but it was slow to apply. I would like something that works well but could be applied quicker because I now have 5+ sheets of plywood to cover!

I have seen lots of good ideas here so hopefully someone knows of a product that would work!

[spitz31]

I also am in the process of recarpeting parts of a bass boat and got the paste type glue from Home Depot. I've heard there is a spray-on glue made by 3M that works. I couldn't find it and just went with the stuff from HD. I've also done some research on the web and a lot people suggest that the glue is the most important part of the process. That being said I wouldn't know which is better, the spray-on or spread. I will soon be re-doing a pontoon boat as well, so I hope you'll post your results.

[Steve Bakken]

Unfortunately, in this situation, there's no substitute for good old elbow grease. We've looked into alot of different products here at the shop, and haven't found anything yet that performs better than the traditional glue. 3M does have a spray adhesive that we sometimes use for corners and small areas, but it comes in a spray can and would be just about impossible to use on a large area.

Now, I'm not saying that mine is the final word on the subject, there may be some industrial coatings or something that would work great, I just haven't come across anything yet.

[trapperdirk]

I've worked in flooring most of my life and done many,many boats and only know of the one marine glue so work them muscles on a warm day . LOL

TD

[Fisher Dave]

I guess this is a great opportunity to get faster at applying the adhesive.. or get another person with a trawl to help out... it goes pretty quick.. dont try to do the entire deck in one shot or the 1st applied glue will be a problem..

150 square feet = fun.

[Sy]

I guess the shortcut I was looking for doesn't exist! Thanks for the thoughts and I guess I will use what worked well last time - and get a much needed workout!