Marine decking questions

[Wild blue]

Has anyone used aqua marine deck or Seadek, any opinions on the good, bad, ugly etc are welcome, I fish in the PNW so I’m concerned with clean up and longevity in colder weather but would love the comfort,

Thank you in advance

 

[luckydude]

I put this on my boat, they actually stuck my picture up in their gallery, my boat is the one past the pontoon boat, black decking in a 228.
I did the install myself, I'm no expert but I'm happy with how it fits.

As for cleaning, my decking is in 2 big pieces. I can pick up a piece at a time and toss it down on the driveway. Most stuff comes out with a little pressure washing; what doesn't, you put the hose (not the pressure washer, your hose) on the back side and it flushes it out.

I put it in in July 2023, no fish guts or fish smells yet. And I have fished the boat a bunch.

Nothing but nice things to say about that decking, I've got screwed up feet and it makes a big difference comfort wise. "Reasonably" priced, I did my helm and cockpit for about $1300. Way cheaper than seadek and easier to keep clean. Oh, and it has a sort of sticky surface on the backside, it doesn't slip. You can move it around to get it to fit right but once it is there, it stays put. Great stuff.

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[YachtaFun]

I am in North East and have Seadek sized/ordered for my Marlin, looking forward to having it installed in the spring. Have read almost every forum you can imagine on it (as it certainly is not cheap, and doing most of the boat), and the average consensus (you have some outliers that say its awful, but those are very few and far), is that if you take care of it, it is a 5-7 year product, maybe longer, but likely have to reglue some/some sheets may need to be replaced that are more exposed to sun/water/walking at that point. Actually people doing mine say they are great on gradys cause the non-skid on gradys is not very thick, so it adheres well. Some people say it gets hot, but the average seems to conclude that on very hot days it definitely gets warm, but not like you cant walk on it. Overall, I think for what it does visually to boats, its worth it. On new boats, who cares about the cost of it, drop in the bucket, on older boats, only increases the value in my mind—before it gets to end of its life.

 

[luckydude]

I looked into seadek, had some guys come out and measure my boat. They set my expectations at $2000 and then came back with a quote over $7000. No thanks.

In retrospect, I'm much happier with the stuff I put in. Seadek is really hard to clean if any blood dries on it. The stuff I have is made out of strands of plastic, they are holding up well and are much nicer to your feet (or knees when fighting a tuna or working on gear).

Might not be for everyone but I love it. I'd absolutely buy it again though I'd go for a sort of more neutral tan color.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

There are literally thousands of posts on all boat forums about Seadek and like products. Very strong opinions for and against. I love it. Many hate it. Don't try to do it yourself. That almost always end up badly.

 

[ggrossano]

Has anyone used aqua marine deck or Seadek, any opinions on the good, bad, ugly etc are welcome, I fish in the PNW so I’m concerned with clean up and longevity in colder weather but would love the comfort,

Thank you in advance

I have it on my lake boat which is covered with a mooring cover in the slip. The Seadek looks fantastic, however it gets scorching hot in the sun. We dont make any mess on that boat so there isn't much to clean other than the boarders of fiberglass deck that accumulates dirt which can be blown away or picked up with a wet rag. I've also had the new high-end weaved vinyl (for lack of knowing the proper name) and it's also so hot that I could not say which one burns your feet more. I just dont know of an alternative other than to just keep the bare original deck unless you want to cover up imperfections. I have a 93 tournament and thinking about the seadek from the distributor in LI but concerned that I will regret it with the mess from fishing etc. I hope this helps.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I leave my boat uncovered on a mooring buoy for several months during the summertime, usually between early July and late September or early October and my biggest concern would be upkeep. The birds crap all over the boat, especially the hardtop and floor around the helm/cockpit area, as well as they will leave dead fish carcasses lying around. I imagine that SeaDek, or likely just about any other product you used, would get absolutely destroyed with the birds crapping on it or leaving dead fish heads on the product and having it sit for days on up to a week or more in the 80 plus degree weather without washing/cleaning it off right away. As is, it's easy enough for me to pull the boat and pressure was it down a couple of times a summer but for something that isn't removable and isn't covered, that seems like a good deal of money that's going to get tatered rather quickly from the birds or other wildlife.

 

[ggrossano]

There are literally thousands of posts on all boat forums about Seadek and like products. Very strong opinions for and against. I love it. Many hate it. Don't try to do it yourself. That almost always end up badly.

Great looking boat.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

My boat is uncovered year round in Florida. Never had an issue with Seadek being too hot.

 

[Automated14]

I had installed on my 330 express and have 2 full seasons on it. I use the salt water washdown to hose off fish blood as it happens. I’d do that with regular nonskid anyway.

With that said, if find it easy to clean. Most stains come out with a standard garden hose nozzle. I did the storm gray with lazer etch. Very very happy with it. It’s extremely comfortable, looks great, and looks just as good now as it did the day they installed it.

wild blue… my best advice you is when seeking out opinions, ignore the ones from people who don’t have it on their boat. I was a seadek poo poo guy till I saw one in the wild and spoke to the boat owner.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

My biggest concern about Seadeck or similar products is
What will happen if it comes off by it self due product or installation issues or has to be removed?
Would it be complicated to impossible to remove the glue from old non-skid deck?

What I would consider is to use Seadeck or similar products to replace coaming bolsters as sticking the Foam to the flat part of the gunnel where the bolsters where should adhere better and would be easier to remove old glue.

Chris

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

My biggest concern about Seadeck or similar products is
What will happen if it comes off by it self due product or installation issues or has to be removed?
Would it be complicated to impossible to remove the glue from old non-skid deck?

What I would consider is to use Seadeck or similar products to replace coaming bolsters as sticking the Foam to the flat part of the gunnel where the bolsters where should adhere better and would be easier to remove old glue.

Chris

Have a professional install it. The majority of problems with SeaDek are people trying to save a buck and install it themselves. Let the SeaDek rep do it for you.

 

[LadyG]

Installed Plasdeck last spring (2023). Love it. Durable, not too hot with sun bearing down, no staining (including fish blood and red wine). Well worth the investment.5 yr warranty.

 

[luckydude]

Installed Plasdeck last spring (2023). Love it. Durable, not too hot with sun bearing down, no staining (including fish blood and red wine). Well worth the investment.5 yr warranty.

How much was it, what model boat, and did you do just the cockpit or more?

 

[LadyG]

2004 -330 Express. Stern, Deck, helm and stairs to birth. $7600 installed.

 

[ROBERTH]

Is it the color that is the too hot problem? No one seems to be telling what color they have when it is too hot? Would assume darker colors are hotter of course....

 

[luckydude]

Is it the color that is the too hot problem? No one seems to be telling what color they have when it is too hot? Would assume darker colors are hotter of course....

If you are asking me, black just shows dirt more than a more neutral color wood. Yeah, it gets hot but where I fish it's rare that that is a problem.

 

[ROBERTH]

I like the teak look with black stripes, but wouldn't think it would be too hot in full sun, but I am sure it would be hotter than the grady off white gelcoat.. However, we notice a lot of glare when trolling and think that if we went with the teak, it would reduce a lot of glare off the floor area. No one has mentioned reducing the glare as another benefit.

 

[Harrysea]

I installed FlexDek. Three years uncovered in the Florida sun and still looks great. No peeling or other problems. Dried blood and stains rinse or scrub off easily. If you don’t wear shoes, it can get hot in the summer sun, but you can get it in lighter colors that won’t get as warm.

 

[FREEDOM!!!]

Is it the color that is the too hot problem? No one seems to be telling what color they have when it is too hot? Would assume darker colors are hotter of course....

I have the teak and it's never too hot here in Florida. The grey is probably cooler, but the teak is certainly not hot. Maybe other brands get hot, but my SeaDek never gets hot.