DIY Boat Foam Decking

Boat decks live a hard life. They get stepped on, spilled on, splattered on, dropped on, shoved across, and dragged over. But they make our lives hard, too. A full day of standing on fiberglass can make your feet hurt, and if the waters were rough, your spine may feel compressed – because it is. On top of that, have you ever tried kneeling down on a nonskid fiberglass deck? Ouch!

Closed-cell foam decking transforms fiberglass decks from painful to pleasurable. It can look great, is grippier than even the most aggressive nonskid patterns, and creates a cushioned cloud for you to walk, sit, or lie upon from stem to stern. It comes in a few different flavors: ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene (PE), and more commonly a combination of the two. All are stain-resistant and shock-absorbing. While marketing claims abound as to which is “best,” we’ve had multiple brands – ShipsDek (shipsdek.com), SeaDek (seadek.com), and reFLEX (reflexproducts.com) – underfoot for years at a time, and truth be told, while some are softer and others are firmer, it’s often tough to tell the difference among them.

Each manufacturer offers patterns like faux teak, fish scales, and diamonds, as well as different colors and customization options. The stock material can generally be bought in bulk rolls backed with peel-and-stick adhesive, cut with a carpet knife, and applied in DIY fashion, though some manufacturers only sell through certified dealer-installers to ensure a proper application. As you might guess, having the boat templated (often accomplished via digital scanning) and the material professionally installed does result in a significant increase in cost.

In the case of a small boat or a larger boat with a rectangular cockpit, where few cuts are necessary and the shapes are simple, a DIY cut-and-stick job is fast, easy, and inexpensive. If you’re decking a 16-foot skiff or the angular cockpit of a larger boat, this would be a good option. However, the more shapes and curves you try to match, the more difficult the job will become. If you’re doing multiple compound curves and/or trying to cover items like circular access hatches, templating and router-cutting will prove far superior. In some cases (usually with very popular boat models), the decking manufacturer may already have a template for your specific model boat in their computer, eliminating the need for templating. For the purposes of this article, we’ll stick with DIY installation and assume you’re working with simple geometry. Here’s how.

2. Cut the decking material. If the material is shipped on a roll, leave time to unroll it and allow the material to flatten out over several hours before cutting. If you have a (clean) patio or deck you can use, it will return to form faster in the sun and in warm temperatures.

Lay out the material over a surface that’s safe to cut on, such as a piece of plywood. Tape down the edges with masking tape to hold it firmly in place. Then lay your template over the material and use masking tape to secure it. With both secured, use the knife to cut the material along the template markings while using the straight edge, as needed, to keep your lines accurate.

3. Prep the deck. Proper deck preparation is critical and will play a big role in just how long the adhesive does its job. First, wash and scrub the deck thoroughly. Rinse it and allow it to dry in the sun. Then wipe down the entire deck with acetone or alcohol to be sure it’s 100% free of wax and contaminants. Some manufacturers recommend first wiping down the deck with an ammonia-based cleaner before moving on to the acetone or alcohol. Follow manufacturer recommendations.

4. Apply the decking. Take care with this step, because once you stick the decking, it won’t come up again – the adhesive is extremely aggressive and fast-acting.

Orient the decking in the exact position you want it. If you’re applying multiple pieces, do this with one piece at a time. When you have the decking positioned, use masking tape to secure one half of the piece only to the deck. Then, lift it from the opposite side, and using your razor knife, score the paper-like backing down the middle. Remove the backing from that half while holding it above the deck, lower the exposed adhesive side down onto the deck, and press every inch as it goes down.

When that half is on the deck, remove the masking tape securing the first half. Then lift it, remove the backing, and repeat the process on the other half of the piece of decking material until it’s completely flush on the deck. Before moving on to any other pieces, press firmly on the entire foam decking’s surface area. Be especially careful to apply pressure around the edges.

Just how long will this process take? We did a simple skiff that required two rectangular pieces and one triangular piece and completed the job in a couple hours. A 22-foot center-console decked from stem to stern with dozens of pieces and plenty of curved edges required a day and a half of work.

Once the decking is applied, cure times are quite brief, and it usually can be walked on in an hour. Or rather than walking on it, try kneeling, sitting, or even lying down. Because with that foam decking in place, your entire boat just became a whole lot more comfortable!