Stock Carpet Thickness

[MrLeadfoot]

I have a Viper Coral, which I bought new. Always garaged when not on the water, and I finally need to start recarpeting. It's always had a VERY tight fit with the all the lids, as well as the removable deck piece, and still does after 26 years. So much so, that I had to screw nylon straps into the sides of all lids, because they can be difficult to open even after I upgraded the lod locker latches to the metal t-handle style. The last thing I want is to put too thick of a carpet and find myself with jammed lids, so I ordered samples of 16, 20 and 24 oz. carpet. Being that this boat was built in the 90s, I assumed the original carpet was 16 oz., and thought I confirmed that when initially comparing the samples to the part of carpet that is torn and lifting up from a locker lid.

But, then I thought maybe I should try to find an open edge of carpet to compare to elsewhere on the boat that is not totally compressed and worn out from foot traffic and the elements, just to be sure. So, I laid down in front of the seats and followed the carpet up from the floor along the passenger wall to where the carpet ends. That edge seems to have been completely protected and shielded from the elements and looks like new. I held my samples up to that edge and it is much thicker than 16 oz. It seems thicker than the 20 oz. sample, as well, and feels more like the thickness of the 24 oz. sample.

I started wondering if the cabin carpet was thicker than the decks and and lids, but doubt that the manufacturer would have gone through all that trouble, so I went back to the torn rod locker lid carpet and found a tear where I could see the carpet going down the side of the locker lid where, when closed, it contacts the edge of the deck, if that makes sense. Even though that part of the carpet gets compressed against the deck edge, it's in much better shape than the top of the lid, and it sure looks much more dense and thicker than 16 oz., and really looks like it's 24 oz.

When I ordered the boat, I ordered all available options at the time, but I don't recall specifically ordering a more plush than stock carpet. So, my question is, is it possible that my boat came with 24 oz. carpet, or am I not comparing the samples correctly?

[Tx 201]

It should have been 20 oz from the factory. I am not sure every carpet manufacturer rates their carpet the same. I redid my Cobra with 20 oz carpet and it wasn't quite as thick as the original, but I think if you order carpet from Bass Cat you will get good quality carpet. I am not sure about how the front deck of a Coral is laid out, but the Cobra rod locker lids are not truly a rectangle, they are narrower toward the bow. That said, the latches they used were slotted, so if you pushed the lid toward the front and tightened the screws down, the lids were very tight. If you slid the lids back to the stern as far as they would go, they would be a little loose. You just had to find the best postion for what you like as far as firmness of the closure. That of course does not apply to square lids. Current boat the back deck lids are so tight I typically can't open them standing next to the boat, have to at least get on the trailer fender. However, I never worry about them coming open in rough water!