Champion carpet

[Jstokes1987]

Hey guys I’m wanting to re carpet my 97 champ 186 this summer. I assume the carpet that’s in it is original and it is green as green can be and completely matted down. There is a silver trim ring that lines the inside of the boat and the carpet goes underneath it. I assume that I will need to remove this piece to lay the new carpet, it is riveted so will I need to drill all the rivets out to remove it or is there an easier way? And once I’m done should I rivet it back into place or use some different type of fastener? Thanks

[Tx Champ]

Yes, drill out the rivets and when I recarpeted the front deck of my 90 176, I just went back with pop rivets

[Jstokes1987]

Ok thank you very much!

[Bruce2]

I used screws to put my trim piece back on after carpeting and have had no issues with them coming loose, it beats put a 100 rivets in with a hand rivet gun.

[jerzia]

First off be very careful removing the aluminum trim. It comes off easy, but will bend easy if not careful when storing during your project. A 1/8 drill bit will make short order of those rivets, but it helps to have a small punch to push the remnants through. Try to get as many of those picked up as you can to keep them from finding their way into the bilge. I replaced mine with the same aluminum rivets. Screws would work, but rivets will not come loose with vibration.

[1bluemcm]

Rivets also maintain the original look, if that's is a factor for you. Go slow with the drilling, you don't want to be enlarging the holes if going back with rivets. For most of mine, I drilled the heads off and the rest of the rivet, in most cases, push through with a punch, as mentioned above, with little effort. A few were really tight and had to be drilled nearly all the way out.

[Tx Champ]

... I drilled the heads off and the rest of the rivet, in most cases, push through with a punch, as mentioned above, with little effort.

[Jstokes1987]

I’ve been weighing my options and got a quote for a shop to do it for $1100. I haven’t decided if I just want a professional to do it or not. I know it’s a ton of work and very painstaking but would save quite a bit of money.

[1bluemcm]

It is a ton of work and very painstaking, oh, you said that....

All kidding aside, above all else, IMO, it's very time consuming to do it right. If you don't have a solid, I mean at the least, 30 hours to dedicate to doing this, that very well may be money well spent. Tearing out the old carpet, and dealing with the trim, rivets and all, is not a big deal. You have to think that every area where carpet is now, all the hatches, including the edges, even the part that wraps up to the inside of the hatches, all of it has to be prepped, at the very least to have no old loose glue left. You have to keep the grain of the carpet going the same direction across the whole boat which requires a lot of planning for where you are going to get your pieces cut out of the bulk material you purchase.

Obviously a lot of people tackle it and do it, but it a major job, no doubt. Honestly, lets see what other people say, but 30 hours is probably an underestimate. Just dealing with the glue - the most common is contact cement. You have to let it tack up for 20-30 minutes before you can even install whatever piece you are working on. Rush it, and the adhesion isn't good. So it's a giant, step wise job, one piece after the next with delays. Just writing this out, I'm thinking man, if I could have had it done for $1100, I probably would have, knowing what I know now. Obviously make sure they do good work, but that is sounding pretty good to me.

[Tx Champ]

I recarpeted just the front deck of my 90 176 and knowing what I now know, $1100 is a real good deal. Like Kevin said, check them out very good. See if they can provide contacts for previous carpet jobs.

The area just in front of the rod lockers is what was recarpeted. Recarpeting a whole boat would be a major pain IMHO ... days of your life you won't get back

[Jstokes1987]

The shop I talked to has a good reputation and have a full on professional boat carpet shop. I know that doesn’t mean diddly squat if they don’t have people who do a good job, but they are highly recommended. Almost everyone I’ve talked to has said pay the money and have someone do it. I know I’d get a 1/4 of the way into the job and then just rush the rest of it and I definitely don’t want that to happen.

[1bluemcm]

I doubt you'll regret it. I got my front deck done, aft deck is partly done, hatches are done, and I still have to do the floor/seating area, and now I'm in full on procrastination mode, because I'm so sick of carpet work....

[mr.coon]

I used stainless screws to put my trim back in as well

[96 Champ]

If you do it yourself take your time, do not get in a hurry or put a timeline on job completion or you will screw it up, Also think about if you want to put a pad under carpet on front deck, makes s big difference on your back, knees and feet if you are an older fart or have issues with the above. Think it out thouroghly and if you do do it and do it right it is a job to be proud of if done right. And yes it is a lot of work

[Champ2005]

My advice is to pay the $1100.00 if you can afford it. Someone said 30 hours of labor was underestimating the job and that is all I needed to hear..lol. Good luck!