Carpeting the front deck...

[kennymcd]

What is the best way to carpet the front deck of an older ranger? I trimmed a piece to fit just about perfect to the edges, but when I put the glue on it, I guess it shrunk because the gap was about 1/2" or so. I'm not sure what model ranger, but is has a pentagon shaped front to butt the carpet against. I used weldwood gel type contact cement, coated both surfaces and let it tack up before laying. I have done a lot of work to it thanks to inspiration from all of your projects on here and I really want this carpet to look nice. Thanks for the help!

[SwatDawg]

Welcome to BBC Kenny.

The way I do it is lay the carpet down, and cut about 3" more then i need all around the area. Then I glue it down with contact cement and when it drys, I trim it all up... It has worked on 3 boats including a Ranger for me.

[kennymcd]

Thanks for the advice, that is kinda what I had in mind. I was wondering should I glue all but the outer edge, then trim, then glue down, or glue it as close as I can to the edge and cut it out with a razor.