Replacing carpet in a '01 Ranger 520. Any suggestions or advice before I start?

[JoHa]

I plan to replace the carpet in my 2001 520 vx dc. I've never replaced the carpet in a boat before. Where is the best place to purchase the carpet (I want high qualilty)? Any tips on how to remove old carpet and install the new would be greatly appreciated.





Modified by JoHa at 12:38 PM 8/4/2009

[Jim285pro]

The highest quality will Bass cat carpet. 24oz.

http://www.basscatstore.com/hi....aspx

[Chris85]

-you need 8ft wide carpet. that basscat stuff is 6ft!!!! I ordered my carpet from ranger 24oz also. they made me the console are carpet and hemmend the edges.
-make sure the grain is correct. on the front deck the grain goes toward the back of the boat, and on the rear deck the grain towards the front.
-I used contact cement on the whole job, some people only use that on the edges of lids and use carpet glue for everything else.
-take your time cleaning the deck and lids, I may have overkilled it, but I know it was done right! acetone is very good at releasing the original glue(simular to contact cement). a scraper is necessary.
-mark everything: rivet locations, hinges, hardware everything!
-this is a good time to add an aftermarket recess if you have been thinking about it. ranger's mold is set to 13" from the front of the pedestal to the back edge of the recess. I used this measurement and have been very pleased and resale will be good because it's where ranger puts theirs!
-do lots of searches on this site!!! not only the restoration board, but the ranger board!
-here is a very good link. I had been thinking about recarpeting my boat and when I saw this and how good his boat looked, it drove me over the edge, I thought "I HAD TO DO IT!!" lol http://www.bbcboards.net...76198
-here is a link from my carpet job. not the most detailed, but you might get some ideas/thoughts. http://www.bbcboards.net...86722

[JoHa]

Thanks, good info. I hadn't thought about adding a recess, sounds like the perfect time.





Modified by JoHa at 10:54 PM 8/4/2009

[DundeeMike]

If you use contact cement, it is not very forgiving, once it is down it's down. I personally use a good quality carpet glue. I never had a problem with it at all, and I have done quite a few bass boats. The most important thing is to get the grain going in the same direction. If you notice on the backing of the carpet, it looks like rows running down the back of the carpet. You want them all to be heading in the same direction on the whole boat. Another important thing about running the grain, rub your hand over the piles of the carpet with the grain. You will notice one way the carpet will lay down, and if you run your hand the opposite way, the piles will stand up. Make sure all your carpet runs the same way, if you don't, you will have different shades of carpet where ever you went the wrong way. Scaping the old glue off is sufficient, you shouldn't need acetone. Take your time and you should be ok. I personally use carpet from BassCat......




Modified by DundeeMike at 7:58 AM 8/6/2009

[tbullin]

I recently recarpeted my old Stratos. I used the carpet kit from Bass Pro but I used contact cement instead of the glue that came in the kit. Make sure wherever you order from, you get more that you need. When you take the lids off of the deck, make sure you mark the hinges to make sure they go back on the correct lid. Also, make sure you scrape as much of the old glue off. When you pull the floor piece off, try to keep it in one piece if possible. It will make a good template for the new piece. Lastly, make sure you allow several weekends to get it all done as it is time consuming.

Good Luck,
Todd

[reelman]

I read often the #1 problem is not using enough glue...

[snake050479]

You might try this guys. They have pre cut carpets for alot of boats. They appear to cost a little more but you would not have to worry about doind any cutting. I did my first boat and it turned out good but one thing I hated was all the cutting and praying it came out right. If this had been around this precut I would have bought it to save time and frustrations. You just have to search to see if they have you boat precutt. I was looking at doing my last boat a R91 Ranger and these were the guys I was going to use.

http://bassboatcarpets.com/