SIB Flooring

[The Hobbit]

Just seen this on eBay and thought it may be worth posting on here. Will be buying myself instead of my multi-colour and multi-piece floor at the moment.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360531819929

[Martin]

The rubber flooring is infact a great idea and several of us used it in the sibs for protection of the air floor.
I personally went for the type of flooring mat with holes in to allow the water to drain out whilst keeping the (None floating) mat in place.

Herew's something similar to what i and i believe Paul used. https://www.screwfix.com/p/rp010001-saf ... 00mm/50974

[Paul]

Yup that's what I used
Yes more expensive but it's thick, very hard wearing and most importantly heavy so it stays put when underway

[pritch]

Hi
I've only been out on my sib twice and never thought about covering my ally floor.
Is it worth doing and what are the benefits ?
Thanks

[pritch]

The none slip benefits for your footing and to stop things sliding around too are the reason I bought mine, if you have an air floor it’ll help protect from puncture.
A slightly raised mat like mine and Paul’s tends to lift things slightly away from the wetness of the floor too, overall a cheapish multi use upgrade

[Steve]

Just seen this on eBay and thought it may be worth posting on here. Will be buying myself instead of my multi-colour and multi-piece floor at the moment.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360531819929

I bought the exact same mat from eBay with the idea of protecting the floor from fishing hooks, stones, etc. Trouble is the EVA foam mat floats; so when the boat gets wet (as it does when we launch from the beach), the mat actually moves around and becomes quite annoying and slippy.

I cut the mat to fit and it’s just long enough to go under the fuel tank. I cut holes for the straps, thinking the tank weight and the mat being wedged into the gaps between floor and sponsons would hold it fast. But the fuel tank moves around loads when speeding along. Eventually the straps cut through the holes I’d cut (so if you do the same, I’d reinforce them somehow). The mat always ended up curled at the stern, which got in my way as helm.

Our mat now stays in the garage! I think the original idea of protecting the floor was sound, so will revisit this when I get chance. But I wish you better luck if you try this and if it works ok, perhaps you’d let me know where I went wrong...



Steve

[Martin]

That’s wxactly the reason we bought the screwfix mat, it’s heavy duty, heavy weight and has holes in, I promise.. it does not float or curl up

[Jakeyboy]

Bought a diamond pattern solid rubber matt 3.5 mm thick and really heavy doesn't move or crawl up tramsom ; only downside it was pretty expensive ; got it from corruba ; great stuff

[James]

Martin & Paul - Do you use it in your F-Ribs? It might be good to glue one to the hull???

[The Gurnard]

I have had the screwfix mat in my boat now for 6 years and for those that have not used them or are perhaps now considering them.. you may wish to know some additional info from a long term user.

They are very heavy ..which is why I love mine. Low down weight is good in a lightweight boat. This only applies if you have the power in your OB to carry the extra weight. If portability is a concern .. I would not recommend them ..as they are very bulky .. as well as heavy when rolled up. Not a problem on a trailer boat though.

While the holes are great for letting the water run away..they are also excellent for letting grit and sand through the holes onto your floor. This makes them very abrasive as the underside is not flat. Every time you step in and out your boat on a sandy beach.. you bring sand into your boat.. which is unavoidable unless you only use slipways.

I have to paint my solid floors every year because of how abrasive the mat becomes. Admittedly I last painted the boards two seasons ago..but in the last two year have only used the boat around a dozen times.. Im going to have to paint it yet again. It was painted with International Deckpaint ..so a decent marine paint. It had the winter to cure before I refitted the mat..its still down to bare wood at places. Normally I have to repaint every year though. The original hard epoxy type paint surface wore through in the first year of use too.

Photo showing the paint rubbed through to bare wood at places ... after approx a dozen uses over two year period. I took this photo last month so have yet to repaint it again.

I have a solid rubber mat up front.. it has not been a problem. It has deteriorated with seawater though..so not as tough as the screwfix one.

This is my experience ..based on 6 years of use. The mat is lasting longer than my floor ..its excellent quality. Even spilled fuel does not affect it...but it does abrade the surface below it ..something to be aware of.

It may not do that to an airfloor when its removed every time and washed out .. as I think that's what Martin had it on ?


Best having a solid mat for the above reason anyhoo IMO.