Pontoon boats come with different marine flooring options. Within the last few years, vinyl flooring has become one of the best choices for pontoon boat flooring. Vinyl flooring is a popular choice among pontoon boat owners for its durability, water resistance, and low-maintenance benefits. Whether you choose traditional vinyl or the increasingly popular woven vinyl flooring, this material provides a stylish yet practical solution for protecting your boat’s deck. Woven vinyl, in particular, offers enhanced traction, a modern aesthetic, and superior comfort underfoot, making it ideal for long days on the water. In this article, we’ll dive deep into vinyl flooring, woven vinyl flooring, the best available products, and installation tips
Pontoon Boat Flooring History
Plywood is traditionally used in the construction of pontoon boat decks. Plywood is not aesthetically pleasing and does not work well as flooring because it requires more maintenance and effort to clean. As a result, carpet flooring options started taking over the pontoon boat flooring market. Carpet flooring provides several advantages: they are cost effective, they come in a variety of style and colors, they can be easily installed onto boats of various shapes and sizes and shape, and they are comfortable to walk. However, if not properly taken care of, carpet flooring is easily susceptive to mold and mildew. Also, they are difficult to clean once stained. So, people started looking for other pontoon boat flooring options, and then came vinyl flooring.
What is Vinyl Flooring?
Vinyl flooring is a synthetic flooring option, made from PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride). With different colors and textures, vinyl flooring can be made to resemble a variety of materials like wood, ceramic, and stone. Marine vinyl flooring is a relatively cheap product that is easy to install and durable enough to last 10+ years. Vinyl is highly water resistant, reducing the likelihood of mold and mildew, and curing the problems associated with marine carpet flooring. Vinyl flooring options are also UV resistant and will not fade with exposure to the sun.
Vinyl flooring creates a non-skid surface that is soft, comfortable, and safe underfoot. Additional base layer padding can be added for enhanced comfort. Vinyl flooring is also sound resistant making it a good option for fishing boats. Last but not least, vinyl flooring requires less maintenance and the surface is easily cleaned with high pressure water.
What is Woven Vinyl Flooring?
Woven vinyl flooring is a significant improvement from traditional vinyl flooring. Woven vinyl flooring possesses the same characteristics as traditional vinyl flooring (see previous description) except it also provides the benefits of carpet. Specifically the benefit of being soft and staying cool on bare feet even in direct sunlight. Marine SeaGrass is one woven vinyl flooring option which absorbs less heat. Woven vinyl flooring offers much more styles and color options to greatly improve the aesthetics.
Woven vinyl flooring is made by weaving vinyl threads into the desired pattern and then adhering the vinyl to a foam backer. The foam layers adds softness/cushioning and stops water from penetrating through to the deck. The vinyl and foam are then adhered to a felt backing to facilitate the best adhesion to your deck. Its to be expected that woven vinyl flooring costs more than traditional vinyl because of the extensive manufacturing process.
Best Woven Vinyl Flooring Options
DeckMate Woven Vinyl Pontoon Flooring
DeckMate Woven Vinyl Flooring is available in two options: standard woven or woven teak. This beautiful pontoon vinyl flooring is soft to walk on, slip-resistant, and durable. It is also stain resistant. DeckMate pontoon vinyl flooring is also easy to clean and maintain. With above 300 hours of UV stability, you get mold and mildew resistant 140 mil marine grade vinyl flooring. Available in gray and tan color options.
Infinity Luxury Woven Vinyl Flooring
Infinity revolutionized the floor covering market with the introduction of the first to market marine woven vinyl flooring known as Luxury Woven Vinyl. Infinity Luxury Woven Vinyl is Made in the USA, and it is considered a golden standard for flooring in deck boats, cruisers, bowriders, and pontoon boats. The Luxury Woven Vinyl Flooring offers quality performance with durability and aesthetics. They come in different designs that can resist wear and fading. The woven vinyl flooring is also engineered with antimicrobial technology. With slip and skid resistance, and stain resistance, they are worth investing. Infinity provides a 5 year waranty!
Find your local Infinity Dealer. Below are a few available collections.
- Affordable Vinyl Decking: available in 12 colors
- Bamboo: available in 3 colors
- Better Than Teak II: available in 10 colors
- Diamonds: available in 6 colors
- Flash Teak Color: available in 3 colors
Marine Vinyl Fabric Woven Flexa
The Woven Flexa from Marine Vinyl Fabric is the ultimate marine flooring. They come with a wide variety of options with 99 styles and 4 backing options.The woven marine flooring is slip resistant and luxury padded, which is found to be perfect for both outdoor and indoor use. In the top layer of Flexa woven boat flooring weaves PVC fibers together to create an ultimate luxurious outdoor and indoor flooring masterpiece.
The 4 backings offered are worth mentioning. With the “Premium Thick Felt Backing” you get a soft and luxurious 0.25″ high density felt backing. The second option, at a more affordable price point, is “Thin Felt Backing” which is thinner high density felt backing at 0.125″. With the third backing option, you get an extremely thin backing without any padding. Such an option is best suited for those with fishing pontoon boats who desire the attractive look of woven vinyl at a cheaper price. The last backing option is the watertight backing which contains a thinner PVC backing to wick away water.
Flexa woven luxury woven boat flooring with cushion felt backing is an all time favorite and one of the most recommended choices for marine flooring. Water flows through it, and it dries like other outdoor carpets. They are UV stable, phthalate free, and mildew and mold resistant. They come with a 10 year warranty!
MariDeck Woven Vinyl Flooring
MariDeck’s woven vinyl flooring, with its beautiful look, offers something new in luxury pontoon boat flooring. They imitate the look of a woven teak deck covering or even a marine seagrass flooring. But they are so easy to care and last for many years with no maintenance! With MariDeck, you get an attractive and durable time tested vinyl woven flooring, which is a great alternative to high maintenance marine carpet.
With the high tech polymer formulation, water and moisture is warded off and repelled, thereby preventing deck rot. They also have the embossed surface texture to provide sufficient slip resistance. The Ultra FB also comes with UV stabilizers, so that this deck covering option will not fade, ensuring you with long term benefits in terms of usage. They are also easy to install irrespective of whether the surface is wood, metal surfaces or fiberglass.
The woven vinyl flooring is also easy to clean; you just need to spray water. So you can actually enjoy the fun moments on your pontoon boat, rather than worrying about the clean up sessions and the hectic maintenance. Whether you have kids or pets on board or you had a messy meal, it doesn’t take much effort to clean the MariDeck Woven Vinyl Flooring. The 102″ width option works well for pontoon boats.
Best Vinyl Flooring Options
Extreme Duty Pontoon Vinyl Flooring
Pontoon Stuff Extreme Duty Vinyl Flooring offers a great alternative to replace marine carpet on your pontoon boat. The 50 mil marine grade vinyl flooring comes with 102″ width. Being slip resistant the surface is easy to clean and maintain. The Vinyl Flooring is also 100% UV stabilized, so that it will not fade. With the woven polypropylene backing, it can be glued down to your wooden deck. You get four different pontoon vinyl flooring length options ranging 16′ – 28′.
MariDeck Vinyl Pontoon Flooring
The MariDeck Vinyl Pontoon flooring is another great alternative to traditional high maintenance marine carpet. The waterproof vinyl flooring can protect your pontoon boat from environmental conditions and will also enhance the look of your pontoon boat. Cleaning up is extremely easy with just a spray of water. The MariDeck vinyl flooring comes with an embossed surface which is slip resistant and has a textured surface. You can install it on wood, aluminum and fiberglass structures. For pontoon boats, you need to use 102″ vinyl flooring, available in 34 mil and 80 mil thicknesses. They are available in a wide variety of color options, including sand, granite, stone gray, etc.
RecPro Extreme Duty Marine Vinyl Flooring
The RecPro Extreme Duty vinyl flooring is Made in the USA and available in two colors, tan or gray. This 50 mil vinyl flooring comes with the textured appeal of carpet. But when compared to carpet, requires much less maintenance. The 102″ wide flooring is available in six different lengths: 5′, 10′, 15′, 20′, 25′, and 30′.
The marine graded vinyl is made from TPO which means thermoplastic polyolefin. TPO is a newer type of single-ply vinyl material which is 100 percent UV stabilized and hence does not fade. With the woven polypropylene backing, it can be easily glued down into the deck and makes way for easy installation. The vinyl flooring is tightly sealed and thus prevents moisture from getting underneath your flooring.
Pontoon Vinyl Flooring Installation Tips
Surface preparation is important when it comes to installing vinyl flooring or any other type of flooring. Remove any objects that are attached to the floor and any plastic or metal trim pieces. It is best to remove all pontoon boat accessories like tables, seats, etc. The plastic or metal trim pieces can be reused to secure the edges of the vinyl flooring once it gets properly installed. Remove the existing flooring completely. Also check for any residual adhesive. Remove any debris, dust, screws, etc. Below is additional installation tips.
- Now is the perfect time to repair/replace any damaged marine plywood.
- Be careful of sharp objects when unrolling and/or applying the vinyl flooring. Sharp objects can damage the vinyl flooring.
- Follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
- Remove any wrinkles or folds as the vinyl flooring is installed.
- For application onto wooden surfaces, use a marine vinyl adhesive. Apply the adhesive no more than 15′ at a time using a medium nap paint roller.
- Use a stiff bristle push broom and sweep over the installed vinyl flooring using medium pressure. This helps to evenly distribute the adhesive underneath the vinyl.
- Take the time to press out any air bubbles.
- Although you can walk on the surface immediately after installation, excessive walking and foot traffic should be avoided as this can create wrinkles in the vinyl.
- Allow the adhesive to dry completely (24-48 hours) before installing any pontoon boat accessories.
- During the drying process, cover the pontoon boat if rain is in the forecast. Moisture can hamper the installation process until the adhesive dries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, vinyl flooring, including woven vinyl, is an excellent choice for pontoon boat owners who prioritize durability, style, and ease of maintenance. Its water-resistant properties protect your boat’s deck from moisture damage, while its slip-resistant surface ensures safety during your time on the water. Whether you’re looking for a modern, comfortable finish or a low-maintenance solution, vinyl flooring provides a long-lasting, cost-effective option. By choosing vinyl flooring for your pontoon, you’ll enhance both the look and functionality of your boat, ensuring a better and more enjoyable boating experience.
