vinyl flooring vs sea grass

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mnjb1989
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vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#1 Post by mnjb1989 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 3:26 pm

Hi, first time shopping for a pontoon and getting conflicting information from sales people. I was leaning towards the new vinyl product (with the plank looking flooring) when one sales man said it gets very hot to the touch, like walking on very hot sand, when exposed to the sun. He was trying to sell me one with the sea grass flooring.
A sales person with the vinyl product said it does not get hot and the sea grass is known to separate from the backing after some time.

Can anyone dispel or confirm either of the above.

Thanks,

robertm
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#2 Post by robertm » Mon Mar 21, 2016 3:44 pm

I can say from experience the grey 'weathered' teak look vinyl doesn't get very hot down here in TX. They darker 'stained' teak vinyl is supposed to be the same. Our dealer would sit a piece of it out in the parking lot so you could touch and see for yourself.

As for the sea grass. I thought it was beautiful and would have liked to own on my boat but passed for a couple reasons. First is soda/Gatorade/sangria/catsup etc spills. Supposedly it can be rinsed very easily but I didn't want to have to hose the interior down every time someone spilled something. Second is tears. It's supposedly strong stuff but sure seems like all it would take is one fish hook to ruin an otherwise perfect floor.

From my experience with the one season on the vinyl I can say it's dam near indestructible and not once has anyone including several 2 yos complained about it being too hot.

Good luck on your boat search!
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mnjb1989
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#3 Post by mnjb1989 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 5:44 pm

Thanks for the info. Very very helpful

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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#4 Post by BIGFOOT63 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:12 pm

I am torn between the luna (sea grass) and carpet 1100 dollar difference
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mpilot
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#5 Post by mpilot » Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:37 pm

mnjb1989 wrote:Hi, first time shopping for a pontoon and getting conflicting information from sales people. I was leaning towards the new vinyl product (with the plank looking flooring) when one sales man said it gets very hot to the touch, like walking on very hot sand, when exposed to the sun. He was trying to sell me one with the sea grass flooring.
A sales person with the vinyl product said it does not get hot and the sea grass is known to separate from the backing after some time.

Can anyone dispel or confirm either of the above.

Thanks,
My first choice would be vinyl, second carpet, third seagrass.

From what I've been told it's pvc. We were looking at going from full Moring cover to seat covers because we opted for the enclosure and a couple of different dealers said they wouldn't recommend the grass flooring being uncovered as it probably wouldn't hold up as good as the vinyl. All I could think of when looking at the boats is the patio chairs made of a similar material and how it gets brittle with exposure. My next thought was how the heck are you going to get sand and spills out of it.

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Drago
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#6 Post by Drago » Mon Mar 21, 2016 7:40 pm

I'll vouch for the dark teak wood vinyl flooring staying amazingly cool in toasty summer Texas sun. I personally think it is cooler than the carpet in our Bennington.
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#7 Post by sunedog » Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:45 am

Drago wrote:I'll vouch for the dark teak wood vinyl flooring staying amazingly cool in toasty summer Texas sun. I personally think it is cooler than the carpet in our Bennington.
That surprises me. I have the gray vinyl from pontoonstuff.com and it gets pretty hot in the South Carolina sun on a 95 degree plus day. But, the instant remedy is to dump a bucket of water on it so it's never bothered me.

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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#8 Post by zoom650 » Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:50 am

I can only speak to vinyl, and in GA/FL, exposed to direct sun, it gets hot.

Nothing that a bucket or two of water won't cure, which is another beauty of vinyl. It washed off beautifully.

Under the bimini, no problem with hot feet.
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#9 Post by Soonertoon » Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:37 am

In the Oklahoma July sun that vinyl gets hot as hell on bare feet. Trick is to stay in the water or sling a little on it every now and then. I have heard mind you, that sea grass can get slick. no evidence or first hand knowledge of that.
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#10 Post by Coldbrew » Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:52 pm

I have the best of both worlds.

Full vinyl floor:

Image

With snap in seagrass carpet:

Image

(Don't mind the cute little kid. It's the only pic I had of the carpet)

Mine's a Premier. I would think that other manufacturers offer this?
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Drago
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#11 Post by Drago » Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:33 pm

Just a note on the conditions when I got to feel the Rosewood Teak vinyl and how warm it was underfoot. I was test driving an Xcursion X25RF on Sept 12, 2015. The temp was 87 degrees with clear skies (bright sun). The wind was out of the north so I suspect a cool front had arrived. I was truly shocked at how cool the flooring was since I had been told those vinyl floors can get really hot. Not so in this pontoon. Very cool. If I had to do it all over again, vinyl for me!

The boat review can be found by searching the archives on Sept. 12 last year.
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mnjb1989
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#12 Post by mnjb1989 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:26 am

I was warned of mold and mildew with the carpet and strongly directed towards the vinyl or sea grass.

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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#13 Post by mzodarg » Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:56 am

No issues with my vinyl floor, never noticed any heat and I'm barefoot most of the time.
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mpilot
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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#14 Post by mpilot » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:14 pm

mnjb1989 wrote:I was warned of mold and mildew with the carpet and strongly directed towards the vinyl or sea grass.
It really depends...I've seen people never have a problem with mold/mildew and ones that can't get rid of it. I've had good luck treating with a layer of odoban after washing since it is a mold/mildew inhibitor. If you cover the boat make sure if it's wet you give it a chance to air out by leaving side or back doors open and maybe even a fan. Also, in the winter one of those damp rid things works well. I've heard mixed reviews on the full cover caps that have a solar fan built in but I might try one on the new boat.

If you are keeping the boat on a lift a good tip was to tilt it slightly towards the side the back door is on so the water will drain off.

As for the heat on the vinyl...some is hot and some isn't. I think it depends on the thickness and manufacturer of the vinyl. As others have stated a bucket of water or spray from the wash down pump takes care of it. I've also heard the sea grass can get warm, but have no experience with it on the water, just from what I've seen at the boat show and read.

Edit to add:

Also, keep in mind that dealers make a good bit of markup on upsells when buying a boat. For example, a basic vinyl upgrade is around 1000-1200. I can go to the local boat builder and buy enough vinyl to do a 24 foot boat and the adhesive for 600-800. If you take out the cost of the carpet they are only paying a couple hundred bucks extra for the material and the same labor to install. The sea grass was around another 1000 over the cost of the basic vinyl we ordered on the new boat....I know that material can't cost that much more than the carpet or vinyl so someone is making good money on a 2000 option.

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Re: vinyl flooring vs sea grass

#15 Post by ron nh » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:50 pm

I know it's not as hot here as down there, and I have the lighter gray vinyl teak, but, it was well above 90 a few days out last summer and it wasn't ever hot to the touch. I love the stuff.
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