Best Boat Flooring for Your Cockpit

Pros & cons of 3 boat flooring options of carpet, woven vinyl & EVA foam when upgrading your boat cockpit or boat decking

Most boats - from cruiser style to fishing or pontoon boats - have some sort of flooring to cover their fiberglass cockpit floor.

Flooring helps protect the fiberglass from scratches or chips, and its much more slip resistant than a fiberglass deck. The right flooring can make your boat deck feel much more comfortable and cozy, making it a great upgrade for your boat.

But it can also be a big investment, so you want to make sure you're making the best decision for your boat and how you like to use your boat. When its time to upgrade you’ll want to consider all the pros & cons of different flooring options to pick the best boat flooring for your boat's cockpit.

Boat Flooring Option #1 - Marine Carpet

The first option is to use marine grade carpet. Typically it is a Berber style carpet with a rubber backing.

PROS of CARPET

• It has a soft cozy feel
• Its easy to buy online for your boat model, or get it cut to size
• Its easy to install, you can do it yourself, typically just requires snaps
• Its easy to remove
• You can get a rubber backing that keeps it from slipping & helps if it gets wet.

CONS of CARPET

• It gets worn out
• It gets stained
• It takes forever to dry if it gets wet
• It is heavy

Boat Flooring Option #2 - Woven Vinyl

Woven Vinyl is another good option to consider, that has some of the same pros as carpet, but a lot more marine-friendly qualities. You see a lot of new boats using this material, but you can also get it for your boat aftermarket.

PROS OF VINYL

• The PVC marine material is stain, mildew & UV resistant
• More durable - holds it shape & doesn’t get flattened out, indented or scratched
• It drys fast & you can literally just wash it down with a hose… and its slip resistant
• And the woven look is really nice with lots of colors & patterns to match your boat

And like carpet…

• Its easy to buy online for your boat model, or get it cut to size
• Its easy to install, you can do it yourself, typically just requires snaps - but it can also be glued down if you wanted
• Its easy to remove
• You can get a rubber backing that helps with water flow & gives it some extra cushion in addition to the woven vinyl material

CONS of VINYL

• Not as soft or cushy on your feet as carpet
• Cost a bit more than carpet

Boat Flooring Option #3 - EVA Foam

Most EVA flooring is closed-cell, polyethylene (PE) foam, but can vary a bit depending on what supplier you use. The most popular brand is SeaDek - a lot of boat builders use it & a lot of people get it installed aftermarket.

PROS of EV FOAM

• Water resistant
• Cushioned & comfortable
• Really good traction
• shock & sound absorbent
• Highly customizable - lots of color & design options & they can do some really cool custom laser patterns or logos

CONS of EVA Foam

• Some people say it can get stained, marked or dinged up if you aren’t careful
• Cost - higher price point then both carpet & vinyl flooring
• Additional cost of installer, because its very hard to do a good DIY install
• Its not removable - once it is affixed to your boat it is not easy to remove, in fact you may even have to hire someone & likely need to use chemicals to scrape it completely clean - and your non-skid can be ruined in the process