Bass Tracker Pro 165 Recarpet

Hello everyone!

I am in the process of recarpeting the deck on a 2002 Bass Tracker ProTeam 165. It looks great overall however I have come across an issue with the lids of each compartment. There are a total of 4 lids in question and I will attach an image so you can understand the issue a little more clearly.

If I carpet the lid, when i open it the compartment, that portion near the hinge bends and will likely quickly fray. This hinge is the 4 wall of the lid so it needs some type of carpet! Any advice is welcome!

I installed carpet for a while and did boat interiors for correct craft for a while also. I know of no way to eliminate the flex of the carpet. My thought is to widen the flex over a wider area to keep from putting so much stress on the line of the hinge. What about a piece of electric taper laid on the hinge evenly and glue over the whole thing. We always used Weldwood contact cement applied wet and liberally. Never had any issues with it coming loose.

Why carpet? Tuff Coat Rubberized Non-Skid Coating | Bass Pro Shops

I just did a Tracker 175 last fall throughout the boat and its not a quick task. A few questions:

Are you gluing the carpet on the backside of the hinges as well? You need to if not.

Also, is that Astro turf or marine carpet and what ounce or weight is it if you know?

I debated carpet on my Alumacraft with sprayed rough liner. I decided to use sea deck. Expensive but easy to work with.

Sent from my XT1585 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I appreciate any help I can get so thanks for your response! When you ask about the "backside" of the hinges do you mean the hinge itself or the receiving part that it will be riveted to? I definitely intend to carpet the portion of the boat but the backside of the hinge is still in question. That would be a half inch thick X 16 inches or so so it seems like that would unravel quickly too. The carpet is a marine carpet purchased from Lowes, it is also a 16 oz carpet that is easy to work with thankfully.

Glue the backside tab of the hinge, but don't get glue in the hinge itself. Just run the carpet directly over the hinge and the tab. Make all your cuts with a quality pair of scissors. Blades cause fray's immediately unless you are using 20oz carpet and up and even 20 you have to keep a fresh blade. A heavy duty pair of scissors eliminates this.

I might add a few things that helped me. Some cheap plastic crimps for crimping 1X2's on the edges of the lids so you can leave them over night. A cheap 6 inch roller and a small square glue trowel. 2 bags of cheap play ground sand to lay on carpet tough areas like the seat pole plates. Also a can of 3M spray adhesive comes in handy if you have some tough to get spots or need a trouble spot glued and dried within minutes. Make sure your shop or garage is heated, that glue doesn't dry very quickly and never will if its cold. Also, make sure each piece of carpet you cut goes the same exact direction as the rest or it won't match and will stick out badly like a total different color.

What is sea deck ? Dose it come in a can. Or have a shop do it for you[emoji849]


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

I HAVE A TRACKER 175XW AND JUST FINISH CARPETING THIS WEEK AND GRANDSON FINISH HIS 3 MONTHS AGO.I GLUE BOTH SIDES OF HINGE THE SAME WAY THE FACTORY DID IT.I USED CLAMPS AND STRIPS OF WOOD TO SHAPE THE CARPET TO THE DOORS ,ALSO I CLAMP THE STRIPS TO HINDGE AND BEND THE HINDGE ABOUT 45 % AND LET SET A FEW DAYS,IT WILL WRINKLE SOME AT THE HINDGE BUT SO DID THIERS ,I DID ONE ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO AND IT DID WELL,NO PROBLEM,WOULD NOT USE SPRAY GLUE ON DOORS ,NOT STRONG ENOUGH,MAYBE GOOD ENOUGH FOR SIDES BUT NOT DOORS OR FLOOR,A CARPET GLUETAKES A WHILE TO DRY BUT WILL TEAR THE CARPET TRYING TO GET IT BACK UP AFTER DRYING,THAT'S WHAT I USED ,IF YOU USE TOO THICK OF CARPET YOU WILL HAVE TO SHAVE THE EDGES OF ALL DOORS FOR THEM TO OPEN,BTW,I DID THE WHOLE BOAT AND GRANDSON DID ALSO,TOUGH JOB BUT MUCH SATISFACTION WHEN FINISH,BUT NOW WIFE DO NOT WANT ME TO LET IT GET LIKE I HAVE BEEN DOING,MAIN DRAW BACK,LOL