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Hey All - I wanted to see if anyone has any experience with interlocking deck tiles for their boat. I am thinking about installing Dry Dek tiles on my 1984 Montauk to cover up some cracks on the deck and to protect the surface. Does anyone have any experience with this or a similar product?

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I use Dri Dex in my Montauks's console and in the pilot seat to help keep the gear and sometimes clothing in there dry. I may add some to the anchor locker to help the rode dry more quickly after use.

I have heard of and seen pictures of cockpit decks covered entirely with the stuff. But that's not for me because it can move around unless somehow secured in place. It is also very uncomfortable on bare feet.

I like it usefulness for the purposes in which I use it.

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Dry-Dek is great stuff. I have a 13' GLS (for sale) but I completely did the deck, under the seat cushions, splash well by the engine, bow anchor locker even the bottom of the storage area in the console. Mine does not slide around at all and it is very forgiving in the heat. Easy to pull up for cleaning if necessary. You can check out pictures of mine under boats for sale. It is great stuff

Greg

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Have had the red dry-dek tile on my 1988 montauk for five years; kept their color in the hot Florida sun. No slippage. Good product.

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Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback!

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For what you are looking to do, you might want to look at Sea-Dek. I think it would be a better option as it will not move and is easy on your feet.

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I had two boats with the entire decks covered. See my personal page.

Go with the squares in Almond.

Order on www.dri-dek.com

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Phil, thanks for sharing! I love the look of the Dri-Dek. Do you recall how many squares you needed for your Montauk? I agree, the Almond color looks great.

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I don't.

They are 1' square so I did a pattern.

Notice I ran them under the RPS, had one row connect under the console to the bow and cut out the cooler chocks. I did this so they had less chance to move. It worked well.

I created a public album of all the photos.
http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Casc...%20Dri-Dek

5 rows wide x 11 long. Note trimmed partial pieces in stern.

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Pliny,
I have never worked with the Dri-Dek but have done a lot of tile and masonry work. Well worth your investment in time to play with layouts with washable marks on your deck. When doing wood work on my 1979 22' Revenge......everything looked symmetrical but the castings/molds were imperfect. What looked like a 90 degrees was say 94 degrees. I would personally start the lay out at the stern and determine what material was left going to the bow so you are not left with a 3" piece when finished. Also, figure a seem dead center of the deck between the starboard and port sides. Run that line bow to stern. That mark would either be the edge of one of the tile squares or center of a full tile. See what looks best as you miter/cut the edges towards the underside of the gunnels. Work off that line and let the tiles fall where they may. When done both halves from the center mark should be close to mirror images. Sometimes it requires an extra run of material to keep the look parallel with each side. Try to stay away from small pieces with the layout. For the first run you might start with a half piece at the stern so the finishing bow piece was 2/3. You get the idea once you start the layouts. When doing the various work on my boat I found that looking at the "reveals" of the boat's lines was more important than an exact measurements. Good luck.
Garris

edit: Adding that if you do the layout it would give you a tile count. Sometimes the cuts give you remnants that could be re-used

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From memory:

Make a rectangle 5 tiles wide and 10 long and lay in the boat. Add two trimmed pieces for the stern curves. Trim outer corner in the bow. Fill in the inside spaces and trim as you go.

I used a pair of medium duty snips to trim.

Warm weather make it easier to work tiles.

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Phil,
With some installs I have laid out a section and measured off of it. I just looked up the Dri-Dek and does not appear to be an inexpensive project. Looks like $5 plus a 1'x1' piece. If I were using I would either do a tight layout or get a "short order" figuring on getting some punch list material to complete. It does look like a decent product. How lift able is the stuff if you need to clean underneath it? I currently have some sections of industrial bar floor mats on another boat that I just flop to the side when cleaning.
Garris

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Garris -

I realize the price has gone up alot since I did my boats. The last time the tiles were $3 a piece. Retail sales are even higher.

If on a limited budget, I would lay it from the console back to the stern.

I rinsed spring, mid summer and fall. I removed it once a year and scrubbed the deck. Not hard to remove as 2 large sections.

I used a hose and nozzle to rinse the floor. Occasionally some large debris would get not filter to the stern. It was easy to peel the rear area of tiles up on to the RPS. While in the bow I would lift one side with one hand and spray with the other.