It Just Makes Your Boat Better!

I’ve had my boat for 30 years. Three paint jobs, and five outboards. But I’ve got to admit it’s not a comfortable ride. A metal bench seat at the stern. No seating for the driver, which is usually me. An uneven aluminium deck, with three sharp cornered hatch covers right up the middle:

Some crew members so concerned about the effects of a long run on their backs and knees they even bring their own shock absorbing mats along:

Trailered the boat up to Hervey Bay in May and three months before thought the time was right to get the problem fixed. I needed to get some kind of deck surface material that would look neat and would soak up the shock of long runs across open water chop. First idea was deck carpet:

But then I remember how messy it gets. The little fibres and loops hold fish blood and guts – unless you hose them out fast. And even if you do, the carpet will hold general dirt and stains – especially if you’re not much of a cleaner, like me:

The clincher was when I remembered the target species were longtails. Tuna make a big enough mess of fiberglass decks! The mind boggles as to what the mess would be like, on marine carpet:

The clincher was when I Googled ‘cleaning marine carpet’, to check what would be necessary. All these pics of blokes scrubbing with everything from brushes:

To toothbrushes:

I’m not up for that level of commitment! Had heard good things about the tube matting, available from Clark Rubber:

• Easy to cut to deck size;
• Comfortable under foot, because the tubes compress and absorb shock;
• Easy to clean, because it is not fastened or glued down.
• And (importantly, because I’m always on a budget) not expensive.

All true – except the last one. When I arrived at Clark Rubber Castle Hill, I was shocked to find the tube matting costs $65 per square metre! eBay, same story:

Remembered that our main supplier had offered tube matting to us, a few years ago. So I sent him an email. One thing led to another and about ten days later a DHL driver delivered a big roll to the front door. Cutting it to shape was easy, installing it took maybe 30 minutes:

The trip – and the deck matting – was a big success. It’s not the biggest benefit but it’s important to me. I’m talking about how much gentler the matting is, on fish you intend to release. That’s good because a released fish won’t live long if it’s bashed and thrashed itself on a hard deck:

One thing led to another and two weeks ago – along with our regular monthly tackle shipment – we took delivery of a tube matting shipment in three different colours. Grey, green, and blue:

I can’t recommend it too highly. I’m even a bit annoyed at myself for not installing it years ago. Please consider? One of the best things about it is that, unlike marine carpet, the fish blood washes off easily. It looks good too. Ours is $35 per 1.2 metres, about half the competition’s price. A roll 5 metres x 1.2 metres does a standard size trailer boat, and only costs $175.

More details here:

Click here for more deck matting details

And if you'd like to try an order, click here:

Boat deck matting is no longer stocked.

Or if you want a quote on larger or smaller amounts, send me an email? Sure you’ll be just as pleased as I’ve been. As one client told me, 'It just makes your boat better!’ Thanks for reading,

Andrew Hestelow
Managing Director

https://www.downriggershop.com/
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