Im restoring my 184 champ and I've noticed the newer boats come with padded decks just wondering if y'all think its worth doing?

yes

Yes, it is definitely worth it IMO.

YES!!!!

There is a guy that does boat carpeting at Lake Fork. He is south of Williams creek on 17 going towards Alba on the left, just before Salem Cemetery. He has a demo setup in his building that you can stand on and see for yourself. I will pad my 481VS Ranger when the time comes to put new carpet down for sure.

Chris is it possible to put a padded front deck on a legend that did not come this way? I know anything is possible but would it be like factory if say you guys did it? All the trim and rivets and boxes be as good opening and closing?

danny at lake fork boat carpet is the one on hwy 17 at fork. all i can say is he did my older 93 model boat this past summer (it's finally over, wooohooo) and all doors open and close actually better than they did before as some hinges were worn out and he managed to make thicker carpet fit even better, great price, communication throughout the process and service was excellent. i would highly recommend danny. if you type in boat carpet in the search box on here he has some post that come up with his number on them.

I recently restored my 1990 Skeeter 200DX, and I installed 3/8-inch thick virgin Ortho Mat closed-cell polyurethane foam on the front deck area. Most boat manufacturers are using 1/4-inch thick rebonded OrthoMat foam because it's cheaper. I bought one 3/8� x 36� x 60� piece of grey virgin (not rebond) Ortho Mat for $64.00. You can call Randy the owner or Amanda Orosco at ProTech Mats to order (aorozco@protechmats.com).

I made a template from kraft paper of the cleaned deck area with a half inch reveal around the perimeter for the carpet to stick to. I transferred the paper pattern to 1/8-inch MDF to make a rigid template, then transferred that shape to the foam. I cut it to size with utility scissors. I then tapered the perimeter and seat post holes with a die grinder. I sprayed DAP high-temp landau contact adhesive to glue down the foam as well as the carpet.

Feels Goooood!!!

yes, do it.....had it done to my 201DCR Champion earlier this year and it makes world of difference to my feet and knees at the end of the day

Yes, your feet and back will love you for it..

Is it best to pad just the front deck or pad that plus the front rod lockers and storage compartments?

Is it best to pad just the front deck or pad that plus the front rod lockers and storage compartments?

Most of the boat manufactuers only do the front deck. Its kind of a pain in the butt to do the lids.

Yes it's worth it. Pad wherever you stand. HERE'S A TIP!

I recently recarpeted my front deck, and got a tip from a fellow TFF'r... Go to target and buy a yoga mat. Cut the yoga mat to the shape you want and use liquid nail to hold it down before you lay down the new carpet. So far it's worked GREAT for me.