How to DIY off-brand "SeaDek" from Amazon (SAVED OVER $2000!!!) 

My 2 cents worth. I also completed the same project and it turns out awesome and supports the big time economy you mentioned. That is the positive. Now I like to offer the negative as I experienced. The off brand "Seadek" with different designs are surely inexpensive compared to the real Seadek. The problem is the surface material is not robust enough and will start to chip or scratched off easily in a matter of short time. It will look good and provide great traction, but unfortunately will not stay pretty. The bigger trouble is the removal process when you ever get tired of it looking raggedy over a short time. I have to use a heat gone and other solvents to peel off the adhesive, difficult and absolutely time-consuming process. My recommendation is since the material is inexpensive, just apply it in small compartments and see how long it will stay "pretty". DO APPLY all over since removal would be painful. If you can get the same raw material Seadek uses, that would be the best? Trimming and cutting are not difficult as shown by the video.

Good work young man!!!! Big improvement. Thanks for the how-to video.

I'm getting ready to do the same thing to my boat with Amazon EVA decking. The plastic is a hell of an idea. So simple yet so effective.

Great tip! Looks really good!

Hi Capt! Great job on the video and show and tell... thank you! I was curious how your deck is holding up after a few months of use, I'm thinking about doing the same thing... thank you Capt.

One small piece of advice, use black or white windscreen sealant and caulk all the expesed edges. It will last much longer, also you can seal the ragged cut edges with a soldering iron. I have a buddy with a CNC router that cut custom patterns and my boat name into mine.

Nice work! It really does make a huge difference 👏🏾

great job, that looks amazing!

Use 120 grit sandpaper to smooth the edges, curves, and for a 45 degree bevel to get an exceptionally clean look that only takes a few minutes.

Nicely done dude

Great video! Looks great!

Perfect timing for me - I had purchased the material already and was looking for a time where I could commit a day to it. Plastic tracing is a great tip. Hopefully my first try will end up as good…

looks awesome man!! nice job!

great job

Great job and very informative! I just subscribed. I've been wanting to get the Sea Deck, but the price is outrageous. One tip from a guy who has never applied the foam, so take it for what it's worth: in the Sea Deck demonstrations, they remove the backing paper on half of the piece so you can use the non-sticky portion to position it before you have to commit to sticking it down. On the other hand, it didn't look like you had any trouble with alignment the way you did it. In any event, thanks again!

I use this also on my deck what I have done on edges I cut 1/2 inch of de top foam dan you have also black edges it’s wonderful stuff you can clean it with a hard brush no problem at all.

This is Awesome, im going to do this as well. I think next time maybe use a fine tip marker and some circle templates to really dial in the corners and nooks. Nice job!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 for helping me

Literally saw a video yesterday of a guy painfully stripping his boat of the of the Amazon EVA special after it partially dissolved in under 2 years. Something like “biggest regret.” Fawked the finish on his boat as well.

Great Video ! very inspiring work on the rudders. May I ask you where you got your rudder shafts from and what are the specs. I'm also building a cat (46') and will get through this stage at some point. Thank you very much !

Great job. Please let us know a year from now how it held up. I've read the 3M backed versions like Oceanboard stay in place longer than the other non-3M adhesive, also 3M verison lets you do minimal readjustment in the first few hours before it sets permenantly. Then again I heard the 3M once need lots of acetone to remove vs the other adhesive

Great job! For a few years now I've been wanting to do this on my boat but its really expensive. From the research I've done, this Amazon aftermarket suff is NOT the way to go! It falls apart quickly and the adhesive does a job on the non skid. Wish you luck with that. That aside, you did a fantastic job and it looks really great.

Nice video ty. I’m saving this. What speakers are those?

How's it holding up?

My advice would be to lay out the material in a flat area for a while to get the curl out of it and to use acetone to wipe all the area where you will be applying the material. Overall this looks excellent and the plastic was a great idea!!

you should have use 3m 90 resiste spray to and use a 2x4 ou a ply piece you guide you cut along but nice job

I used a similar material on the interior of My boat. It was worth doing not slippery like Teak and holly.

You can take a router with a 45 deg bit and route the edges so they look finished

Thinking about this for my motoryacht convertible. It is thinner than seadek and the adhesive is not the same quality. That stuff is 1/4 inch thick and seadek is 3/8. The biggest thing for me they is hard to cut with scissors and make it look clean. The body skipped next to mine did this and he didn't do the best job. I've seen other videos where a router was used to make it look perfect but i don't have one of those in the budget for the project.

I might go and purchase a laminate roller (Formica) that a cabinet shop uses for putting pressure on the layup for better adhesion. Then roll all the material you just laid down. Let the sun warm it up so you get all the expansion of material and fiberglass at the same time. Looks good though....good luck

How’s it held up on the lift in direct sun?

Just curious is the EVA you put down still holding up and has it started to peel off.

Nice job, but the savings you claim need some clarification. You were quoted for solid plastic decking using medium density polyethylene. You have installed a much less robust product having a soft foam core. Nothing wrong with that, but there is a difference in durability.

Did you have to sand down the antiskid areas you covered ? TYIA

A Roofing hook blade would work good.

But does it match the wrap on the boat?

i glued down the edges on my amazon decking so no dirt or water works its way under it so that it lasts much longer

I used the same material for my sons gheenoe, It literally disintegrated after 2-3 months in the south FL sun. Removing this material (compared to seadek/dekit) is a nightmare as well.

Seems that you, Mr. Video maker, are not considering the long term prospects of the product you installed. The installation process may be great but how will you feel when the product you are promoting doesn’t hold up long term?😊

I'm in Florida and fish almost every day and that EV foam only lasts two years, 3 at best. It's disintegrating, especially the lines, mine are white lines on tan panels. When I wash the boat tan water is washing off of it. Not really a savings.

That's a hole saw not a circular drill bit. It is circular but all drill bits are circular except for paddle bits and square mortise bits.

Circular drill bit? Aren’t most drill bits circular?

Do a follow up in 3 and 6 months to see if it still sticks on there

i was distracted by hey bear

Looks good. Beats 6K any day. Seems like Sea Deck is a scam.

Just wait, that stuff is garbagio...There are companies out there using mass manufacturer products as a base with more custom tooling and lower costs. I know this, because I am one of them (roughly $25 sq ft).

A lot of effort to replace in a year. The fake stuff is terrible! Don’t waste your time and money on it.. falls apart and peels up in less than a year in most cases. Seadek rated for 8+ years, that’s $300 a year, for quality and no hassle. Plus nothing beats the CNC routed edges and laser straight lines. 👍 You can always tell a DIY Eva dek.. makes the boat look cheap IMO.. maybe on a little old tinner, but on a nice boat like yours.. no Ty

Let us know in a year how the off brand holds up.

Careful leaving this stuff in the sun; it oxidizes, and then wipes off on EVERYTHING that it touches. We have the brown version, and need to rinse it before each outing or our clothes/hands end up brown. It's surprisingly hard to rinse off your skin for some reason

And 100% made in the same factory.

Sideways looks better anyway.

show it after a year of usage

What you did looks great. However, wait till you see what it looks like in a year. There is a reason Sea Dek costs more, and they're not even that great (open cell EVA vs closed cell PE), you get what you pay for. I remove this amazon EVA from boats every single day and 95% of the time it won't hold up past a year before weird fading and other issues. Let alone adhesion. Especially in Florida. Good luck!

Bad idea! I bought several "off brand" decking from Amazon as well as actual name brand SeaDek and applied them to several dock steps and dinghies. After 5 years only the SeaDek remains, and it still looks good. The 3 different Chinese lookalike products from Amazon turned to crap in the sunshine after about 3 years. Don't waste your money on the cheap crap, save up and get the real thing. It's worth it in the long run.

Dude, my advise is to stop calling the product you purchased from Amazon, "SeaDeck". Very likely it is a copyrighted or patented name and the actual "SeaDeck" company may elect to sue you in court or at the very least have lawyers issue a "cease and desist" order. You are opening yourself up to liability! Also, the opportunity for you to spend a boatload ( pun intended) of money defending yourself. Be careful.

Isn't this "how to make chinese knock-off crap work in place of an actual quality product"?

Wow! You're really trying hard to get yourself sued! The EVA foam that Amazon sells is not the brand name Seadek, it's just called EVA foam. Throughout your video you call it Seadek and I think that they'll probably take offense to that. If I were you I would edit your video with a written retraction at the begining, stating that you mistakingly referred to generic Chinese EVA foam as Trademarked Seadek and that was a mistake and not your intention. The Chinese product only looks like what Seadeck uses before they lazer measure, cut and assemble their customized decking product. Doing that of your own volition, before they take legal action, may reduce your liability... Not a lawyer, JMHO

Why do you have a boat? 😂 boats aren’t about saving money. Saving money on boat parts and accessories will bite you in the end. That stuff you are using is garbage and when you take it off you will have hours upon hours getting that adhesive off the non skid parts. It will start to fall apart and fade immediately. Sea deck is 3 year warranty. You’re going to regret this decision my guy.

great job