I am thinking about replacing the carpet on my boat over the winter.  Do you need to get all the old glue off before gluing the new carpet on?  If so, what is the best way to remove it?

if its on wood, a grinder and sandpaper disk! just dont eat into the wood

Try lacquer thinner before you go to sanding, etc.

So, I guess that is a yes?  It is a Skeeter fiberglass boat, so there should only be fiberglass under there I would suppose.

Aluminum, fiberglass, or wood, I'd start with a paint scraper. The kind you pull, like this one.

You may find it easier to use a heat gun (judiciously) to soften the glue.  Work a small area at a time. 

Thanks guys.  I know this is sort of labor intensive, but shouldn't be anything I can't do myself, right?

Hopefully there will not be more than 1 layer of glue to remove. I refurbished a Ranger and the glue was a real pain...must have been 3 layers. Just do the best you can. It will look great once the new carpet is installed.

I replaced the carpet in my 12 year old 20' Lowe Deep Vee last spring. It has all aluminum decks. I had to remove all the rivets on the decks, and pull up the old carpet. Used a belt sander to remove all the glue, It went very quickly. I then replaced all the rivets, and glued new carpet down over the rivets. It took most of two days to do this, but it looks great and shows no signs of coming up. You should be able to do this. Be careful because you can get the glue on everything when it comes time to drop the new carpet down on the freshly spread glue...you will need some extra hands at this point. Contact me if you want to know where I got the carpet, etc.

Thanks again guys, I guess another question is what is the best carpet?  I want to put in the type in most of the new boats now, the the thinner "pile" I guess?

I've only done small areas with it but one of these can make the task a lot less difficult and time consuming

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/multifunction-tools.html

I see coupons for this item in many outdoor magazines that would let you pick one up for @ $30

A scraper and lacquer thinner will take most adhesives off fairly easily.

If it wraps around the lids and you don't mind the work to shave pile from the sides of the lid when you put the new carpet in, I would go with a 20 or 22 oz. It looks sooooo much nicer but you normally have trouble opening and closing the lids on older boats if you don't shave the pile off where it wraps on the sides.

You will probably find it difficult to find the proper carpet locally. The last two I've done, I ordered mine from C&O Marine. It's been about six years since I did my last but I'm sure they can still get it for you. My last was 20oz and it came from Stratos. I think it was about $10 a yard. It comes usually comes six feet wide and has taken 25 - 30 lineal feet to cover the last two boats I've done, one 18.5 and one 20"

I also recommend Weldwood Original Formula contach cement to install it. Trying to use carpet glue is a pain when you start trying to wrap and clamp it around lids and keeping the edges down until it dries. A narrow paint roller works nicely to apply it. Get a couple of spare rollers and a few 3 - 4" throw away bristle brushes.

Make sure you lay everything out so all pieces are cut in the same grain/weave direction. If a piece gets turned it will look a different color at different angles.

Use wax paper in areas where you have work in and get it positioned before you want it to stick. Just don't put pressure on the wax paper or it can stick also. Cover the glue area with it, position you piece and then slide the paper out while keeping you carpet in position. If you let two glued surfaces touch, you may not be real happy.

Thanks for all the help guys.