After some research – and plenty of asking around – we decided the cockpit floor needed covering. The real question was: with what?
Advice from people with far more experience than us made the requirements clear. The floor covering needed to be grippy, but still allow some slip under the heels when working the pedals. It had to be waterproof, but not solid, strong, yet as light as possible.
We explored a wide range of options: rubber floor tiles, chequered plates, rubber sheet, garage flooring systems – the list went on. Nothing quite ticked every box.
By sheer chance, while doing some DIY at home, I came across a rigid plastic fence mesh that was originally destined to be used as a windbreak and to keep birds off. It was an extruded plastic mesh with high tensile strength and, at first glance, seemed to fit the bill perfectly. The only downside was that the mesh pattern was rectangular and slightly too large.
After a bit of online research, I found a company offering a range of mesh options, varying in mesh size, thickness, colour, and rigidity. They kindly sent out several samples, and the decision was almost instant.
We chose a black, heavy-duty rigid square mesh, measuring 13mm x 13mm, made from HDPE. It’s super strong, rot-proof, UV stable, smooth on one side and irregular on the other, with an overall thickness of approximately 3mm – exactly what we were looking for.
Installation was straightforward. A few paper templates, some electrical cutters and cable-tie snips, and the panels were shaped and fitted. The mesh was bonded to the floor using straight lines of Tiger Seal, spaced at roughly 100mm intervals.
Now fitted, the improvement is obvious. The cockpit floor offers far more grip than the original, particularly in wet conditions, while still allowing the right amount of movement around the pedals. The “available slip” feels spot on. Rainwater no longer sloshes around the floor, gravel and debris are trapped below the mesh, and the seat rails stay clear of standing water – even on the wettest days.
We like it!
