Head lining

[Richard Garlant]

I had to remove the headlining from La Torchee in the saloon and forepeak as the original cloth had been removed and replaced by sorry looking tongue and groove pine. I want to put up Formica in sections using teak strips to hide the joints. Has anyone any good ideas on spacing these strips as the hatches create difficulties in setting it out equidistant, or for that matter a different product?

[Moderator]

Capturing some useful responses that were shared via email: From Jeff Avery***

There is a fiberglass product sold in 4’x8′ sheets (Home Depot or Lowes) that is designed for the walls of commercial kitchens ( wont burn , easy to clean ) that I used for the entire headliner in my CN38 . You can get all the moulding ( seem connectors , inside corner moulding , outside corner moulding etc. ) in the same section of the store .

The whole job cost me about $100 in materials even with my screwing up several pieces . The mouldings screw directly to the overhead , or you can add wood strips if necessary . No glue , no paint and no special tools . This stuff cant rot or mold and I’ve been very satisfied .

[then later, another email said]
I stopped by Home Depot and the name of the product I used for my headliner and wall panels is “FRP Wall Panel” . A 4×8 sheet has gone up to $32.49 .

There is another product called “Polywall panel” but it is thinner and Home Depot doesnt carry the trim pieces .

Jeff
S/V Valkyrie

[Moderator]

And capturing some more from emails: From George Nauman

Jeff,
We have been looking for some sort of headliner for our Nick 38. Did you write to say that you attached the FRD wall panel directly to the underside of the deck fiberglass? The glass below the balsa core on our Nick 38 hull 123 is less than 1/16 thick. So I was wasn’t interested running screws into the core. Your information is very helpful!
thanks
George Nauman

[Moderator]

[and one more response from Jeff via email:]
I bought thin 3/8 by inch and a half wood strips and screwed these to the overhead with a little epoxy at the screw points ( I used very small #4 tapered screws that were only about a 1/4 inch long and pilot drilled the wood ) . The FRP is not very heavy so the seam and edge connectors are all that hold the panel up .

Jeff Avery
CN38 Valkyrie

[michael bennett]

Headlining has also been a problem for me, most of it is in good order but the areas where it has become detached from the plastic grips, which I know other owners have difficulty replacing without at least 3 hands! does not look good very good following repair attemps.
I was at the Southampton boat show this week, in my opinion the best of the UK shows, and looked for an alternative. I found a small stand which specialises in upholstery, panelling and headlinings which looks a simple and good looking alternative.
They demonstrated for me a foam backed vinyl, (about 3 to 4mm thick in total) produced for a marine environment, anti fungal wipe clean surface. He had an example of use, where it had been glued to a thin sheet of ply, which had been folded around the edges of the board by just the vinyl (the foam backing removed after the fold around)and glued or stapled in position. It was held in place my small velcro strips which were very secure, took some pulling off the display. An alternative fixing are buttons if required.
I mentioned others in our group could be interested and the owner of the company is more than happy to send out sample packs to those interested.
Hawke House Ltd., Unit E1. Heritage Business Park, Heritage Way, Gosport. Hants. PO12 4BG. 023 92 588 588 e.mail hawke.house@btopenworld.com
Hope this info helpful.
Mike

[Van]

The foam sounds interesting – but note that there is a bunch of wiring running between the head lining and the underside of the cabin top. You’d have to think of a way to make that look good, or else reroute it somehow.

On Rainshadow, the wires under the lining go to the obvious things like the two lights, but also I think for some reason they routed the windshield wiper wire via the galley light. Does anyone know if the wiper as originally installed, was on the same circuit as the galley light? That would explain the wiring.

The head lining as installed does use a pretty nifty fastening but it does seem to need some special tool or at least lots of hands – not sure 3 is enough!

Van

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