Head liner stinks!

[CurtTampa]

I can't take it any longer. This 29 year old mold trap has to go. I wanted to test a small area under the side decks to see just how hard the carpet removal would be. Surprisingly it comes off without much of a fight. The inner edge is attached to the cabin wood with over a million tiny staples.  The glued up portion peels right off - sorta. Occasionally there was an arm wrestle but I won most bouts. It seems the carpet was applied to the deck before attaching to the hull. This leaves carpet on top of the bulkhead under the side decks and head wall. Not sure how I feel about digging it out and creating a gap. Any thoughts?

Secondly, not sure what Im going to use to replace it. Suggestions welcone. It won't be carpet though. My foredeck has a tiny - almost not noticible - amount of spring/flex to it. It's dry and seems more of a laminate layup schedule issue. I read somewhere the early 27's are prone to gelcoat stress cracks at the deck to coach roof radius. Reportedly the decks were retooled and that radius was increased. I dont have said crack and would like to prevent them. Im thinking of epoxing some stringers underside creating a grid that would also serve as a cleat or firing strips to screw a slat strip ceiling to. The wood work through out the boat is really nice and this capet has always seemed out of place. Screams cheap cover up to me. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

[wes]

Actually, that material isn't carpet - notice there is no backing. I'm in process of replacing mine too. Sailrite sells a similar material in three colors, comes in 72" width."Sand" color is very close to the factory original. They also have vinyl types, if you don't like the look of the "carpet" type. Go to their web site, select Fabrics and filter by Headliner/Hullliner. $20/yard. They have excellent how-to videos on the same site.

I have all my teak trim pieces off for sanding/varnishing, so it's relatively easy to replace the headliner.

My foredeck had the dreaded cracking problem and the core was saturated with water. The strengthening work was relatively easy for a pro although an holy mess inside the boat: pull off the headliner fabric and lay up several layers of fiberglass cloth around the joint where the foredeck meets the cabin top. I also opted to have the entire foredeck recorded to solve the water problem. Expensive, unfortunately. I created a post about this.

Wes

[deisher6]

Hey CurtTampa:
Yup that headliner in a 30 year old boat is gross.  In my case it was falling off.  Had a local upholstery guy that specializes in auto interiors replace it. The material is the same stuff that he uses in car trunks.  It has held up well for three years.

Wes is right on with how to repair the checking at the foredeck coachroof intersection.  His boat looks remarkable, better than our brand new '86 C-27 looked in 1986!  My present boat is badly checked, I chose to ignore it and go sailing.....HOWEVER if yours is not checked I would definitely reinforce the intersection from the inside as soon as possible to keep it looking good.

regards charlie

[Bristol14]

Do you know if the material you removed is the same material used on CP 23's. Mine is an '89 Mark II and some of my cabin sidewalls have dark marks that I originally thought were due to wear but now I'm suspecting mold. I tried to remove them by cleaning with a mold remover but the dark marks remained and the interior definitely has a musty odor.  I have also considered removing the wood slats and painting the material. I'd prefer not to replace the material, but I'm guessing the mold has permeated the material. I'm also wondering if the new material will attract moisture/humidity and get moldy too.

[CurtTampa]

I would guess yes. Like Wes said it's not really carpet but similar. Not much in the way of backing. I had some of those black areas you spoke of. Not sure about a source of moisture - i took my rub rail off and sealed the hull to deck joint assuming that was it. I also have a hawse pipe in the fore deck above the anchor rode locker that could be a source. The cap has a rather large opening that wouid allow a small amount of rain or waves to enter. Maybe enough to feed mold? I've decided to go the wood slat route and replace all of the liner.

[Bristol14]

Thx. I have minimal leaks, if any. My bilge is typically dry. However, I live on a point of land in Buzzards Bay in MA that is pretty humid in the summer, e.g. we run a dehumidifier in our home most of the summer. The liner material seems like it would absorb the humidified air.

[brackish]

The head liner material is what is known as a non woven fabric and it is the same material used by many of the boat builders.  I would not recommend replacing with foam backed perforated vinyl, the foam will give up the ghost fairly rapidly and the headliner will sag.  I bought a roll of the non-woven fabric material directly from the mill many years ago (cheap by the roll) and I replaced the headliner in my Columbia 8.7 twice then gave the new owner enough to do it again when needed.  I still have about a half roll.  What I bought just happens to be exactly what Compac uses today.

The key to longevity with that stuff is finding the source of your water intrusion and stopping it.  The fabric will last forever if it is kept dry, however when it gets wet it will leave dark stains that won't come out and if it stays wet it will grow mold spores.  Just high humidity will not stain it, I'm in Mississippi and it is always humid.  So deal with the wet source first, then put in the new headliner.

My 23 only has the material in the forward compartment and under the deck walkways in the main cabin.  It has the plastic beadboard liner in the upper part of the main cabin.  That is a good thing because a driving rain or a pressure wash will intrude under the sliding hatch and get it wet.  The non-woven fabric would not work there. 

[Bristol14]

Thx, good info.