Cabin sides covered in carpet.

[tarik]

Have recently bought a small yacht where the previous owner covered the whole of the cabin sides in loop pile carpet it is a close smooth finish. It looks very tatty. I do not want to strip it all off at the moment but want a temporary solution to brighten it up. One of the wags up the club seriously suggested that I applied emulsion paint apparently he had done it on board his boat - now sold.


What does the team think - any other suggestions, as I said I don't want to strip it all off.

David

 

[yachtorion]

Carpet can look good. This obviously doesn't. What makes this carpet look tatty?

 

[thinwater]

Pictures?

I would try cleaning it using a borax/washing soda/TSP blend (see link, below) and a vacuum carpet extractor. Spray it on heavy, let soak, scrub with a brush as needed, and vacuum off. Repeat as needed. You will be surprised. This will remove mildew and prevent recurrence better than any commercial formula. I have tested many brands during product reviews for Practical Sailor Mag. This is the go-to. I've done whole flooded basement carpets, many times.

Do NOT rinse--you want to leave a residual to repel mildew. Do NOT increase the concentration. More is NOT better. Hot water helps, of course.

http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2016/12/mildew-treatment-for-pennies.html

 

[duncan99210]

Although the OP states he doesn't want to strip the old carpet off, it's probably the simplest solution. Don't get too involved with trying the remove all the old glue residue: if it's a pain to remove, then it'll do well with new glue sticking to the top of it. Replace the old carpet with polypropylene carpet tiles using No More Nails type adhesive (easy to work with and no fumes). When I did this on my Hurley 18, it only took a mornings work to replace all the carpeting and cost about £35 for tiles and adhesive. I used cardboard to make templates for easy tile and heavy scissors to cut the tiles. Fairly easy job.

 

[Blue_mischief]

Would a wallpaper steam stripper be of any use? To clean the carpet or even soften the glue for its removal? Anybody any experience? Just a thought.

 

[Georgio]

Pictures?

I would try cleaning it using a borax/washing soda/TSP blend (see link, below) and a vacuum carpet extractor. Spray it on heavy, let soak, scrub with a brush as needed, and vacuum off. Repeat as needed. You will be surprised. This will remove mildew and prevent recurrence better than any commercial formula. I have tested many brands during product reviews for Practical Sailor Mag. This is the go-to. I've done whole flooded basement carpets, many times.

Do NOT rinse--you want to leave a residual to repel mildew. Do NOT increase the concentration. More is NOT better. Hot water helps, of course.

http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2016/12/mildew-treatment-for-pennies.html

Thanks, having read your blog I will be giving this a try!

 

[thesaintlyone]

I had a friend install van lining carpet on my old boat and he will be doing the same on the Longbow vee berth. its much more pliable than normal carpet and if done right looks really nice

 

[yachtorion]

I had a friend install van lining carpet on my old boat and he will be doing the same on the Longbow vee berth. its much more pliable than normal carpet and if done right looks really nice

I'm about to do that. Any tips?

Might be a good option here. Glue some over the existing carpet?

 

[CloveHitch]

This is my first post to the forum. I'm in a similar situation to the OP: I have some very tatty carpet insulation on the cabin sides. However, it's so bad I'd much rather remove it entirely. Duncan has suggested I needn't worry unduly about any glue residue:

Although the OP states he doesn't want to strip the old carpet off, it's probably the simplest solution. Don't get too involved with trying the remove all the old glue residue: if it's a pain to remove, then it'll do well with new glue sticking to the top of it.

My question is what is the best way to remove the old carpet? Should I, for example, just start pulling at it, or should I warm it first, perhaps with a steam iron?

 

[Keith 66]

Just grab a corner & rip it off. Hawke house marine do good sidelining carpet & its easy to cut, they even do a self adhesive one so you dont need glue.

 

[Iain C]

I'm about to do that. Any tips?

Might be a good option here. Glue some over the existing carpet?

No, you must remove the existing carpet. Then use a Face Off Disc from Hawke House to get rid of the worst of the glue residue. Use brushed on SAF-111 on the GRP, but you ABSOLUTELY MUST use an organic vapours mask when working with that stuff. I'm no big fan of elf'n'safety but that stuff is really nasty. Use trade tack spray adhesive on the carpet, cut all panels oversize and trim down with a hook Stanley blade which you change often. Harrison Trim are good for the actual material which is brilliant stuff. Here's the forepeak of my old Sabre after I'd done it. Annoyingly, it was absolutely 100% condensation free whatever the weather...more than can be said for the mouldings on my Bavaria 32!

 

[ghostlymoron]

I think carpet style headlining looks really nice and insulates well. Best to use the proper stuff though.
OP could try renting a Rug Doctor machine from B & Q. Sounds like an improvement in ventilation is required as well.

 

[pagoda]

I had a friend install van lining carpet on my old boat and he will be doing the same on the Longbow vee berth. its much more pliable than normal carpet and if done right looks really nice

+1
I re-lined our previous boat which had crumbly foam backed vinyl. Horrible job removing the old stuff. I covered the inside of the hull in closed cell 6mm foam- from Hawke house, then used light silver grey van lining cloth from Ebay. The effect of insulating the hull is dramatic - sound and light blocked. Pleasant surface to touch and no condensation. Well worth the effort. 35 ft boat cost about £500 in materials in total -plus a lot of graft,

 

[Stemar]

It's well worth considering putting some closed cell foam under your headlinging - it makes for a warmer boat in winter and a cooler one in summer.

Once upon a time, those 5 or 6mm foam hiking mattresses were cheaper than "proper" foam I don't know if that's still the case but, if the work on the boat progresses as I'd like, I might be finding out this summer.

 

[lpdsn]

Perhaps it just needs hoovering.

 

[ianj99]

I had a friend install van lining carpet on my old boat and he will be doing the same on the Longbow vee berth. its much more pliable than normal carpet and if done right looks really nice

I had my wheelhouse roof done with 'wheat' carpet couple of years ago and then did the forecabin walls. It does look excellent.
Next month I'm doing the saloon roof and coachroof sides.
The caravan carpet is excellent as its stretches in both directions and so is easy to get a good fit around objects and edges. (thankfully as I have 6 oval port lights and 3 hatches to fit it around) I used the spray glue sold by carpet sellers.

The original covering had been foam backed vinyl but after 30years the foam had disintegrated leaving the vinyl hanging by the edges so it was a very messy job scraping off the remains and cleaning up the dust. The original glue (Evostick probably) was impossible to remove but does not show through the new carpet and nor do joints in the ply lining.

 

[Iain C]

Spray glue on the carpet, yes, but it must be brush on contact adhesive on the hull.

Trust me on this...I've now done the job twice...and you can guess why...

 

[Cactus Sailing]

No, you must remove the existing carpet. Then use a Face Off Disc from Hawke House to get rid of the worst of the glue residue. Use brushed on SAF-111 on the GRP, but you ABSOLUTELY MUST use an organic vapours mask when working with that stuff. I'm no big fan of elf'n'safety but that stuff is really nasty. Use trade tack spray adhesive on the carpet, cut all panels oversize and trim down with a hook Stanley blade which you change often. Harrison Trim are good for the actual material which is brilliant stuff. Here's the forepeak of my old Sabre after I'd done it. Annoyingly, it was absolutely 100% condensation free whatever the weather...more than can be said for the mouldings on my Bavaria 32!

haha in my Bavaria on a cold night it can be like torture with the odd drip dripping on your head while trying to sleep