doing up a boat's interior

[tgalea]

doing up a boat\'s interior

Hi All,

Once again resorting to you for some good advise.

Having peformed so much refurbishing works on my boat from september i am now approaching the interior problem which i would like to improve once and for all.

The boat's interior is mainly GRP with teak trimmings around the windows, above the berths etc however let's say 85% of the interior is fibre-glass which has over the years seen screws and holes which have been now removed and re-installed etc. So apart from the wood the interior looks extremely shabby after having removed all the useless stuff.

So. My question is should i fill up all the holes etc, sand the whole thing down and apply some paint to the interior then re-install the wooden trimmings or do i go for some of this headlining material which i could use to cover up the whole thing nicely ?

Parts of the GRP have been painted by previous owners and the paint is now looking dull and dirty, other parts have been carpeted and other parts, especially the top part of the cabin resembles "Yellowed by age" gelcoat.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks once again

Regards
Tyrone.

 

[AndrewB]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

It's a matter of taste and the effort you want to spend.

In my view its difficult to repaint interior GRP surfaces and have them stay looking good for very long, even if you use the best two-part polyurethane paints. This is OK for surfaces that are tucked away, inside lockers, pilot berths, fore cabins for example. But for a really good-looking finish, I'd try as far as possible to cover up with trim or linings in those areas of the main cabin that are most in view.

 

[tgalea]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

I know. In fact.. the reason why i'm having to re-do it.

But would you suggest i cover up the ceiling of the cabin too ? Using headliner material.

Thanks again
TYrone.

 

[Trevethan]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

suggest you tongue and groove the area. time consuming, but very satisfying and well worth it.

Screw battens into grp at regular intervals, say 18", If you like glue up some insulating foam (with camping mat ifyou're cheap or thinsulate if you want to do the job really well) between to give you a bit of insulation, then fix tongue and groove using small copper pins. then varnish or paint as required.

Most of ours is painted white to reflect the light but in the aft cabin the double berth area has been stained and varnished and looks very cosy.

We got our t+g from B&Q. Its best to let it sit on the boat out of its wrappingsfor a couple of weeks to normalise witht he boat humidty levels the put it up.

We have covered all the edges and trimmed the joins between bulkhead and deck head with hardwood.

Half way through doing htis we bought an electric mitre saw... makes life much much easiers.. specially for the dodgy trim angles.

regards,

Nick




Despite the high cost of living, it still remains popular.

 

[Avocet]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

If you're thinking of using headlining material, make sure it is either foam backed or put a layer of "scrim" foam on first. This is thin (about 6mm) open cell foam with a woven cloth on one face. Trimmers use it on car dashboards - it covers a multitude of sins! Without it, the vinyl will look dreadful! Also, use spray-on contact adhesive. If you use the paint-on stuff you can't get an even enough film and the vinyl sags in areas where there is a lot of glue. Last point, don't try to go round compund curves - especially hollows. Sooner or later, the material always unsticks itself!

 

[petery]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

I think a combination of cord carpeting glued to the GRP on the sides of the cabin and around the bunks with headlining stuck/wrapped round thin ply for the cabin roof is the ideal combination. You just need a few pads bonded to the roof to fix the headlining. Car upholstery trimmers have lots of useful edgings to help with hiding the joins - and your mistakes!

You can get 1.5mm thick birch ply that allows you to work with some kinds of compound curves.

 

[snowleopard]

carpet option

for bare grp i have used self-adhesive carpet obtainable from hawke house in fareham. it comes in grey or natural (off white) and has a cord effect. very easy to fit.

 

[PaulJ]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

So far most responses have involved fairly extensive "facelift" work but a vast improvement can also be made by simply filling all the old screwholes in the white grp. Most chandlers sell white "gelcoat repair resin" in a large tube. Just clean up around the hole and fill it with this stuff and sand off once it's set. Use successively finer grades of wet n'dry and finally a rubbing compound over both the repair and then the whole panel, which will remove any yellowing. It is easy to do and the chances are that the repair will be completely invisible...... Headlinings are another matter....!

 

[Gordonmc]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

A slightly different take on this problem, Tyrone.
I would go for a semi permanent solution with panels in perforated hardboard covered in foam back vinyl or headlining. Make paper templates of the shapes you want covered, transfer to panels. After cutting out cover them and use those plastic trim tabs used to attach door trims etc on cars. There are many inexpensive upholsterers on Gozo who could make the panels up from the templates.
Drill the f/glass to take the trim tabs.
As soon as the panels look tatty, pull off, throw away and replace using the same fixing holes.
Saha.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

G'day Tyrone,

Interesting reading the posts so far,

seems most are in favour of lining the inside with enough vinyl to ensure you will not be able to enter the boat in case of even a small fire.

Not to mention the many hours and excessive expense, and at the end of it.......

A heavier boat, possibly darker inside and much harder to keep clean.

I recon you can fill the holes on Friday afternoon, sand and paint on Saturday and go for sail on Sunday.

PS put a couple of drops of black paint in a litre of white paint, it slows down the yellowing by years.

Andavagoodweekend___Old Salt Oz___/forums/images/icons/cool.gif

 

[Martin_e]

Re: doing up a boat\'s interior

I agree with or friend down under. Keep it simple. It really depends on what you want out of it all. I used 3 Years to fix up a She 31 B. Could have used the boat as it was and did, but got a wild idea that things could be better. Now they are. The boat is perfect For Me. I kept the inside as it "was" sort of. I filled holes and repainted any glass fiber with regular oil based household paint. All woodwork was stripped to the wood and revarnished with a good varnish. I used matt since it is easier to touch up a "spot". In fact I have done a lot but I am trying to say that one can keep it simple if that is wahat you want. Send me a PM and you can se waht I have gone through.