jcpa
Member
Does anyone know the practice for installing vinyl headlinings back in the 1980’s?
My head & side linings (foam backed vinyl) were collapsing. Using Hawkehouse’s double-sided self-adhesive foam (5mm) and standard vinyl, I have successfully replaced the linings in the front and rear cabins, but I now have some issues with the saloon. The sidelinings are OK (similar to the cabins) but the headlining was presumably installed before the boat was rigged; it was installed between the roof and the posts supporting the deck-stepped mast and deck-level block for the keel lift. I could probably have fudged my new headlinings to go around these posts, but with the boat ashore this winter, the mast down and the keel tip resting on the ground, I chose to remove the posts and fit the new headlining as before - to give a neater effect.
However, along the saloon centre line, and athwartships at the front of the hatchway, at the keel lift post, and at the mast post, I found there were 10cm wide hessian webbing strips, seemingly between the vinyl and the now disintegrated foam (in practice I cannot tell if the hessian was under or over the foam – it’s just dust on both sides!). Is it possible the foam was fixed first, and the hessian used as a scrim to cover joints in the foam before fixing the vinyl? Or was the hessian used as a thinner backing instead of foam – for where it would be compressed by the posts. I was already thinking I should omit/shave-down the 5mm foam at the posts - so they will still fit their gaps (I needed to wedge up the roof a bit to get the posts out!).
I should say that the roof vinyl is largely confined to verge areas – and is covered by four varnished plywood panels that can be easily unscrewed to access deck hardware fixings; the hessian is essentially in these verge areas, and maybe there was only ever a thin foam layer too.
So are these hessian strips vital to a good looking job, or should I just use the self-adhesive foam and throw away the hessian strips?
Alternatively, should I clean and re-glue the hessian strips, alone or over the self-adhesive foam? I suspect the texture of the hessian webbing would show through the covering vinyl layer.
I’d be grateful for any constructive advice!
Thanks
John
My head & side linings (foam backed vinyl) were collapsing. Using Hawkehouse’s double-sided self-adhesive foam (5mm) and standard vinyl, I have successfully replaced the linings in the front and rear cabins, but I now have some issues with the saloon. The sidelinings are OK (similar to the cabins) but the headlining was presumably installed before the boat was rigged; it was installed between the roof and the posts supporting the deck-stepped mast and deck-level block for the keel lift. I could probably have fudged my new headlinings to go around these posts, but with the boat ashore this winter, the mast down and the keel tip resting on the ground, I chose to remove the posts and fit the new headlining as before - to give a neater effect.
However, along the saloon centre line, and athwartships at the front of the hatchway, at the keel lift post, and at the mast post, I found there were 10cm wide hessian webbing strips, seemingly between the vinyl and the now disintegrated foam (in practice I cannot tell if the hessian was under or over the foam – it’s just dust on both sides!). Is it possible the foam was fixed first, and the hessian used as a scrim to cover joints in the foam before fixing the vinyl? Or was the hessian used as a thinner backing instead of foam – for where it would be compressed by the posts. I was already thinking I should omit/shave-down the 5mm foam at the posts - so they will still fit their gaps (I needed to wedge up the roof a bit to get the posts out!).
I should say that the roof vinyl is largely confined to verge areas – and is covered by four varnished plywood panels that can be easily unscrewed to access deck hardware fixings; the hessian is essentially in these verge areas, and maybe there was only ever a thin foam layer too.
So are these hessian strips vital to a good looking job, or should I just use the self-adhesive foam and throw away the hessian strips?
Alternatively, should I clean and re-glue the hessian strips, alone or over the self-adhesive foam? I suspect the texture of the hessian webbing would show through the covering vinyl layer.
I’d be grateful for any constructive advice!
Thanks
John
