Westerly Centaur Coachroof

[Dougie_the_Mate]

We are encountering a familiar problem to Centaur owners - headline sag in the fore peak.

At the moment, the problem can be sorted by fixing a batten to the section concerned. Can anyone advise me as to how thick the coach roof is. A friend has suggested that we use screws which are no more than 3 mm after the thickness of the batten is accounted for. Obviously the last thing I want is to puncture the roof.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

The coachroof thickness is more than 12mm for sure.

When I replaced the headlining on my old Centaur I used plywood sheets covered with non-woven carpeting. These were screwed to wooden strips that were screwed directly to the fibreglass. If you do not wish to screw these strips you can fit them in place with epoxy putty. You can find lots of pictures on the 'westerly owners' Yahoo group, an excellent and free source of advice.

There are still some of the photos that I had uploaded in a file that is called 'Cyano'. This used to be my boat and she was CR1279. There are other albums that show different approaches for solving the 'Westerly Droop'

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Westerly-Owners/photos/albums/1377098678

 

[Dougie_the_Mate]

The coachroof thickness is more than 12mm for sure.

When I replaced the headlining on my old Centaur I used plywood sheets covered with non-woven carpeting. These were screwed to wooden strips that were screwed directly to the fibreglass. If you do not wish to screw these strips you can fit them in place with epoxy putty. You can find lots of pictures on the 'westerly owners' Yahoo group, an excellent and free source of advice.

There are still some of the photos that I had uploaded in a file that is called 'Cyano'. This used to be my boat and she was CR1279. There are other albums that show different approaches for solving the 'Westerly Droop'

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Westerly-Owners/photos/albums/1377098678

I tried to view your photos but could not access them as my WOA membership had expired.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I tried to view your photos but could not access them as my WOA membership had expired.

Wnat membership? There is no membership to "expire". It is just a Yahoo "Westerly Owners Group" and has nothing to do with a Westerly Owners Association.

If the link that I gave does not take you directly to the photos do a search on Yahoo for "Westerly Owners Groups" or on Google for "yahoo westerly owners group". It is very useful if you join because there is a wealth of information about Westerly boats. Whatever the problem, chances are that there will be someone who will answer "Been there. Done this..."

There is no membership fee and it is a public group.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

Hi, I have tried to view this group as well but it keeps saying OOOPS You need to be a member but I am a member of Yahoo and it shows the westerly owners as one of my groups

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Hi, I have tried to view this group as well but it keeps saying OOOPS You need to be a member but I am a member of Yahoo and it shows the westerly owners as one of my groups

I don't know the answer to that one. Perhaps it is a matter of cookies?
Maybe somebody who is more knowledgeable about computers can suggest a solution?

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

In any case...

... this is what the headlining looked like after I replaced it. There is a central panel and two side panels that overlap it. The panels are ordinary 3mm plywood that were covered with non-woven carpeting stuck on with contact adhesive (as used with plastic laminates like Formica). This is turned over the edges to give a neat finish.

The central panel is screwed to two wooden strips that were screwed to the deckhead. Some people just use epoxy putty or else glass them in place. The two side panels have one edge over the central panel, screws going through both panels and into the wooden strip. There is also another wooden strip that runs along the middle of each panel.

These panels are first screwed to the edge of the central panel and then the middle is propped up (using lengths of wood, broomsticks, etc) until they make contact with the wooden strips that are underneath. They are then screwed in place. There is no need to have another strip for the outer edges, although this would not hurt.

The screws used were stainless countersunk 3mm self tappers; the head goes down flush into the carpeting and are virtually invisible unless looked at directly from underneath.

 

[davidpbo]

That is a very neat job.

 

[Norman_E]

................. If you do not wish to screw these strips you can fit them in place with epoxy putty..............

The use of epoxy putty for this purpose is well tried and tested and a far better idea than putting screws into the fibreglass. My Jeanneau has all of its headlinings screwed to plywood strips which are stuck to the fibreglass with epoxy putty.