Westerly Droop

S

santavey

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 Aug 2007
Messages
72
Location
West Yorks
Visit site
Got the dreaded Westerly droop under the deckhead on my Fulmar.
Intend to make up boards and screw into place.
Worried about the thickness of the fibreglass and how deep I can screw into it.
Anyone Know what length screw I can use or what the thickness of the deck is.
I think its solid fibreglass with no balsa core but might be wrong.
Have heard that velcro can be used to secure the boards but not sure of the effectiveness.
Thanks

Santavey
 
Boards is the way to go. You may find that the original headlining can be salvaged and can look OK when stretched and stapled on the board. This is a particularly useful route if you are dealing with a bit of complex cut out. Hawke House , who supply the lining and adhesive, also have an excellent guide to getting neat corners etc. The experts I have seen doing this job do not seem to like using adhesive and prefer to stretch the material over the board and staple on the reverse. The adhesive is messy, smells bad and can make you a bit woozy if the ventilation is not right and there is always the risk of getting the stuff on places where you don't want it. I have found the best way to secure the boards is to epoxy thin wood strip pads direct to the coachroof at the appropriate points so that you can screw the fixings in. You can hold them in place with Gaffer tape while the epoxy sets. I know some folk have made the Velcro method work, but you do need quite a lot of the industrial strength stuff to get anything like a guaranteed fix.

Screwing directly into the GRP is one option, but you have to be extremely careful not to screw right through and open up a potential leak.

The Westerly Owners Association has a mountain of experience on this subject.
 
The cabin top on the Fulmar is a balsa sandwich of about 20mm thickness maybe a bit more.You can screw directly to it but I think a better solution is to glue wooden battens to the deckhead and then screw the panels to that.
 
30boat said:
The cabin top on the Fulmar is a balsa sandwich of about 20mm thickness maybe a bit more.You can screw directly to it but I think a better solution is to glue wooden battens to the deckhead and then screw the panels to that.
Click to expand...

There was a good article with photos in a back issue of PBO within the last 12 months. The author was doing the full headlining throughout his Westerly. Could be worth doing a search and getting a copy!
 
Boards are the way to go, but gluing-up would be the preference. Screwing into the underside of the coach roof is ok, as it is balsa sandwich, but do not screw into the under-deck as it is none too thick and going right through is a very real problem.

Lots of good adhesive fillers are available cheaply, which would do the job satisfactorily - just spend some time thinking about your method for holding the boards in place whilst the adhesive goes off. Not difficult.

One consideration if gluing-up, there are a number of fastenings through the deck head which may call for battens or, strategically placed holes in the boards holding the headlining.
 
Tmacd said:
There was a good article with photos in a back issue of PBO within the last 12 months.
Click to expand...

Apologies for the evidence of advancing senility! It wasn't PBO at all, it was Sailing Today! July 2011 issue, the only one I ever purchased, hence the incorrect assumption. Flicking through a stack of PBO, wondering if I'd really dreamt it, can be be quite a wake-up call!

It was a Konsort, and took the author 5 days!
 
maxi said:
Boards are the way to go, but gluing-up would be the preference. Screwing into the underside of the coach roof is ok, as it is balsa sandwich, but do not screw into the under-deck as it is none too thick and going right through is a very real problem.

Lots of good adhesive fillers are available cheaply, which would do the job satisfactorily - just spend some time thinking about your method for holding the boards in place whilst the adhesive goes off. Not difficult.

One consideration if gluing-up, there are a number of fastenings through the deck head which may call for battens or, strategically placed holes in the boards holding the headlining.
Click to expand...

Great solution if you never intend to take down the headlining ever again. However.... the boards on my Westerly Storm have been up and down like a fiddler's elbow during a series of upgrades to the electronics and other wiring that required access to the wiring harness running under the coachroof. .
 
I have an Ocean 33 and Westerly used velcro to secure the panels to the deckhead. However, it's not the fabric stuff you get in drapers shops and most chandlerys, its heavy duty plastic and about an inch wide and is made, I believe by 3M. Alladin's Cave used to stock it but I have recently had to buy it on line; it's also not cheap!
 
You can't really just staple the liner to the back edges of a board or it'll droop! The boards can, of course, be covered in the garden (if it ever stops raining) so as to get sufficient ventilation wilst applying the glue - but most people do staple to the back around the edges. Stainless staples or they'll rust out in a few seasons.

Sadly I'm not familiar with the Fulmar (nice boats), but if the board will be fitting a curve and goes full width it won't need too much to hold it in place so Velcro along the edges may be sufficient. Having said that, my own boards are screwed into battens glued to the coachroof with plastic caps on the screwheads. Any of the popular "No Nails" type of adhesive will do the job of fastening the battens and will grab quite quickly.

Rob.
 
I re trimmed the head lining of my Mirage about 13 years ago, used boards screwed to battens and the overall effect was a great improvement on the original, the hardest job was making the panels. however I now own a Jeanneau and I wish I had seen how jeanneau do head lining before I did my mirage. If you have a chance have a look at a jeanneau circa 2000 - 2005 and see how they do it, they use interlocking panels that would be easy to make at home. its strong easy to remove and refit, no screws showing, but many are used, and just a little bit of 3M velcro.

handy hint: use an extending boathook as an acro to hold battens up while the glue sets. (its the one thing extending boat hooks are good at)
 
Has anyone here used Foamalux pvc board for headlinings ? It seemed to me it would be easier and less prone to going mouldy if it got wet than vinyl covered ply. I'm thinking of giving it a go when I do mine later this year.

Boo2
 
Last edited:
When I had a Centaur I simply screwed wooden strips to the deckhead and then screwed the panels to them, using stainless self-tappers throughout. Some people epoxy the strips but there is no danger from screws; you only need to penetrate some 8mm because the weight that needs to be supported is not that great.

The boards were 3mm ply and I covered these with non-woven carpet, which looks like thick and stiff felt and is commonly used for lining small speed boats. Dirt cheap as well. It is similar (but thinner) to the carpeting that is or was put down as tiles in high traffic areas. I glued the carpeting to the boards using impact adhesive, the type that is used when laying plastic laminate (Formica).

It is really a question of taste. I was rather pleased with the result:

1780872000.jpg


There is a yahoo group for westerly owners where you can find loads more information.
 
Hi John

I have the GK 29 in South Harbour. My headlining was done before I got the boat. It has been done onto boards and screwed into place like you describe. The side decks have a couple of 1/2" battens glassed to the undersideof the deck. Could you glass some in place?
Come and have a look if it helps.

David
(Get Kraken)
 
Thanks David
If your around next time I’m up I’ll take a look.
It seems the consensus is to go with boards.
The problem with the Fulmar is the genoa tracks. The bolts securing the tracks are covered by the vinyl and the sponge back evens out any lumps & bumps.
Putting boards up would mean they stand slightly proud of the surface.
The boards would extend to where the deck begins to curve up to windows.
Its how to finish the edge off so you don’t have a gap between the board and the existing vinyl that’s perplexing me.
 
santavey said:
Thanks David
If your around next time I’m up I’ll take a look.
It seems the consensus is to go with boards.
The problem with the Fulmar is the genoa tracks. The bolts securing the tracks are covered by the vinyl and the sponge back evens out any lumps & bumps.
Putting boards up would mean they stand slightly proud of the surface.
The boards would extend to where the deck begins to curve up to windows.
Its how to finish the edge off so you don’t have a gap between the board and the existing vinyl that’s perplexing me.
Click to expand...

Take a look at the Fulmar in the archive on Yachtsnet. They have used boards everywhere and seem to have taken the 'don't try to hide the edges' approach. I think it still looks good. I will be tackling the headlining in ours at some point (varnishing first though) and plan to use foam backed vinyl attached to boards - in the same way. Cut outs will be made for through deck fixings, and hopefully using foam backed again will smooth things out in the same way as they are now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top