Westerly headlining replacement in the clyde/NI ? Or better options?

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steve yates

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My new longbow has bad droop, the main cabin I will batten, a la sea rush, but the forecabin looks too far gone for that.

Anyone ever had that replaced in the clyde or in northern Ireland area? did they do a good job? how expensive was it? Looking for somewhere within striking distance of Maryport in Cumbria.

Alternatively, any other clever mods/alternatives to just replacing vinyl with vinyl? Could I line it in old camping mat and put ply panels over it?
Not too keen on carpet in case it gets wet/damp and starts to smell eventually, tho I guess it could make it feel cosy?

Steve
 
You can buy a ready made kit from Hawke House. Problem with the forecabin is that it is not an easy shape and the lining is in several parts. Professional replacement will cost a significant proportion of what you paid for the boat. There is a lot of labour in stripping the old and fitting the new, but with patience you can DIY for little more than the cost of the kit.
 
steve yates said:
My new longbow has bad droop, the main cabin I will batten, a la sea rush, but the forecabin looks too far gone for that.

Anyone ever had that replaced in the clyde or in northern Ireland area? did they do a good job? how expensive was it? Looking for somewhere within striking distance of Maryport in Cumbria.

Alternatively, any other clever mods/alternatives to just replacing vinyl with vinyl? Could I line it in old camping mat and put ply panels over it?
Not too keen on carpet in case it gets wet/damp and starts to smell eventually, tho I guess it could make it feel cosy?

Steve
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The main cabin is easy to fix properly assuming the lining is on boards. A water resistant PVA wood glue is easy, safe and effective


Polypropylene pile carpet may be an option for the fo'c's'l but ITYWF it will need a solvent based contact adhesive
 
The worst part of this job is getting the stuff out, cleaning up and killing mildew. No skill involved in those stages, can you find an impoverished student, small stature would be best, buy him (or her) a disposable boiler suit, some eye protection and a decent moulded face mask with replaceable filters, send him in there with the promise of £100 when he comes out. After all we used to send them up chimneys!
 
Tranona said:
You can buy a ready made kit from Hawke House. Problem with the forecabin is that it is not an easy shape and the lining is in several parts. Professional replacement will cost a significant proportion of what you paid for the boat. There is a lot of labour in stripping the old and fitting the new, but with patience you can DIY for little more than the cost of the kit.
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I have done a Westerly forecabin with a Hawke House kit. It's a horrible, horrible job. In my case the kit came in three parts: one stitched one for the deckhead and a roll of material for inside the hull. The latter is easy to fit, but the deckhead stuff is a nightmare: I found that I had to lie on my back and lift the vinyl up to the glue-covered GRP with all four limbs simultaneously. I have heard good things about the stretchy carpet used for lining vans and cars, and if I was doing it again I'd investigate that. I'd also look at doing it in smaller sections and putting up with the joins.

Fitting, however, is nothing compared to removing the old stuff. The most effective tool I found was an angle grinder with wire brush, carefully applied, which does the job but produces dust which gets everywhere. I've since discovered "caramel wheels", used for removing glue residue in the motor trade. They work well, but may get too hot (the warm rubber has a sweet smell, hence the name) for use on GRP.

Don't worry too much, though, Steve. At the worst you have a tedious day or two of preparation and a complicated day of fitting. I'd be more than happy to come down to Maryport and lend a hand, as well as some of the swear words I developed for the job.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I have done a Westerly forecabin with a Hawke House kit. It's a horrible, horrible job. In my case the kit came in three parts: one stitched one for the deckhead and a roll of material for inside the hull. The latter is easy to fit, but the deckhead stuff is a nightmare: I found that I had to lie on my back and lift the vinyl up to the glue-covered GRP with all four limbs simultaneously.
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That is why I suggested professional fitting is likely to be expensive. Amazing how little thought they put in originally to the design and the costs involved in making crude GRP mouldings look decent - and then only for a few years.
 
Tranona said:
That is why I suggested professional fitting is likely to be expensive. Amazing how little thought they put in originally to the design and the costs involved in making crude GRP mouldings look decent - and then only for a few years.
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It can't have been that expensive originally, I suppose, since it was economical for the factory to do. They certainly don't seem to have worried about the maintenance issue, though. As far as I can see, the headlinings on these boats last exactly twenty five years. Twenty four years, three hundred and sixty four days: fine. Clock flips over at midnight: whoomph, you're in a bedouin tent.
 
JumbleDuck said:
It can't have been that expensive originally, I suppose, since it was economical for the factory to do.
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Not sure that is necessarily true - one of Westerly's failings was its inability to control costs. However, would guess that they glued the complicated lining in with the deck moulding upside down which would be easier.

I often think how relatively cheap it would be to build one of their early simple boats like the Centaur if they were engineered for a modern production facility.
 
Tranona said:
Not sure that is necessarily true - one of Westerly's failings was its inability to control costs. However, would guess that they glued the complicated lining in with the deck moulding upside down which would be easier.
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Yes, I think that's definitely possible. It would have needed a bit of finagling round the edges, as the join in the headlining is under the wooden trim inside which covers the rubbing strake bolts, but it would certainly have made things a lot easier. A bit like Triumph Herald doors which, I am pretty sure, had the window and lock gubbins fitted before the skins.

I often think how relatively cheap it would be to build one of their early simple boats like the Centaur if they were engineered for a modern production facility.
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Yes indeed. The very early ones (W22 and so on) had more complicated interiors, but a Jouster/Tiger/ Centaur/Longbow ought to respond very well to Bavaria-style methods. I'm not holding my breath, though ...
 
I am sure that the headlinings did not go in when the deck moulding was upside down as, having had some of mine replaced over the last couple of years, it's obvious the furniture went in after the headlining. As mentioned, the worst part of replacing a lining is removing the old one, which will have turned to powder, and the adhesive, neither of which would have been an issue with a new boat.
 
I used a couple of Screwfix plasterboard support rods (£15 each) with some padding taped to the ends to wedge the Hawke stitched headlining kit to the roof of the front cabin while getting the alignment right. Once it was perfectly aligned I started gluing it up and could remove the props.
 
If you decide on a professional job I can recommend Roger Nantais who did an excellent job on my Westerly Berwick. Based in the South but travels all over the place. I seem to remember that the filters don't like web page links but if you google boatsandwatersportswebsite it'll come up!
 
I am just completing the replacement of the headlining in my Westerly Tiger. The material I have used was purchased from The Range at £5.90 per linear metre but actually 55" wide, and in cream vinyl, without foam backing.
I guessed at 8 metres,o do both the deckhead and topside window panels, using exterior 3.6mm ply, and originally envisaged being able to do it in just two full length panels 6ft long, but at least 37-38" wide at the widest on each panel; but due to the restraints of the hatchway dimensions I would not be able to pass these through into the cabin, so I ended up with 6 panels of cross width dimensions, and 30" approximate width to pass through the hatch. I still needed another person to assist when gluing the window panels that were also about the 6 foot length, using the spray adhesive - with little margin for adjusting when offered to the topsides.
I made the mistake of using the dimensions of the original material when marking up the plywood panels, but fortunately had allowed 1/2"greater all around each panel of plywood, just in case! In the event I needed the extra width when offered up - before covering with the fabric.
I used 4 cans of spray adhesive @ £5.95 each. The plywood came from Goodwillies at Waterlooville and was £37 including delivery. Plywood pads glued to the deckhead supports each panel, with screws and plastic caps.
I've still got the forward cabin to do; this is a lot more complicated and I guess will take twice as long since panelling here is not possible. Patterns from the original vinyl will probably be the way to go, but we'll see.

Two 8 hour days with just minor finishing to do, and a more presentable cabin interior.

ianat182
 
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