What have people used to replace their headliner in a M25? What kind of glue? Pics would be awesome. Thought about using Berber carpet, but realized it might be to heavy....???
Headliner thoughts
- Thread starter Falconer
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I talked with my brother-in-law about this at one point (he's been in flooring for (like) forever), and he mentioned most carpet is not suited for the headliner task.
That being said, I found a thin indoor/outdoor carpet at Home Depot and Lowe's (runs about 48-52 cents a sq foot), and has ribbing like corduroy. It won't have the thick webbing you see on regular carpet, and is meant to be glued down when installed. It comes in a number of standard colors (if you can find a store that carries them): green, blue, beige, grey, black.
When I asked my B-I-L about this stuff, he said it should work fine. He said it should work just fine with regular carpet/flooring glue. Just make sure there are no "loose" spots or debris when you install, or it will start to sag.
Other than that, I think you're looking more at headliner material for autos to do the job.
You could do this, a bit of work, but it hides wires and jib track bolts nicely. I stuck 1x3 blocks to the overhead with 5200 (may redo them with epoxy this fall, one came loose) and screwed the ply to that after coating both sides with varnish.
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Here's what I did on my last boat, and will probably do on my V22:
Of course, you can install it in panels of whatever size/shape makes sense to you. I've thought of running teak "beams" across the ceiling spaced every 2 feet, and placing panels between the beams. This would make easily-managed panels and look great.
Also, if you don't sail your boat during the winter, it takes about 5 minutes to remove the headliner and you can store it with your cushions.
However, if your were concerned about berber carpet being too heavy, this may not be for you.
- Get a piece of peg board (that cheap stuff that people use in their shops to hang tools.
- Cut it to the size/shape of your ceiling. You can do this in sections.
- Peg board is not much better than cardboard with water resistance, but you can use this to your advantage. Use a thin epoxy mixture (used to seal wood), and coat the whole thing. Remember, anything not soaked into the material is dead weight. Make sure you wet out everything, focusing on the back and the holes. I tested this on a 1' x 1' square which I left to soak in my bathtub for a week - no seepage.
- Now, apply your headliner material of choice to this using a liquid adhesive. Make sure to keep the area around the holes clear of adhesive. The advantage of this approach is that:
- You don't have to glue the material directly to your boat
- You don't get sagging
- The holes in the pegboard allow for some breathing
- Now, affix 1/2" wood slats to the ceiling around the edge of where your headliner will go. I just used a liquid adhesive. These slats only need to be wide enough to take a screw. If you have a good arc in your ceiling, you may want to apply some slats near the center line. You don't want a continuous unbroken perimeter - just enough to hold your headliner in place. This allows the headliner to breath from both sides.
- Run your wiring
- If you want, you can tape a couple of satchels of mothball fragments to the back of the headliner to (supposedly) combat mildew.
- Now, just screw the prepared headliner to the slats (drilling pilot holes of course. Be careful to limit the depth of your pilot holes so you don't drill through your deck. Same with the screw length.
Of course, you can install it in panels of whatever size/shape makes sense to you. I've thought of running teak "beams" across the ceiling spaced every 2 feet, and placing panels between the beams. This would make easily-managed panels and look great.
Also, if you don't sail your boat during the winter, it takes about 5 minutes to remove the headliner and you can store it with your cushions.
However, if your were concerned about berber carpet being too heavy, this may not be for you.
I like the wood paneling Timo42. My headliner is still in good condition. But if I get everything else perfect I may try your idea.
Man, that is some nice work there!
BTW, there's a book out there called This Old Boat that does something similar with wood slats. IIRC, he used Goriilla Glue to install the blocks.
I have been considering changing out my original carpet for the same think that is in my camper shell.
The stuff in my shell has no backing and when it was installed they used contact cement and just started in the middle and worked the material with a 1 inch hard rubber roller.
The material works well around curves, breathes well and has held up in the camper for 15 years in temps from 20 to 130 or more and is still looking good.
Sorta looks like the old mohair fabric.
The stuff in my shell has no backing and when it was installed they used contact cement and just started in the middle and worked the material with a 1 inch hard rubber roller.
The material works well around curves, breathes well and has held up in the camper for 15 years in temps from 20 to 130 or more and is still looking good.
Sorta looks like the old mohair fabric.
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