How to replace/recover cut out interior cabin walls

[MattObjects]

How to replace cut out interior cabin walls?

I recently acquired a Grampian 26 that, after spending 7 years on jack stands, needs a lot of attention, including correction of some questionable prior "repairs."

The cabin interior was built with walls and a ceiling of fiberglass covered in gel coat. The prior owner cut out all of the interior fiberglass and gel coat, from the edge of the ceiling down to where the fiberglassed dinette or galley counter meet the wall. Where the interior fiberglass has been cut out, the backside of the exterior fiberglass is exposed. There is also a rough edge along where the cuts were made, and a gap between the interior and exterior glass layers along the edge of the cut.

The removed fiberglass is not a flat panel, but has two bends. Fiberglass was similarly cut out of the head wall, hang-up stowage across from the head, and the v-berth. The pic attached was taken prior to some repairs we've already made but will give a sense of the issue. The stripes in the cut out area are untreated pine battens that were attached with liquid nails but that I should be able to remove.

I'm hesitant to try redoing the fiberglass both because because the time required to make it look good would prevent it from being done in time to sail this year and because I'm not sure I have the skill to make it look good in any event.

So I'm hoping folks here will have some alternative suggestions as to what I can do.
I have searched through the archives but older posts were about recovering the walls, not replacing walls that had been ripped out.

Thanks very much for your help!

 

[higgs]

assuming we are looking at a 70's vintage boat, the interior was probably made separately and dropped into the hull in one piece before the deck was put on. sometimes these interiors help give rigidity to the hull.

One solution might be to glass in battens against the inside of the hull and then use slatted lumber to construct a new interior. You could also use teak plywood attached to the battens for a new interior.

 

[MattObjects]

It is a 1974 boat. You're correct that the interior of the cabin and the exterior decking appear to be completely separate.

Would you suggest glassing in the untreated pine battens that are there or replacing them with something more marine-grade? If teak plywood is used, how would you suggest handling the edge between the plywood and the cut fiberglass? Or would the plywood overlap the fiberglass interior along the edge?

Thanks!

 

[sailingdog]

My only question is whether the removed interior was a stiffening element in the boat's construction and whether you need to add stringers to replace the stiffness that was lost by removing the liner. Granted, using a pan liner as a stiffening element of the boat is a more modern concept, but it still might be the case on this boat.

 

[Ross]

Re: How to replace cut out interior cabin walls?

Matt, What yard are you in in Northeast?

 

[Ross]

Re: How to replace cut out interior cabin walls?

I can't help but wonder why someone would do that. I would want to put my hands and eyeballs on that job before I offered anything.

 

[MattObjects]

The liner wasn't cut out alll the way around-- the portions behind the bulkheads and around the companionway door are intact, for example. But I agree that it is a concern. I am more concerned that the cut out liner was a stiffener to support weight atop the cabin and more concerned about someone standing on the edge of the cabintop than the weight of the mast since I'm already planning to install a brace beneath the mast to prevent any problems when the rigging is tightened up.

 

[MattObjects]

Re: How to replace cut out interior cabin walls?

Ross,

The boat is at Hances Point Yacht Club for now since the PO was a member there. It remains to be seen whether we will stay there longterm.

This is one of many "repairs" about which the PO was quite proud. Also on the list of questionable decisions are the glassed over thru-hulls, the brand new (at the time) 9hp OB that was allowed to sit for 7 years with a half tank of gas, the planks screwed onto the dinette for an extra berth (visible in the pic), the fiberglass galley countertop cut out and covered with a piece of luan, the hole cut in the fiberglass head sole to accomodate a 5 gallon bucket w/ toilet seat attached instead of a proper head, etc etc.

I'm generally not one to question another man's judgment about his own boat, but the choices the PO made with this one do leave me scratching my head.

 

[MattObjects]

Additional pictures

Here are some more recent pictures of the cut out area from a few different angles.

Guys at the yard where the boat is sitting have suggested covering the walls with:

1. beadboard style paneling as would be used for a porch roof
2. vinyl floor in a neutral color (presumably not a tile pattern)
3. indoor/outdoor carpet
4. sucking it up and re-glassing the whole area

I'd like a solution that will maintain the structural integrity of the original design while not collecting moisture or stench and not taking skills beyond what I can develop inside of 2-3 months. So far, #1 mounted on glassed-on battens seems like the best idea, but I'd love other suggestions.

 

[MattObjects]

replacing the cabin liner

This is an update on an old question about replacing a cut-out cabin liner with a request for more advice. After spending hundreds of hours on non-cosmetic repairs to get my boat safely in the water this spring, I found myself looking for a "quick fix" to the missing cabin liner so I could get on to sailing.

The interior cabin liner was not structural, and my wife wanted something to which she could attach curtain tracks, so I ended up installing painted paneling over battens the prior owner had attached to the inside of the cabin exterior. Trimming the paneling proved impossible due to the curved cabin interior and over the season I've come to regard the the paneling as an eyesore.

With the boat coming out of the water next weekend, I'm preparing for a more permanent (and attractive) repair as part of a project to replace the current "portlights" (Lexan bedded in butyl tape and bolted to the cabin), which are too large for me to be comfortable taking the boat out of protected waters (though they sure beat the rotten wood and metal vents the boat had when I bought her).

I found a set of unused SS opening portlights at a consignment shop and bought them, thinking that glassing over the current portlight holes to cut new holes for them would provide a good opportunity to re-glass the cabin interior.

In reading and preparing for this project, I've been debating whether it would be preferable to build up fiberglass laminates to the thickness of the remaining cabin liner (on the ceiling) or to use a foam core sandwiched between the exterior layer and interior layer. Any suggestions from folks who have undertaken this type of repair would be appreciated.

 

[RichBone]

Hull liner fabric covers bare fiberglass very well and goes on fairly easy.

Rich

 

[MattObjects]

Though I don't think it will add the thickness I need to mount the new portlights properly, and though I'd prefer a smooth surface I can wipe clean, a hull liner may be a nice option if I'm unable to get the the finish on the fiberglass to come out well. It certainly looks sharp in your photos. Thanks.

 

[sailingdog]

If you can, go with a foam core, rather than a solid glass, except at the edges of any cutouts for hatches/ports etc. The foam core will add floatation, insulation and reduce weight.

This is an update on an old question about replacing a cut-out cabin liner with a request for more advice. After spending hundreds of hours on non-cosmetic repairs to get my boat safely in the water this spring, I found myself looking for a "quick fix" to the missing cabin liner so I could get on to sailing.

The interior cabin liner was not structural, and my wife wanted something to which she could attach curtain tracks, so I ended up installing painted paneling over battens the prior owner had attached to the inside of the cabin exterior. Trimming the paneling proved impossible due to the curved cabin interior and over the season I've come to regard the the paneling as an eyesore.

With the boat coming out of the water next weekend, I'm preparing for a more permanent (and attractive) repair as part of a project to replace the current "portlights" (Lexan bedded in butyl tape and bolted to the cabin), which are too large for me to be comfortable taking the boat out of protected waters (though they sure beat the rotten wood and metal vents the boat had when I bought her).

I found a set of unused SS opening portlights at a consignment shop and bought them, thinking that glassing over the current portlight holes to cut new holes for them would provide a good opportunity to re-glass the cabin interior.

In reading and preparing for this project, I've been debating whether it would be preferable to build up fiberglass laminates to the thickness of the remaining cabin liner (on the ceiling) or to use a foam core sandwiched between the exterior layer and interior layer. Any suggestions from folks who have undertaken this type of repair would be appreciated.

 

[MattObjects]

Thanks for the suggestion. Though it should have been obvious, I hadn't considered that a foam core would provide better noise and temperature insulation than solid glass.