Replacing headliner - could I use planking on the ceiling instead of fabric?

[Toffe]

The headliner inside my boat was falling out when I bought it, the foam backing had disintegrated with age. I have removed it and sanded down the glue and fiberglass behind it to a fairly smooth finish. Now how shall I replace it? Being in a small country with odd neighbours, a lot of materials are hard to find.

I have found 4.5cm ( <2" ) width wood strip planking for sale, dense, fine-grained, looks a bit like mahogany but isn't, with beveled (rounded) edges. I think I could get a nice effect planking the ceiling, as well as the wall sections currently covered in fabric. Are there good reasons not to do so? I know it would make the cabin darker, but I'm a sucker for all-wood interiors, and it doesn't seem like a big job. What are your experiences planking ceilings?

The alternative would be to get some plywood, cut it to shape, and cover it in leatherette fabric before gluing it to the ceiling. It would be no cheaper, and seems like it would be far more work.

Note that with the weather here, I'm not intending to insulate the boat. Also I can't find marine-grade plywood here, so both cases above involve properly sealing the wood.

[Madehn]

i am thinking of doing the same type of thing only i have a white plastic board available here-- i was thinking to glue some cross rafters in place with 5200 ( thought it might flex a bit more than epoxy and then screw into those pieces.

[roverhi]

Did our overhead in 3/8" custom milled T&G mahogany. Used bronze ring neck nails directly into the deck to fasten. Came out really nice but undoubtedly extra weight to doing it in fabric.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Toffe

The headliner inside my boat was falling out when I bought it, the foam backing had disintegrated with age. I have removed it and sanded down the glue and fiberglass behind it to a fairly smooth finish. Now how shall I replace it? Being in a small country with odd neighbours, a lot of materials are hard to find.

I have found 4.5cm ( <2" ) width wood strip planking for sale, dense, fine-grained, looks a bit like mahogany but isn't, with beveled (rounded) edges. I think I could get a nice effect planking the ceiling, as well as the wall sections currently covered in fabric. Are there good reasons not to do so? I know it would make the cabin darker, but I'm a sucker for all-wood interiors, and it doesn't seem like a big job. What are your experiences planking ceilings?

The alternative would be to get some plywood, cut it to shape, and cover it in leatherette fabric before gluing it to the ceiling. It would be no cheaper, and seems like it would be far more work.

Note that with the weather here, I'm not intending to insulate the boat. Also I can't find marine-grade plywood here, so both cases above involve properly sealing the wood.

Hi, my only query would be the weight. If you choose to go down that path liming the timber gives the timber look without making it cave like.

[Snore]

You could use planking. But I feel it is more work. My Tartan had 24” by 1/8” pressed panels that went from side to side. Each was covered with vinyl fabric. The seams between the panels is covered by a batten.

It was easy to cut new panels and cover them with fabric. Even if you don’t have battens, there are fewer joints with panels.

[roland stockham]

In a hot country you will also get some insulation from the wool which may keep the cabin cooler. I would go with fixing battens to the cabin top then screwing or nailing the board to the batons rather than fixing directly to the overhead.

[CHRIS V CLEMENT]

In South Louisiana, we typically use 1/4" white corrugated plastic sheet with 1" or 2" wide teak battens, 1/4" thick to hold the plastic in place. Before installing the plastic, lay out where the battens will occur and attach unfinished battens to the fiberglass with 5200, or silicone sealant. Once the sealant is cured, cut the plastic to fit with heavy shears. Plastic sheets are held in place with the varnished teak battens with short #8 or #10 oval head stainless steel screws and stainless steel finishing washers.

The good news is that the panel are easy to fit, easy to replace, if damaged, and easy to remove to look for any hardware leaks that get buried.

[fred4936]

We had similar issue on our Tartan 27-2. I glued white Formica to luan, cut to the shape of the old panels, then held in place with battens screwed in. The battens have been varnished, giving a nice look.

[skipper53]

Recently saw a re-fit video where white plastic bead board was used for a headliner. Nice, clean bright look with wood texture. They glued in some plywood battens for nailers, put insulation between the battens, and turned it into a a nice finish. I believe the bead board can be painted if white isn't your preference.

[Ramona]

I had plywood covered with cork as a headliner screwed down to battens. I had to remove it to get to the wiring when pulling the mast recently. Just finished installing pine paneling. Planks were 12mm thick, 140mm wide tongue and groove. Sealed with clear floor finish. Looks excellent and I reckon weighs the same as the ply that came out. Use the old ply to cut the outer two planks to shape and planked from the sides to the centre. Would have used cedar but could not justify the cost!

[skipper53]

Post some pictures?

[chowdan]

I used western red cedar for my headliner. 1.5" wide strips that are 3/8" thick. They are fastened to plywood that is epoxied in place.

It's not fully complete, some boards need to be replaced due to placement of hole drilled. I just figured out exactly how I am going to do the lighting. I am also in the process of oiling the wood with Watco Danish oil (natural color) to retain the light wood color.

Here's some photos

[chowdan]

On a side note, I would highly recommend going with the plastic material as apposed to the method I chose. It's a pain to deal with in the event I have to pull all the battens down. It looks nice, but if I were to do it again, I'd do the plastic material.

[finefurn]

I'm in the process of doing exactly the same thing. I'm making up beaded board panels out of 2" x 24" x 1/4" Butternut. The Butternut boards are contact cemented onto TYVEK to make a flexible panel. The panels are held in place with 2 piece Redwood battens that are screwed to the cabin ceiling. The trim around the deck hatch and companionway cover are also Redwood. I chose Redwood and Butternut because of the light weight and color contrast. The panels will be removable for access to wiring and backing plates. I've tried this out on test pieces and I think it will work out fine.

[duefocena]

Originally Posted by Toffe

The headliner inside my boat was falling out when I bought it, the foam backing had disintegrated with age. I have removed it and sanded down the glue and fiberglass behind it to a fairly smooth finish. Now how shall I replace it? Being in a small country with odd neighbours, a lot of materials are hard to find.

I have found 4.5cm ( <2" ) width wood strip planking for sale, dense, fine-grained, looks a bit like mahogany but isn't, with beveled (rounded) edges. I think I could get a nice effect planking the ceiling, as well as the wall sections currently covered in fabric. Are there good reasons not to do so? I know it would make the cabin darker, but I'm a sucker for all-wood interiors, and it doesn't seem like a big job. What are your experiences planking ceilings?

The alternative would be to get some plywood, cut it to shape, and cover it in leatherette fabric before gluing it to the ceiling. It would be no cheaper, and seems like it would be far more work.

Note that with the weather here, I'm not intending to insulate the boat. Also I can't find marine-grade plywood here, so both cases above involve properly sealing the wood.

A common practice , similar to others here is to cut panels from thin ply or veneer. Cover with vinyl in a color of your choice stapling on the back side or glueing on backside. Glue ( epoxy) battens to overhead and cover exposed side with heavy Velcro. Put opposing Velcro on panels and push in place. The advantages of removing the panels easily to run wires, add deck hardware are important. My catamaran has the stateroom overheads done this way and they have never detached.