Headliner material

[Bill O]

How large of panels will you need?
Smaller would be better, but still would worry about pulling unbacked panels down from velcro. (especially in the colder weather)

[sailingunity]

I'm planning to copy our sister ship, which has panels running athwartship, about 20 inches wide x the width of the boat. Their panels are foam backed vinyl over plywood.

[sailingunity]

Here is the sister ship we plan to copy from. Our boat was the first hull and they just slapped up this rubbery material on the ceiling. A prior owner added the battens because it was falling down in places (it still is)

In the later models, they did these plywood panels with foam backed vinyl. They added a bit more trim work where the ceiling meets the cabin sides to cover the transition.

[Bill O]

Your Olympic is similar to our boat and would check the width of laminate you would need to go across the top in one piece. We were able to get Wilsonart in 10' (x4') from a distributor for some of the bigger jobs where we didn't want to piece it, but typically you can only 8'.
The laminate gets a little willy w/really long sections. After seeing the area you want to do, would probably try to break it up (fore/aft batten in the middle) and/or use a backer.

[RedFeather]

Originally Posted by wholybee

Isopropyl Alcohol removes permanent marker from many surfaces quite easily. Other stronger solvents work on tougher surfaces. I've cleaned marker off painted walls with it. (glossy paint) Vinyl is probably also pretty easy to clean, and PVC most definitely permanent marker would practically wipe off with some alcohol.

I would get what you otherwise like, and not worry about kids getting it messy.

And if the alcohol doesn’t work, nail polish remover should, with or without acetone. But if you use one with acetone, spot test first because that stuff is really corrosive.

[Seabeau]

A previous owner (PO)used natural cork panels in varying and multiple thicknesses to accommodate the compound curves found on my ceilings and overheads. After installation, the cork was shellacked. Natural cork, is flexible, fire, mold, and mildew and sound resistant. Manton Cork on the web has all things cork. Incidentally, the workmanship of fit and finish, was exemplary.

[Redline452]

On my first boat (prototype of the Holland 7.6 without any headliner) I used white "Coroplast" corrugated plastic sheets, often used for signs. Very light, easy to cut. Glued velcro strips to the back (silcone rubber is the only thing that sticks to it). On the ceiling I mounted wooden blocks (to which the velcro was both contact-cemented and stapled) arranged around protruding hardware for winches and turning blocks and to "flatten" the uneven curve of the fibreglass. Neat, easy to clean and remove for access. Not fancy, but much better than what was before.

Later had second thoughts about having it above the galley stove (alcohol-fuelled Origo) but it was very seldom used.

[themediadoctor]

I used honeycomb PVC ceiling panels. They're widely used in Central America and in commercial construction in the U.S. here's an article about them from Houzz:



https://www.houzz.in/magazine/what-a...w-vs~113237687


The panels I found are three "boards" wide (~8") and 12' long. They have a wood grain texture. I sprayed them with high-gloss white enamel to give them a more "natural" painted wood appearance (so they don't look like plastic) and used teak battens to break up the space and cover up the places where the panels meet.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by sailingunity

Yeah I know, give me the award for the 1000th post on headliners, but hear me out.

The current headliner in my boat is a rubbery material that is glued directly to the fiberglass, it is original to the boat (circa 1974!). In places it's falling down and has clearly been re-adhered a few times. Where it's not falling down, it's just ugly, so I'm looking to replace it with a more "proper" headliner using sheets of material fastened to battens. The material to use is stumping me a little.

I have 5, soon to be 6 kids, and while we don't live aboard full time anymore, I know that anything and everything has the potential to be colored on with crayon, markers, even permanent markers (how do they find those???). I need something that will be easy to clean. I know I do not want beaded board, or that speckled FRP panel people use in bathrooms (who wants to feel like they're in a bathroom all the time?). Interesting options I've found seem to be from the signage industry.

Expanded PVC foam: This can sometimes be found at home depot in 1/2" variants, but I would need something 1/4" or less. It seemed perfect: rot-proof, easy to shape and lightweight. The problem is a I had a friend who finished their headliner in this do an "ink" test for me, and found it very hard to clean off. This makes sense considering the sign industry loves this material for it's ability to take ink. $80-120 per sheet (1/8 or 1/4 thickness)

ACM sheets: Also for the sign industry, this is an aluminum sandwich as thin as 3mm. In the pictures I've seen of it, it looks pretty glossy, which would imply easy to clean but I certainly don't want a mirror image of the salon when I look up. Also, what happens when someone dents it? ($80 per sheet)

1/4" teak plywood: This is probably the most expensive option, as this probably runs 80 per sheet plus the covering. I don't trust myself to make the finish perfect, so you would need to add another 70 per sheet to affix formica to it. Fortunately, formica cleans very easily. ($150 per sheet)

1/4" BCX plywood: Obviously the rot resistance of teak is better, but at least with exterior glue it won't ruin it the same day a leak shows up. I would still need to cover with something (100 per sheet for the ply + formica)

Formica panels: I'm not too keen on the amount of weight 1/4" plywood would add to the boat. If there were a 1/8 or 5mm plywood option I'd probably pick it, but there is nothing exterior grade that I can find. Why can't I just velcro up some formica? But I'm not sure, it might just be a little *too* flimsy with no backing. Maybe just throw a single layer of lightweight fiberglass on the back? Cost is $70 per sheet.

I'm probably way overthinking, as usual, suffice to say that I'm sufficiently paralyzed by options! I've come to peace with the fact that I might just end up spending some money on a panel simply to see how it will work out.

I have an 81 Dickerson Ketch. Changing the headliner to this. So far coming out great. Got the neutral and will do a light stain to cover. So far and easy project. https://www.etsy.com/listing/8356557...yABEgIjrvD_BwE

[aj676]

I too have been trying to figure out a headliner solution for about 2 years. I'm finally just jumping in. Definitely thinking outside the box. I wanted to keep it lightweight, breathable, anti-mold/microbial and also still keep easy access. The solution I've come up with is Phifertex panels attached with snaps. It's definitely unconventional and may fail but I'm giving it a try. So far I have several panels completed in the starboard hull and it seems to be working. My only concern is that when the heat cranks up come this summer the material may stretch and sag. I was told this should not happen but that doesn't mean it won't. Yet to be determined. I only have this one photo unfortunately of the first piece I put up (the subsequent pieces are getting better each one). There is an open access space into the saloon behind that you can see light through on that photo but that will be covered up. I can take additional photos if you're interested. We have polystyrene insulation and electrical, etc behind and I was happy that it was not visible through the fabric. It does take 2 of us to pull as tight as we can and fit the pieces but I'm able to measure and do all the sewing and get the pieces to the boat for help. It's a little tedious but I think all headliners are, right? I'm just throwing this out for fodder...if you're interested in more details let me know.