Mainship 400 V-berth vinyl replacement, paint hull sides?

[Dougcole]

Hi All,

I am in the process of replacing all of the peeling, deteriorated vinyl in the forward cabin of our Mainship 400. It's a big, challenging job, but I am following the lead of a couple of other TFers who went before me (shout out to New Trawler Owner).

The worst section of the old vinyl from a condition standpoint, and also from a reinstall aspect, is the areas that covered the hull sides next to the bed. This was vinyl over open cell foam. I was not glued to the hull. Mainship installed the vinyl first, then put the cabinetry over the top of it. Apparently on some Mainships they screwed the cabinets on, but on my boat they are screwed AND glued. There is no way to remove them without doing major damage.

I have all of the old vinyl, including the headliner out now but I won't be back down to the boat until week after next to start the install.

I am now considering painting the hull sides instead of applying foam and vinyl there. So it would be vinyl everywhere from the vertical bottom sides of the soffits up, and white painted glass below that. Here is my reasoning, and I wonder what your thoughts are.

1. I suddenly am somewhat short on time and brain power. This week my port fuel tank started leaking again (I had it repaired in 2018, but now it is toast), which means I have another very large, very expensive project that has jumped up to the top of the priority list. We plan to leave for our two month Bahamas trip in late May, so I am getting nervous about getting everything done.

2. Over the years I grew to HATE the old peeling vinyl on the hull sides and when I pulled it down it was even nastier than I thought. I question its durability in a high traffic spot like the hull sides. Bare glass would be much easier to clean and have an infinite lifespan.

3. Since my cabinets will not come out, it limits my attachment options for the vinyl. I am concerned about how the hull side covering part of the install will go. I think I can do it, but by the time I do staple strips quarter rounds etc, it may not look as good as I hoped. The painting option will leave some gaps that will need to be covered with trim, but I am a MUCH better finish carpenter than a vinyl installer. I could easily mill some nice wood trim to cover the gaps.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Here are pics.

 

[Tonic1]

I don't think paint will be very effective on the hull sides, that woven fiberglass cloth with show thru the paint. The are some foam backed hull/headliner materials that can be glued directly to the hull sides with a spray adhesive. Alternatively, you might be able to make a pattern and cut a piece of Formica and fasten and adhere it in place. Add a little trim and it would look very nice.

Good luck

 

[garmstro55]

Big project Doug, I don’t envy you. My vinyl seems to be in pretty good shape so I hope I don’t ever need to do this. One thought I had was to use thin strips of wood or maybe even some sort of composite material that can easily flex and mold to the curve of the hull. Constructing adhesive might work to fasten it. It’s a lot easier to measure and cut one strip at a time than sheet goods. If you have access to router you could put a bead on the edges and the end result would resemble bead board. Biggest problem would be holding the strips down until the glue sets. Maybe contact cement would work. Let us know what you decide.

 

[Comodave]

I would not like the look of painted fiberglass. I would do one of several things off hand.

First idea would be some foam backed upholstery. Redrum used to make some that was a woven fabric that looked great. I used it for headliner. Used contact cement to install, easy to do.

Second would be Boat Blanket from Sailrite. But not as nice as the first option. It is self heming so you cut it and the edge doesn’t ravel. It can attach by glueing the hook side of the Velcro to the hull side and then sticking the Boat Blanket to the velcro.

Off the the top of my head I would choose either of these over paint. Paint will devalue your boat.

 

[Dougcole]

I would not like the look of painted fiberglass. I would do one of several things off hand.

First idea would be some foam backed upholstery. Redrum used to make some that was a woven fabric that looked great. I used it for headliner. Used contact cement to install, easy to do.

Second would be Boat Blanket from Sailrite. But not as nice as the first option. It is self heming so you cut it and the edge doesn’t ravel. It can attach by glueing the hook side of the Velcro to the hull side and then sticking the Boat Blanket to the velcro.

Off the the top of my head I would choose either of these over paint. Paint will devalue your boat.

Foam backed upholstery is what was there before, it's what I took off and is certainly an option. I think it would look good for a while, but its durability was poor, at best. There are no leaks in our cabin and we keep it clean and dry with dehumidifiers running all the time when we are away from the boat. The vinyl outermost layer was peeling and the backing was rotten. I tore it off with my hands in most places. The foam behind it was really moldy.

Pretty gross really.

I will check out the boat blanket.

Also looking into this, it is 34 mm thick (1.3") so it should provide as much sound and temp insulation as the cheap 1" open cell foam that was there before and it is waterproof, so easier clean up? Downside is it would need to be glued to the hull.

Marideck Marine Flooring (Solid PVC)

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www.marinevinylfabric.com

Doug

 

[Jeff F]

I've always liked horizontal slats. Not attached to the hull, but to vertical strapping to allow an air gap between the hull and slats. But maybe not easy to do with the compound curves.

If you do cold weather boating condensation can be an issue on bare FG. I think it should be covered rather than finish painted.

 

[Comodave]

I have not used the Redrum fabric since about 12 boats ago and I couldn't find it anymore but Sailrite now has something called hullblanket that looks promising.

 

[sailorskip]

Here is an old post. I replaced with carpet.

Peeling vinyl fabric wall covering.

The vinyl fabric on the stateroom walls of my 40 Mainship Trawler is peeling and cracking. Looks like a big project to replace it. Has anyone had success painting this type of material. Also, anyone used a filler or caulking to patch the peeled area?

www.trawlerforum.com

 

[PhilPB]

I used Seagrass teak-look pontoon boat flooring on the hull sides in the v-berth and it came out nice. I initially used topside paint on the glass and as everyone had already said, doesn't looks good at all. That's why I decided on Seagrass.

 

[Dougcole]

Thanks for all the suggestions, but I decided to go with the original vinyl over foam. There are a few edges where I will have to staple it to the edge of the hanging lockers as they are glued/tabbed in and can't be removed without doing major damage, but I can cover the staple strip with a pvc quarter round. Won't be perfect, but should look pretty good. It will certainly be a giant improvement over the peeling, rotting vinyl that was in there before.

I don't want to go with any sort of soft, carpet like covering. We pulled all of the carpet out of our boat and home, it holds dirt, mold and dog hair and my wife has allergies.

I will post pics when I get it finished. Pretty much all Mainship 400 owners have this job to look forward to.

 

[Carriem1102]

I agree with Jeff F and am glad that you went with similar to what was there originally. Condensation is a big issue and especially with your mattress just about touching that wall. It would become a mouldy saturated mess of a bed soaking up the moisture. On our previous sailboat we had slats stapled and then glued to the hull to provide airspace between the hull and the liner to prevent the vee berth mattress from moisture and never had any issues. This was not the case for many who did not have that setup..

 

[Dougcole]

I decided not to paint and now I'm six long days into a full vinyl replacement in the forward cabin, with probably three more full days of work to go. This project is not for the faint of heart. There is a big learning curve to working with the track systems, the compound curves, the foam and the vinyl (or at least there was for me). Also, since you are working overhead for much of the time, it's pretty tiring.

I've been taking pics as I go along, and I've made plenty of mistakes. I'll post when I get it finished.

 

[Dougcole]

Here are some pics of the project. Please be gentle with me, it is far from perfect.

I am going to have to pull down two, or maybe three panels and redo them as I accidentally cut them with the install tool on my first try. After a bunch of failures, I spoke with my canvas guy and he gave me some tips, I've gotten pretty good at it now.

1. Cut some small wood wedges and tap one into the track about four inches ahead of the spot you are working on, it loosens up the track just a little bit.

2. Use a silicon release spray (he gave me a can of it made by a company called Spray Way) as a lubricant. Spray the tool as you install as it keeps the vinyl from sticking to the knife as you remove it. I also sprayed the track as needed. I started with a soapy water solution, but the Spray Way worked better.

3. On the headline panels it is of utmost importance that you line them up correctly. Fold the fabric in half, mark the center and then mark the center of the run on the boat as a reference point. Start on the straightest side and put in about 4 inches, then go to the other side and put in about six inches. If they don't line up perfectly parallel with no wrinkles try sliding one side or the other a little fore or aft. If that doesn't work pull one side down and start over. I had to start over three times on the center panel.

4. Put in about 12" on one side then alternate to the other side. KEEP THEM STRAIGHT.

5. The foam clings to the vinyl and makes the hull sides a real challenge. I have a few wrinkles there, but I am just going to live with them.

6. If you don't already have one, buy an electric staple gun with as small of a head as possible. Pneumatic would be even better. I went through close to 1,000 staples, many of which I had to pull out and redo.

7. I will have to make a pattern for the "Fascia" piece that wraps around from one side of the boat to the other. I'm not sure how to do that, so please let me know if you have suggestions.

I called two canvas companies about doing this job. Both told me they no longer do headliners as they are too much work. My normal canvas guy looked at it and quoted me $300 an hour. He estimated it would be two to three full weeks of work, including the headliner in the main salon. A $20,000 job.

 

[Heap]

Doug - Please don't let my wife see these pictures! Otherwise this will be my project all summer.

Having the same issue. Thought it would be pretty easy to replace the vinyl until I had to replace the port portlight and found out they put on the foam backed vinyl then installed the portlight, and glued it onto the vinyl.

Numerous questions:
1. Where did you get the replacement foam backed vinyl and what is it called?
2. Was the original glued right to the hull/bulkheads?
3. If so, what did you use to remove the glue?
4. How much foam backed vinyl did you need to complete the job?

Not sure when I'll get to this. Removing/repairing my sliding helm station hatch is taking priority.

 

[SIBERNUT]

Couple comments - you're looking good, but a heat gun on those wrinkles would do wonders as you install. I assume you are using upholstery vinyl, it is much stretchier than top fabric. Make your work area as hot as you can stand for stretch. Suggest you practice heat /stretch on scraps 1st. Best i can describe is when the fabric you are working looks a little oily , STOP.
Get pattern paper from your canvas guy.
Good luck !

 

[Dougcole]

Doug - Please don't let my wife see these pictures! Otherwise this will be my project all summer.

Having the same issue. Thought it would be pretty easy to replace the vinyl until I had to replace the port portlight and found out they put on the foam backed vinyl then installed the portlight, and glued it onto the vinyl.

Numerous questions:
1. Where did you get the replacement foam backed vinyl and what is it called?
2. Was the original glued right to the hull/bulkheads?
3. If so, what did you use to remove the glue?
4. How much foam backed vinyl did you need to complete the job?

Not sure when I'll get to this. Removing/repairing my sliding helm station hatch is taking priority.

Sorry for the delayed reply, I am in the middle of a fuel tank replacement and this put the vinyl project on hold.

1. I am using Flexa Vinyl in white, it is not foam backed. I used a separate layer of 1" foam, I bought the foam on Amazon, it is antimicrobial. I got the vinyl from marinevinylfabric.com. Interestingly, my canvas guy said I should have used a lighter weight vinyl, but the flexa works.
2. No, the foam is not glued to the hull, thank God.
4. If you don't mess any up you could get by with 15 yards if you measured/template correctly and carefully. That includes headliner, soffit wraps, facia, hull sides, everything. I messed up three pieces, so far, so I am going to end up using about 23 yards but I am pretty sure I will be able to use part of one piece for the main salon or head.

 

[Dougcole]

Couple comments - you're looking good, but a heat gun on those wrinkles would do wonders as you install. I assume you are using upholstery vinyl, it is much stretchier than top fabric. Make your work area as hot as you can stand for stretch. Suggest you practice heat /stretch on scraps 1st. Best i can describe is when the fabric you are working looks a little oily , STOP.
Get pattern paper from your canvas guy.
Good luck !

Thanks. I will try the heat gun on the next pieces. It stretches pretty easily, the toughest thing is avoiding wrinkles on the curved areas. And there isn't really an easy way to stretch the hull side pieces.