getting headliner out

[northerner]

Hello all

The carpet headliner on our boat is covered with dark condensation stains and looks pretty ugly. There is an old thread here about people taking it out and replacing it. I can't see though anyone talking about *how* they get it out. I pulled on a corner under one of the cushions and it came away pretty easily. I'm assuming thougth that is other places it will be firmly afixed to the fiberglass with glue

Any tips on how to accomplish this without a lot of grief? I think the boat would look great with something new and since we're not racing, we have a number of options

I'd appreciate any tips or advice people might have


Cara

[northerner]

This is the damage to the daggerboard

[Doug Frye]

Hi Cara...It is stuck on with some kind of carpet adhesive...not continuously...but enough that I am going to try a little heat gun (low setting) action on it to soften up the glue before peeling. And keep the pieces as they can be used as template for new. According to the famous S2 letter, it is in pieces.

I would wear a dust mask for spores and mildew and stuff...all sorts of nasty stuff fluffs into air when you peel it off as I have tried small sections myself.

Doug

[Tom Elsen]

Cara -

I just sprayed the liner down with hot water from a pump sprayer, then used a big putty knife. It was pretty easy.
Doug is right, try not to stretch the material as you pull it out, so you can use the old pieces for a template for the new stuff.
Alternatively, you can just paint the insides - easier to clean / harder to mildew - but a bit less comfy, if that matters to you.
No matter if you paint or glue in new headliner, use a good carbon-canister respirator (filter) and a good fan for ventilation.
A dust-mask sort of thing will work for the extraction. But not for the fumes involved with paint or carpet glue.

[northerner]

Hi Tom and Doug, thank you

The idea of spraying it with hot water and removing it intrigues me. I'm hoping we can find a place to work on the boat this winter.

I like the idea of just painting the inside. We do live in the far north though, so we might need to consider some sort of vinyl backed foam. If there is one thing I'd really like to do with this boat now that we've attended to the rot, the broken dagger board, shrouds is getting rid of the spotty, stained carpet

In other news, Fraser just designed a pretty amazing electrical panel for us to replace the existing hodgepog of wiring. When he has it replaced I will post a picture of it

Thanks guys


Cara