Replacing carpet "ceiling"

[BirdBrain333]

As you can see in the attached photo, the mouse-fur carpet (aka "Ceiling") in the vee & quarter berths plus the hanging locker of our 1985 Pacific Seacraft 37 all are charmingly decorated by mildew residue. Nice to snuggle up to in the berth areas, great for hanging clothes in.

Has anyone with a similar vintage PSC replaced said carpet and if so 1) what interesting challenges did you encounter, 2) what did you use for replacement, and 3) any tips on cutting and cementing it in.

Thanks, Jay

PSC 37, Kenlanu

[Faster]

You'd be far better off, and 'shippier' looking with a planked ceiling. Not difficult to do although the PSC may have more compound curves that other racier shapes. Carpet - IMO - has no place anywhere on a boat, esp glued in place.

Strip it off, and epoxy some vertical furring to the hull - about 15 - 18 inches apart, about 3/4 thick. You may need to kerf-cut the piece to get it to conform to the curves. Fill the spaces between with some closed cell foam (a hiker's sleeping pad, or other source sometimes called 'ensolite'. Then plank the ceiling with some 1 1/2 or 2 x 1/4 or 3/8 battens. Cedar is lightweight and looks great, but pricey and may be hard to find, but any clear lumber will do; you can always stain and finish to close to a match with your bulkheads if you wish. It will take some triming to fit the boards at the extremes of curvature, but often you can 'hide' the odd ends below the cushion level.

An alternative to wood furring strips is to lay on some bent tubing with straps of fg matte, predrill for screws and carry on the same.

This process is well illustrated in Bruce Bingham's "Sailor's Sketch book".

And from "This Old Boat":

This Old Boat - Google Books


You will really like the result!

[karlinD]

When WINDFLOWER was undergoing the total factory refit, Steve and Thumper were quite focused on removing the "monkey fur" as they called it and it was mostly replaced with teak slats as Faster advised. The hanging locker and a few other concealed locations had new monkey fur installed. Call Thumper and he can probably supply you with the correct length teak slats and the process they used to remove all my old fur. As I recall, the process of removal was time consuming and since the fur was behind areas that prevented total removal, those difficult areas had the fur being cut out where the cabinetry prevented removal behind the cabinet rails that are mounted to the hull. Hope this helps and good luck.

Karlin
WINDFLOWER
Crealock 37 - 1988/198

[wsmurdoch]

I stepped aboard Windflower last fall while Pacific Seacraft was working on her. She looked very bare with almost everything unbolted and removed. They were obviously doing a thorough refit.

A week or two ago I received in the mail a color brochure and letter describing the 'Pacific Seacraft Factory Refit Program'. Like everything else they do, the brochure was well done. Among the 60 or so items listed was "Replace 'monkey-fur' carpet with teak slats". Ahh.

Rather than replace my monkey fur in the vee birth where it was pilled and mildew stained, I took it to the beaury parlor for a one hour makeover. It got a haircut with a comb and electric hair clippers and a bleach job with clorox and water in a spray bottle followed by a quick rinse and pat dry. The clippers got the pills, and the bleach got some of the stains and mildew. Does the monkey look good? - no. Does it look better? - yes.

Bill Murdoch
1988 PSC 34
Irish Eyes

[RainDog]

Has anyone tried to steam clean it using one of the rental steam cleaners? I was thinking that would at least help freshen it up.

[BirdBrain333]

Thanks everyone for helpful posts covering a range of options. While I agree with Faster that the only real solution is to install a real ceiling, I was hoping someone would rave about the results of steam cleaning. While my wife loved Bill's "one hour makeover post," I think she wants the monkey off her back (and her nose as that's her side of the vee berth).

Thanks to all, Jay

[Lansdowne]

When our 34 was in charter, we used a mildew remover, " tv special", which required rubber gloves, and a respirator; a week to vent. took out all the stains and mildew. I could check the brand next boat trip if you are interested.

[orientalnc2010]

I just removed the monkey fur in the cabinet above the v-berth leading to the anchor locker.
What a PITA job!! Before you decided to remove the monkey fur be prepared for a struggle, the stuff was put on while the gelcoat was still uncured.
I replaced the fur with tongue and groove cedar and it looks and smells nice. I will think twice before removing monkey fur in the hanging locker (the only other place on my boat where I spotted more of the stuff).

[BirdBrain333]

I ended up removing the monkey fur and also had a bear of a time till I enlisted my Fein Multimaster with a very dulled flexible saw blade. With this gear I ended up essentially "shearing" the monkey fur which came off relatively easily.

And yes, Landsdowne, I would like to know the name of the product you used because there is still that dreaded stuff in the hanging locker and a few other locations I'd love to clean.

Thanks all, Jay

PSC 37 171, Kenlanu

P.S. I've got just two more pieces of ceiling to install and then I'll post before, during, and after pictures here and on the new web site. JP

[stevemac00]

The mildew is the symptom but not the real problem.

In the first photo I noticed much stain coming from the edge of the padding ceiling where it meets the wood bulkhead. How are you planning to remedy this problem which in turn caused the monkey fur to become fouled?

I've never had any mildew issues until I started cruising and living on Talisman. I find the warm, moist air gets up into the bulwarks where it condenses (due to three sides being exposed to cold) and water falls back down.

For now I bought several Goldenrod heaters and stuck them in the bulwark. This only works at dock and I'm looking at other methods while on the hook. Obviously the best solution is to stay in warm climates where the portholes can be open.