Seafari ceiling

[whitly]

so now that most everything else is dealt with, my attention is drawn to the ceiling in the cuddy. someone before me pulled down what was there, leaving a rather unattractive pattern of adhesive and fiberglass. what did the boat come with? and how does one put it back, without breaking the bank? what is mousefur? and can it still be had? any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, most especially as the girlfriend is looking forward the cuddy, "but not like THAT."

[fdheld34]

I would be interested in answers to your same questions..not at that point yet but hopefully soon.
I believe Bushwacker (Denny) would know..try sending him a PM if no reply here. He is a wealth of knowledge with the Seafari.

[rhody98]

The ceiling shag (love that term) was half torn down on mine. I purchased headliner material from Defender marine. They have a pretty good variety ranging $10 to $25/yd. I used a 3M product to make it stick. Problem is getting the wrinkles out on application. The fabric with the foam backing is more forgiving in that it hides your mistakes better but is pricier. I am in N. Kingstown also, welcome to come by and see how it looks if you want to go that route.

ps - was that you I saw in the West Reach a few Saturday's ago on the Newport-Bermuda race day? I was going out, another seafari on the way in.

[Bushwacker]

That's the one job I haven't done on my Seafari yet! One side kept coming down despite efforts to reglue it, so I just cut it off. Hard to get the old contact cement off without stripping everything. It'll have to wait till this winter - not a summertime job in S. Fla.! Have been looking for some of the "mouse fur" material, which is actually a 70's vintage shag carpet with latex backing on it. Seemed to hold up pretty well except for adhesion problem. Will have to check out the Defender stuff. I'd be concerned that the foam backing stuff wouldn't hold up too well in our heat. Maybe Sandy/GFS has some ideas? (Need to follow up on my threat to bring you a sample of the old stuff to get your professional advice!)

I did speak to Jeanne Moesly at one of our gatherings about installing the stuff, as they bought a 69 Seafari that they restored and cruised all over Florida years ago. Said she laid on the bunk and held the carpet up with her feet while Carl stuck it to the cabin top! Sounds like they're still quite a team, just like in the early days of SeaCraft! Denny

[McGillicuddy]

Mine has exterior carpet. I hate it. I want to shag . Actually, I'd love to get rid of it because fibers and dust always fall from it and get in my eyes; but I fear it's there for a purpose. Asborb condensation? Warm & fuzzy feel on cold mornings? What? Please tell me why I shouldn't strip the carpet, scrape and strip the glue (some looks like carpet cement but most looks like Liquid Nails) and paint it -- you know, white or sky blue with glow-in-the-dark, moons, stars, and blue-fin tuna stickers up there...

[rhody98]

Please tell me why I shouldn't strip the carpet, scrape and strip the glue (some looks like carpet cement but most looks like Liquid Nails) and paint it....

You could, Gilly. Although since paint only looks as good as the surface it's on you might not be happy with the results. With carpet off mine the ceiling looked like the surface of the moon which I couldn't imagine improving w/o more time than I am willing to offer. I left shag on the cabin sides as I couldn't bear to part with all of it, and tucked the headliner behind shag at the joint.

[65Bowrider]

Another option is using Grizzly Grip (Bedliner type epoxy paint) that hides all the imperfections with very little prep.
I haven't tried it, but here's the thread where it was discussed.
http://www.classicseacraft.com/forum...r=54490&Forum=,,,,All_Forums,,,,&Words=Grizzly%20Grip&Searchpage =4&Limit=25&Main=54401&Search=true&where=bodysub&N ame=&daterange=1&newerval=&newertype=w&olderval=1& oldertype=d&bodyprev=#Post54490

Here's their website
http://www.grizzlygrip.com/boats.asp

If I remember correctly, the nice thing is you can roll it on and comes in multitude of colors.

[gofastsandman]

I sell carpet. Denny, bring me a piece, and I`ll source some samples. What kind of backing? I can get latex or rubber on some products. Maybe I could get 5 or 6 samples of options and folks could forward them to interested members. I can gather all the orders and piggyback them onto a shop order to avoid freight . Small orders are 50 clams for freight now. The Daulton, Ga. to Miami run was 800 clams 9 mos. ago and now over 1300. Glad I`m not in trucking.
Carpet has a "grain" and should all run in the same direction. Products are available in 12 and sometimes 6 or 3 ft widths. Taylor makes good quality glue for carpet. Go to a flooring supply specialty store for jobbers. They usually sell to the public and are much cheaper than box o rama. If anyone needs help figuring out yardage, you can call or fax me a drawing at work in the afternoon EST. The very nice owner is usually at the strip club by then. 67 yrs old and a REAL character.
Sandy ph 561 848 0808 fx 561 848 9554


Hey Carla, when do you and Skip want to go fishing? I`m off every Fri, Sat , and Sun. I like Fridays. Less pressure. Had a 6 ft Tiger try to eat my chum bag 2 wks ago in 79 ft of water. We were so shocked and bewildered, I didn`t get a picture before it swam away.

[Bushwacker]

Please tell me why I shouldn't strip the carpet . . .

Gillie, I hear the latest Rolls Royce Coupe' has twinkle lights in the headliner, so I guess that's one possible high-dollar option that would impress the gals!

In your dry California climate this may not be a big deal, but here in Florida it's common to have 100% humidity for a few hours in the early morning before the sea breeze kicks in. (100% humidity means the ambient temperature is the same as the dew point.) On a calm clear night, the cabin top will radiate enough heat to the black sky that it's surface temperature can actually drop BELOW the dew point! When that happens all that moisture in the air will condense out on the cool surface, usually enough to make you think it rained overnight! With no carpeting on the inside to insulate the inside surface and keep it's temp above the dew point, you'll also get condensation on the INSIDE! (In other words, it'll sweat!) With the 10-20% humidity common to So. California, that's a problem you'll never have, so Carla's suggestion just give it the bedliner look might be a good one. If you put a high gloss paint up there, it'll just magnify the rough surface of the fiberglass and make it look even worse. However if I lived anywhere in the southeast US, I'd stick with the fake mouse fur, as I think it might actually help avoid mildew by keeping that condensation out of the cabin. (Leaving a tub of Damp-rid in the cabin and cracking the hatch about a half inch also helps, as does keeping a cover on the boat!)

Sandy, I'll try to get some measurements and bring you a sample of the OEM carpet on Monday. Another carpet guy said it looked like a latex backing, similar to indoor outdoor carpet, but he didn't know anybody that made outdoor shag carpet! The carpet fibers are definitely some sort of synthetic material because they melt when you put a flame to them. Denny

[McGillicuddy]

Thanks again, Dennis. I thought the condensation issue was probably significant. I guess I'll just vacuum it like a living room and leave it. Maybe I can get some vintage white shag from a Tijuana disco