Interior sides’ covering material

[Yannis]

What material can I put on the sides of the cabin so that its nice to look at, but also practical to wash with water and soap if necessary?
When I removed the carpet like fabric from the V berth I installed a gellcoated glass sheet that my grp guy had prefabricated. Looks perfect but I dont want to go through that again.
I also dont want a foamy stuff because the foam part deteriorates after a while and becomes like ash.
I was thinking of something like a vinyl roll that’s glued-on of some sort. But what thickness so it hides all uneven spots but it is not too thick and difficult to work with.
I want to do the side of the dinette and the inside wall of the hanging locker of my 28. I have long removed the old panels, I’m down to the green glass.
One other idea is to treat it like a wall, that is use stucko or whatever to even it out and then paint it. That is also too difficult and time consuming, I would like to do it now before I leave in 15 days or so.
Thanks.

[Tony Meola]

Yannis

I am afraid the material will need to be pretty heavy in order to hide any rough areas. You can think about a foam backing or you can fair out the sides first then put on the material.

SailRite has a good selection of material. Not sure if they ship overseas, you will need to check.

https://www.sailrite.com/

[Yannis]

Thank you Tony.
I like the variety, I'm skeptical however about the fabric like nature of those alternatives.
I wash the interior of my boat with the hose every year, so any absorbent material, foam backed or not, might be a problem.
I guess I thought about this improvement a bit late...I'll have to start my decorative "investigations" in October, when I come back.
Thanks again.

[Tony Meola]

Yannis.

How about that oldie but goody, Formica. Glue it on and it will hide all sins underneath. Easy to wash and should last 20 years if you glue it up correctly.

[Carl]

Tony- how good is Formica on compound bends?

[Yannis]

Tony, good idea with the formica, but, Carl, you're right, so look what happens:

This is the prefab 3mm thick gellcoated surface that initially WE THOUGHT we'd be able to install in one shot...
However, because of the compound bends, we had to section it into 3 separate pieces per side.




This is how we secured each section in place.
The outmost vertical (and horizontal) lines are two sided sticker tape to immediately bond the surfaces in place and keep them there, WHILE the sikaflex strips would cure.
Additionally, because there was a void in the middle, we added polyester paste combined with glass dust.




Here, the surfaces are well secured and left to cure.
You will also notice the height addition to the anchor compartment to hold the heavy anchor chain, so that it doesn't end up on the floor during a bumpy ride.
As a result, the all new fwd bulkhead was placed higher and gave me those much needed 2-3 extra cm of berth length.





This is the final result.
Like I said earlier, I don't want to go through the same ordeal again...







That's why I'm looking for an easily manageable, waterproof surface to stick to the dinette side (which for me is now a full size settee), so that's easy to clean and also nice to look at. This white area in this pic, under the checkered backrest.




...which gets exposed, each time the settee is turned from single...



...to double.

[Carl]

I like it! Nice job.

[Tony Meola]

Hyannis

Nice work. That came out really nice. Maybe I missed it, but you installed the Formica in sections, but in the final pics I do not see any seams.

Did you fill them in?

[Yannis]

Thank you.

Yes, he filled them in with a yellowish caulk which is brittle and started showing some fine cracks lately.
At some point I'll scrape it out and put sikaflex instead.
Only that caulk was made to color, whereas sika will be all white...
It won't disturb my sleep, though!

[Tony Meola]

Use silicone. Comes in colors and should be fine for fairing out the seams.

[Yannis]

Good idea Tony, thanks.
Sometimes Im thinking people are dying of hunger and wars and were discussing the fairing of the slit between two panels...
We must be well blessed.

[Tony Meola]

Good idea Tony, thanks.
Sometimes Im thinking people are dying of hunger and wars and were discussing the fairing of the slit between two panels...
We must be well blessed.

Yes we are.

[Tooeez]

I used Nautelex decking material to recover the area behind the dinette and inside the hanging locker on the starboard side. This stuff was intended to cover exterior wood decks, so it does not absorb water. I used white with a pebble finish and it hides all the imperfections underneath, and is easy to clean.

[Yannis]

Tooeez,

I looked it up and the distributor in Greece is the guy who does ALL my cushions and bimini/awnings.
Brilliant! I’ll pay him a visit.
Thanks, this is what I was looking for!

[Tooeez]

Glad to help. I put mine in in 2011 and it still looks brand new.

[Yannis]

Plastic fantastic!