Q. I am going to replace the interior vinyl liner in my boat. The old liner used to have a foam backing on it. I presume it was for a thermal barrier. The backing was open cell foam, and with time it has disintegrated to dust. The liner now is not attached in a lot of places, and I get a lot of condensation as the cold from the hull and deck touch the vinyl. I boat almost year-round, and it is close to freezing a lot of times I go out. This really makes for a lot of condensation.

I’ve been asking around to find out what material I can glue to the hull to create such a barrier. Then glue the new liner to it. Would you be able to help me with the barrier and glue problem? Should the vinyl be completely glued to the subsurface or attached by some other method? I will also be removing the sideboards, as the fasteners there also need to be resealed.
—Victor Lick, Kitimat

A. This is a job that can become larger than expected. Here’s some advice: While the headliner is removed, you have a golden opportunity to make a close inspection of all the thru-deck fittings for leaks as well as any bulkheads or other wood joinery for water damage.

There are two popular methods of replacing the headliner: the first is to replace it with vinyl material that’s similar to the original; the second, to build some nice painted/varnished wood tongue-and-groove panels fitted to each area of your interior coach roof. The latter method is certainly more costly and labour intensive. Look at boats like the Passports that have this type of headliner.

When removing the old material, it’s a good idea to keep all the old pieces intact to give you a template for creating new liners.

The next consideration is how to affix the insulated liner to the interior. The two methods commonly employed are: one, affixing to the interior laminate surface with Jaxon Auto Trim Cement (lots of ventilation is required); or, two, building a wooden frame for each section and attaching the vinyl completely around the top and side faces. These panels can be screwed to your coach roof if you have wood ribbons glued (epoxied) to the interior. The screw heads can be prettied up with finishing washers or plastic cover/plugs. This will give you good air space to reduce condensation and a tight fit between panels; it will also reduce vapours from the contact cement. The great benefit of this method is that the panels can be removed for maintenance, such as running new wiring or installing deck fittings.

Before you embark on the headliner, make sure that you have dealt with any issues of water leaking through the coach roof or fittings.