How to Replace a Headliner & Hull Liner in a Boat

The headliner in a boat's cabin is both decorative and functional. It's decorative in that it looks better than wires or conduits for wiring. The best headliners are hard, thin sheets of PVC with a slightly bumpy surface that's less likely to show dirt. It's functional because it gives the overhead of a compartment a place for moisture to condense, other than on the wiring or conduits. Hull liners are purely functional, serving aboard sailboats to dampen the groans and thumps of boat noise within the craft and in the marine environment.

Things You'll Need

  • Screwdriver
  • PVC headliner paneling
  • Marker
  • Saw horses
  • Work table
  • Jigsaw
  • Drill
  • Razor knife
  • Hull liner
  • Chalk
  • Shears
  • Marine adhesive caulk
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Instructions

  1. Headliner Replacement

    • 1

      Remove the screws that hold one overhead panels in place, using a screwdriver. Take the panel off the boat, to the location where you will cut its replacement. Pocket the screws

    • 2

      Turn the new sheet of PVC headliner material face down -- the flat side is up, the bumpy side down. Lay the old headliner panel face down on the new sheet of headliner. Trace the outline of the old headliner onto the back of the new sheet. Mark the holes for the screws that held the old panel in place.

    • 3

      Move the new sheet of PVC onto sawhorses or a work table. Cut the new headliner panel from the sheet of PVC headliner with a jigsaw, using the tracing as your pattern. Drill the holes to hold the new panel, using the marks made through the old panel.

    • 4

      Return to the boat with the new headliner panel. Secure the new panel in place using the screws from your pocket.

    • 5

      Remove the headliner panel adjacent to the panel you just replaced. Repeat the process until all headliner panels are replaced.

    Hull Liner

    • 6

      Go beneath the deck through an inspection hatchway. The hull liner is the carpet-like material that lines the hull, secured by a single glue seam along the hull-deck joint. Cut the hull liner glue joint hull using a razor-knife.

    • 7

      Transport the hull liner to your work area. Turn the new hull liner face down. Lay the old hull liner out -- also face down -- on the sheet of new hull liner.

    • 8

      Trace around the old hull liner, 1 inch from the edges of the old hull liner, with chalk. This creates a pattern on the back of the new hull liner. Cut along pattern lines on the hull liner with a pair of shears.

    • 9

      Carry the new hull liner below decks. Lay the hull liner out in the same way the old hull liner was laid out.

    • 10

      Apply a bead of adhesive marine caulk to the hull-deck joint and press the edge of the hull liner into place. Allow the caulk to cure for 24 hours before talking the boat out.