Horrible hull side fabric replacement

[Ixneigh]

Horrible hull fabric replacement. I removed the positively horrible carpet or whatever from the inside of the hull in one area. There bare fiberglass beneath, was tough and unfinished of course. I’d like some opinions on what to do with this area now. I see them as follows, keeping in mind that the space is now a shower stall.

Replace old nasty fabric with marine vinyl fabric. Pros: attractive, cheap, skin friendly, somewhat easy, wipes clean. Cons: possibly mildew, looks “aftermarket”

Replace old fabric with Eva foam Sheet material: pros; cheap, somewhat easy, skin friendly, cheap Cons: possible moisture absorption, does not wipe clean, looks “after market”

Don’t replace old nasty fabric: instead, fair and finish inside of hull and paint it. Pros: waterproof, not likely to mildew, wipes clean. Cons: labor intensive to achieve smooth surface, not skin friendly, not cheap

Thanks for your input on this

Ix

[Russ]

keeping in mind that the space is now a shower stall.


Ix

Something like this would be my suggestion

Don’t replace old nasty fabric: instead, fair and finish inside of hull and paint it. Pros: waterproof, not likely to mildew, wipes clean. Cons: labor intensive to achieve smooth surface, not skin friendly, not cheap

Perhaps some kind of friendly paint like a rubberized paint.

[OverEasy]

Hi Ixneigh!

Option #3 would be my choice.
-> Sand it down smooth. De-dust throughly. Fair if required. Re-sand as smooth as you like.
-> Prime with self leveling marine Epoxy Primer 2 coats (similar color but not same as your final top coat so you can tell prime from top) sand lightly between coats and de-dust throughly.
->. Use 2 coats of self leveling quality marine top coat paint. Lightly sand between coats as required and de-dust throughly.

->>Suggest using Alexseal as it seems to be the product of choice for use/application/durability.
If you can provide them with a paint chip large enough to work with I believe they can color match… Call them to verify.

The finished primed & topcoated Alexseal surfaces with be durable, easy to clean, protect the underlying fiberglass, protect you from the fiberglass and if appropriately color matched will be near seamless match to interior factory hull liner. (Or go hog wild with the color choice(s) and ‘celebrate’ the re-do with something wild and exotic Caribbean theme color palette…. … heck you could even paint in a palm tree and white sand beach island on a iridescent blue sea with blue skys and fluffy white clouds… Just a thought )

One other thought is the floor area if your painting that. The existing textured surface will pretty much functionally disappear so you might want to consider adding grip granules to those area.

Personally I’d minimize and rubberized paints as I’ve not seen good lasting results. They tend to wear and flake and discolor. Not sure how they hold up to bath soaps and shampoos or conditioners (but I do know they don’t like any chlorine exposure as the chlorine breaks down the polymeric bonds over time in rubberized materials.

Just my limited opinion for whatever it may be worth. Your boat/your rules.
I know whatever approach you decide on the results will be fantastic!

Best Regards
Over Easy