Inner Hull Liner

[Bill3558]

The wife and I went to the Charleston SC boat show today and looked at the C dorys. The unfinished look of interier hull turned her off. I am wondering what you creative owners have done if anything about that. Seems it would sweat alot in cold weater too.
I used to have a blowboat that had carpet glued to the inner hull from the factory (Precision Sailboats) and it was really pretty nice. Soft and warm to the touch. Has anyone done that?

Thanks again for any info. This site is a huge resource for the potential buyer such as myself.

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Bill,

I was concerned that the Blonde wouldn't be happy with the "unfinished look" to the C-Dory interior. I was big time wrong. She took one look at it and said, "That will be really easy to keep clean." We've had sailboats with hull liners... they do look a bit more finished, but there are other concerns (like running wiring or adding shelves or tracking down leaks). Our last sailboat (a Corsair trimaran) had the Frontrunner fabric (sometimes known as mouse fur) that was great with condensation, and even helped with sound insulation. I would consider adding that to the v-berth area (I believe some here may have done something like that), but I like that work-boat, easy to maintain interior in the main cabin.

One of our new favorite sayings: "It's a boat." Not a condo, not a fancy RV, but a functional, easy to maintain boat. More substance, less flash. And we've really grown to appreciate that aspect of these boats.

Hang out and see what other owners think. Welcome aboard.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[dotnmarty]

My wife is a "whatever" kind of gal most of the time. However, when we started looking at boats at an Atlantic City boat show years ago I just stood there in amazement. She just carried on about how bad and inappropriate carpet was anywhere in a small boat and how beautiful and functional big cleats are. Go figure!

[thataway]

The C Dory is a utilitarian boat--and there in lies the beauty--just take a hose and wash it out--try that with carpet.

After time carpet (Mouse fur) liners can become spotted and may eventually have mold growing on them. For insullation we have found a closed cell foam best--and if you wanted a "finished" interior, then put a smooth easily cleanable headliner material--such as a vinly over the foam. I have owned a couple of boats with the mouse fur and did not like that as a headliner. We had a French PVC closed cell PVC 1/8" foam called Somvelle--which 30 years after installation still looked good. But we cannot find a source for it currently--or would use that. Some of the production boats used that material 30 years ago.

The carpet alone will not be as good in preventing condensation as foam would be. We are putting closed cell foam on the roof, and on the side walls of the bunk area of the TC 255--mostly as insullation from heat (and cold). We noted in the C D 22 that on Lake Powell, the hull side became quite hot during the day. Putting back packing pads on the sides of the hull in the V berth area, helped with this heat accumulation.

[Fairbro]

I have always enjoyed the "serious boat" look (inside and out) of the C-Dory. It looks and feels like the kind of boat that comes to help the pretty boys out when they get into trouble. I read somewhere and have often repeated that it is a boat where you can see the other side of everything. If I were going to cover anything up I would use something very durable and washable. It is the "spillingest" boat I have ever been on. The urge to customize this boat is strong because of it's austere nature and I have done a few things myself, but I would resist interior coatings or panels. A lot of things done to these boats seems to go against the philosophy and culture that attracted us in the first place. But then what do I know? I'm the kind of guy that owns one of those C-Dorys.