Leaky Windows and Headlining

[Roger]

Catkin is of that age now where the windows are starting to leak and also the foam backed headlining is starting to perish so I have some work ahead of me!

Anyone else in a similar position, care to share your experience or ideas on how to repair/replace these and know of useful suppliers?

[jane]

We have owned our Sunrise for 18 years and lived on it all the time. We are in the middle of a total interior refit so know a lot about headlinings and windows. I worked for Solaris Yachts as a personal assistant and general dogsbody(Doing demonstrations and boat shows and sourcing parts) from 1991 to 1994/5. My partner worked for them as a yacht fitter/boat builder. So we know a lot about the company and the Sunrise. Do you know the history of Catkin and do you have the articles written about it in the PBO? 

[Roger]

I don't know a great deal of her history and I didn't know she was a magazine cover girl.

However, having just done a search on the PBO site, I can see that there are 3 articles about the Sunrise and 2 of them were written by Barrie Skelcher who was of course her first owner. I guess I am going to have to shell out £10 to download them!

Any tips you can pass on regarding headlining/windows would be appreciated even if its just suitable suppliers of materials.

[Rogermorgan]

Roger

I have the articles. I could copy and post them to you if you like.

Roger Morgan

[Roger]

Yes I would appreciate that.  Give me a shout when you are back from your holidays and I'll send you my postal address or maybe you could scan and email them?

[MartinCopp]

Coppercat was launched in 1989. We have also had leaky windows, particularly the port forecabin front window. We have yet to trace the source of these leaks and are unsure whether they came from the window seats or around the edges of the frames. For all but the front window, copious amounts of Creaping Crack Cure seem to have fixed the problem. We are now wondering whether the front window leak is more a case of condensation in the damp cold weather that we get up North or weather there is a leak around the front grab handle

[Roger]

I am coming to the conclusion its the rubber window seals rather than the frames, although like you its hard to be sure.

I only really have a problem with the 2 large side windows at the moment which isn't too bad as these drain onto hard surfaces rather than any upholstery or anything - but it does need fixed and I'm sure its not going to be easy.

The more urgent problem ifor me s probably sorting out the headlining in the 2 aft cabins.

[MartinCopp]

Roger
This is the old man Copp replying to your query regarding headlinings. I have the same problem but am going to try cleaning the headlining from the residual foam and then attaching new using spray adhesive. I have had good results with this type of approach in the past. I will let you know how this works later this year. I have to remove the lining to be able to reposition the main sheet U bolts from the front to the rear of the cabin roofs to allow for the new cockpit cover to cover the cabin hatches - necessary for overnight ventilation when it is raining.

[Jadzia]

Hi All,
We seem to be lucky in that our headlining is still for the most part still firmly attached, albeit with one or two corners detaching themselves occasionally. A dab of adhesive/sealant sticks them back up though!
Martin, we had a full cockpit enclosure made and fitted recently, but did not have it made to include the cabin hatches as we felt this made the enclosure too big. Instead we have removable covers for the hatches made from the same material as the enclosure, large enough to overlap the hatches by several inches all round and held in place by press studs. When fitted these enable us to leave the hatches open/ajar in all weathers and help protect the hatch material from the effects of sunlight.
The enclosure has, we believe, been the best improvement we have made to Jadzia since we bought her. The added comfort it brings, especially in wet weather, is enormous as we previously only had a bimini with removable sides plus a fixed windscreen (which is still in place).

Enjoy what may be left of your season.

[Roger]

@Martin
Thanks, it will be interesting to know how you get on with this approach - the foam on mine is basically now reduced to a powdery mess, but I hadn't really considered re-applying with no foam backing.



Re: the cockpit cover, mine also stops short of the hatches and my plan when replacing the awning was similar to Jadzia - ie. use some extra material to cover the 2 cabin hatches.

[Roger]

copious amounts of Creaping Crack Cure seem to have fixed the problem.

I can confirm that Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack cure does a great job and for £4 its a lot cheaper than replacing all the seals!