# Headliner Replacement Cost



## LittleWingCA (Jul 17, 2008)

Hi Everyone:

I am in the process of updating quite a few things on Littlewing, one of which is the headliner. I received a quote from a local company that specializes in marine / car headliners and was quoted ~ $1750 to:

1) Remove the main salon + head, headliner
2) Remove the V-Birth headliner
3) Remove 2 settee area headliners, one on each side of boat.
4) Replace all headliner material with ~ 35 yards of marine vinyl
5) Add zippers, border, padding as needed.
6) Reinstall

The boat is 27 foot. Sound about right? Anyone done this, or had it done on their sailboat. Looking for feedback on the cost. Area is southern California.


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## turbulicity (Jan 24, 2011)

Hi,

I don't know what the cost should be really but I would ask for a quote excluding the removal of the old headliner (You can easily do that). 

I just bought a boat. The headliner is removed and the ceiling is bare fiberglass currently. Owner is giving me the new cloth. I am strongly leaning towards painting the ceiling with some nice wood trimmings. Just throwing it out there. I think the cloth headliners just soak up a lot of dirt and moisture over time. Not to mention the fire hazard.


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## LittleWingCA (Jul 17, 2008)

Turbulicity:

Yea, taking them off would be easy, the quote has a line item for removal separate from the rest in case I wanted to go this route. Mine are not cloth but vinyl, and Im sure once replaced would look very nice also. I have a lot of wires, deck fittings, etc. coming through the cabin top, so covering it up would be prefered by the Admiral.


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## centaursailor (Nov 7, 2010)

Can,t answer the cost question but it is expensive and messy. 
I have removed the headlining on my 26ft Centaur agus am not replacing them as theres lots of alternatives in mags etc, 
Theres a good thread on SN that I saw updated the other day.
My main problem is condensation on the painted surface that causes mildew over the winter. Am still trying different solutions. Other than that I like the paint finish, easy to clean and maintain.
Would mildew affect you in sunny California? 
Safe sailing
Post edited to protect the illiterate, keep forgetting the spell check


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## LittleWingCA (Jul 17, 2008)

Centaursailor:

I have not had any mildew issues other than in the water tank. During the summer it is so dry even any water that finds its way into the bilge doesn't last.


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## turbulicity (Jan 24, 2011)

Condensation and mildew are problems here in CA too. I have a lot of bulkhead rot damage so I am trying to minimize moisture inside. The thing about the headliner is that it hides minor leaks pretty well. I would rather have the deck fittings in plain sight and make them visually more acceptable by using some shiny and well cut stainless pieces. Sorry for drifting off topic and making this into discussion about the merits of headliners. I will leave this alone to those who would know about the proper pricing for headliner replacement.


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## LittleWingCA (Jul 17, 2008)

Turbulicity:

No worries, all inputs welcome. Maybe going "natural" would be better.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Is that labor? materials? or both? I spent about 1G just in materials IIRC, maybe half of that at the least to redo all the foam backed vinyl in my 30'r. I was quoted upwards of $7-8K including labor. HERE is a link to the how I did the aft stateroom, with a link to the head area at the bottom of that article.

Hope this helps some.

marty


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## GraemeInCanada (Jun 17, 2008)

I've recently been looking for material to use in my own boat and found "marine" vinyl at $27 per yard (round abouts). It's about 4 feet wide, so you'll need to do the math there but I suspect about 13 yards of it. Add in the glue, time, cutting, measuring etc.. get's up there. Could you do it for half that cost? yup. I think so. Is your time worth it? I would think it would take a few days to a week to do. About 2 grand seems high, I would do it myself but it all depends on what your time is worth.


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

The quote sounds about right if your plan for boat maintenance is cheque writing.

But there are other durable, attractive solutions that are fairly easy to do if you are a bit handy. Easier to keep clean than vinyl or cloth and hides the wiring as well. Here's a link to a good how-to on headliners. About halfway down the page.
Atom Voyages | Nicholson 31 Refit

As far as keeping an eye out for leaks from deck hardware, if they need rebedding it should be done properly and then you are good for several years minimum.


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

Never had this done but if it's as complex as I'm picturing seems reasonable to me. I've used a sewing machine but this sure don't seem like a project I'd want to do. Plus it will be just like wallpaper, no one else will notice any small imperfections, but your eye will be drawn to them every time.
We'll get black mold around hatches and hidden places in winter without the use of a dehumidifier.


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## MarcHall (Jun 13, 2006)

LittleWingCA said:


> Hi Everyone:
> 
> I am in the process of updating quite a few things on Littlewing, one of which is the headliner. I received a quote from a local company that specializes in marine / car headliners and was quoted ~ $1750 to:
> 
> ...


I had the headliner on my Crealock 37 replaced by a vendor in San Diego. They did an excellent job. Cost was around $3000. So the quote you received sounds about right. It took awhile to even find someone to quote the job, I had several vendors tell me basically I could not pay them enough to do the job.

Regards
Marc Hall
Crazy Fish, Crealock 37 Hull 207 currently in San Diego.


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## LittleWingCA (Jul 17, 2008)

MarcHall:

Can you share the name of the vendor? I am in San Diego as well. Maybe they are one and the same.


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## trantor12020 (Mar 11, 2006)

LittleWingCA, in your quote there's a mention on Zippers... is this for access to bottom of coach roof mounted equipment? If yes, that will be interesting. Would you post pictures after completion? please please ??


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## Boatsmith (May 3, 2009)

seems like a reasonable price to me


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## LittleWingCA (Jul 17, 2008)

Trantor12020:

Sure, I will post pictures. Yes, my headliner has two zippers that run a good 6 feet or so on both the starboard and port sides to gain access to deck fittings, cables, etc. Real handy when adding upgrades or doing inspections.


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## Andy Boy (Jan 14, 2016)

I am fighting a mold & mildew problem on my 24 foot Cabin Cruiser with a cloth headliner, here in FLORIDA which is the land of humidity.
I would like to try to clean it up without having to replace it at a current cost quoted to me yesterday of $5000.00 01-13-2016 to do this job. Any suggestion would be appreciated send to ([email protected]).


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

Andy Boy said:


> .....quoted to me yesterday of $5000.00....


Best way to save money is to do the job yourself. $4000 plus of that quote is labor.


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