I pulled down Aeolus' headliner almost two years ago, and have yet to replace it. I've been 
unable to work onboard since fracturing both heels in October 2003. I'm back on my feet 
now, and plan to complete the project by next spring. I'll send Harvey several 
photos showing the headliner removed, so he can post them to the FTP site along with the 
captions below:
 
#1 - Salon overhead, port side, looking forward. The plywood backing blocks (all original) 
are nailed in place. Discoloration of the the deck laminate core to port of the butterfly hatch 
is indicative of water intrusion, e.g., mildew and rot. I subsequently removed the hatch and 
its frame and discovered the edges of the core material at the cutout had not been sealed 
by the builder. Leaks to the core no doubt developed as the bedding compound at the hatch 
aged. There were no leaks at the hatch that were evident from inside the boat. Although 
moisture meter readings of the trunk cabin laminate were elevated in this area, percussion 
soundings were normal (indicating no delamination). I routed out the core around the hatch 
cutout and filled the void with an epoxy filler. If I'm unable to dry out the affected core before 
I install the new headliner, I'll replace it from inside the boat. Note: Moisture meter readings 
of the exterior coach roof can be misleading if you don't know where Ta Yang used wood 
backing blocks. The wood blocks (even when dry) typically have a higher moisture content 
than sound laminate. Once the headliner has been removed, however, you can take more 
reliable moisture meter readings of the laminate overhead.
 
#2 - Shower overhead, port side looking aft. Note the discolored core material due to water 
intrusion at the cutout for propane water heater flue. Percussion soundings of the coach 
roof around the cutout revealed an area of delamination approximately 6 inches in diameter. 
I should be able to dry out the affected core and plan to inject epoxy to restore laminate 
integrity, rather than replace the core material. I'll also rout out the core at the flue cutout 
and fill the void with epoxy filler to prevent future water intrusion problems.
 
#3 - Galley overhead, port side, looking aft at the backing blocks under the sheet winches. 
Random black and white marks visible on the underside of the laminate appear to be paint 
and/or adhesive. I used the (numbered) red dots visible here to mark/identify all the the teak 
battens and trim strips that I might have to remove during the course of the headliner 
replacement job. It's a good idea to take photos and draw a diagram showing the location of 
every numbered piece before disassembly.
 
#4 - Galley/salon overhead, port side, looking forward at strongback above support post. 
The hanging galley cabinet has been removed; its outline is visible to the left of the bronze 
port. The strongback consists of two 1 inch wide strips of solid wood with a small void 
between. The batten appears to be glued rather than screwed on top. There's no need to 
remove this batten or the strongback when replacing the headliner.
 
#5 - The only wiring above the headliner runs to the 12V overhead lights. Color coding of 
the wiring was functionally meaningless. Some wires are held in place by nails rather than 
non-conductive fasteners. I plan to replace all of the wiring and fasteners above the 
headliner. The minor corrosion stains visible at the nails securing the plywood backing 
blocks is likely due to many years of relatively high humidity rather than water intrusion in 
the core material.
 
 
Susan Canfield 
Aeolus/T37 #-305 
Annapolis, MD