Insulating the hull questions.

[ebb]

Whot's in a number?
I'm amazed you found the carpet paste,
Also amazed that the numbers haven't changed since I got the stuff.
Guess that salesman I called years ago gave good advice.
$70? Can't beat $17.50 a gallon. Isn't that what marine stores get for a quart of fabric glue?

My pail spent a couple california years under the tent at the boat, really outside.
We do have in paradise a fifty to sixty degree temperature range.
Then recently found the 4gal back in my garage-shop. The black polypropylene bucket has a slightly
different, better designed lid than what we see on those white plasterer's pails.

The lid lips pull up going round but it's not easy, they do get persuaded from their very good seal.
Pail had in the past been opened & closed a number of times.
A good air seal because I found very little inside had hardened up. Only thin stuff on the sides. Take a spreader now and make a flat lake in the pail when closing it up.

Easily scraped that ancient crumby off and noticed that after all that time sitting
the bulk of eco greek yogurt had essentially NOT separated at all. Top inch or so was slightly looser, but mixed in with the body with no work at all. A quick test showed it had lost none of its gluability. Long term storage guaranteed.

For the cognoscenti, the open time we give the paste after applied to mating surfaces, is the secret.
Keep at the desk here a piece of vinyl cloth 564ed to a piece of ensolite that cannot be pulled away from each other. Really amazing how totally attached they are. Right to the very edge. Kept the pieces apart for too long - according to the guide - just to check out what would happen. With a finger touched the paste. Didn't smear, but still transfered.
The grab was instant, the pieces stuck, felt I still had the ability to whip it apart if I had to. Didn't do it. Probably had to use pliers.

On the boat I put stuff together wetter than we're s'posed to - to get some of that adjustment probability, which depends on temp and humidity..
The embedded paste that can't evaporate, finally sets up imco if the boat is warm and dry - but I'm not sure total bond is there. Probably doesn't matter.

The paste also sticks to itself. So if a border isn't sticking, a bit of extra smeared on and left alone to dwell in air a minute - will bond back together!


Great tip on the cutting.
Didn't know electric turkey knives were still available!
Can't finesse a utility knife like that baby. Remember foam mattress shops used them in the early days.
Certainly much smarter pre-applying the vinyl coated cloth to the foam.

I think you're brave to tackle the overhead in the V-berth. Altho it's not strictly necessary because the deck is balsa cored, it will dress it up.
[Befor I was thinking foam, spent days filling, sanding, filling, sanding, because I'm stupid, and hi-build priming and sanding the forward stateroom overhead and under the decks. the main bulkhead had been opened to view. Finally more or less matched the smooth looking effect of the main cabin liner in there - including under the deck ! ! Not the anchor locker!]
Kent, I'll bet you won't be able to vinyl or even foam the radical curves of the forecabin overhead. Only under the deck.

Using your paper patterns you can lay out the foam and edge glue pieces together with 564.
While the foam might take kindly to compound curves, I don't believe if it's covered in vinyl that it will bend like uncovered foam.
My coated fabric is bendy and floppy, but its memory is flat. It conforms only to simple curves. But maybe what you have done, by pre-attaching it to the foam, gives it more flex?
Depending on your materials. A waterborne rubber paint might do the trick instead of fabric. I personally didn't like the paint as a cosmetic.
A flexible rubber urethane might be pre-painted on the emsolite as well. More control working from the gravity side, better results.
Lay out vinyl fabric to cross foam seams. Can position vinyl so that joins are off to the side of the viewer- out of view. Seams in the vinyl - if you straightedge knife cut them, slightly tilting the blade so that when joined the cuts butt absolute tight because they're slightly undercut - will disappear.
Of course they can be battened, as you say, and come out looking absolutely professional. If professional is the upscale. Maybe I'd cut the hatch hole from a single piece of cloth so no seams are seen there. Still have to cut darts in the material.
The eye likes to get tricked, that's why gals use make-up, and wood gets varnished!
Good luck ! How about photos???