curtain fittings

[Water Rat.]

Help please. I am trying to do up my boat a bit and I am new to boating and know nothing. I want to hang new curtains, I have the fittings that will accomdate wooden dowl, but how do I fix the fittings on to the interior panneling? I don't seem to have any batons behind at convenient places. It is an old boat and the panneling looks like a sort of laminate, so is not very thick. The original top fittings are long gone but the lower ones are still there, these seem to have a chunk of wood screwed and stuck on and then brass holdings attached to the chunk of wood. Will my fittings just screw onto the laminate stuff and hold? Or yet again will I have to 'get a bloke in to do it for me?' I would like to try to do it myself if possible. The ones I removed were plastic swish curtain rails stuck on with duct tape. I just don't know what to do. Thank you for any suggestions.

[Machpoint005]

You could try those plastic fixings designed to fix stuff to plasterboard partition walls. They have a sort of butterfly that opens out behind the sheet material.

clicky

[Chris Pink]

if you can get your fingers behind the panelling, maybe by pulling off the trim if it's screwed or pinned on then you could put a piece of wood (say 2" x2" if it will fit) behind the panel. fix the curtain fittings with screws through the panel into the piece of wood.

 

You also may find a piece of batten right behind the window frame it's quite a common way of bracing windows in the steel.

 

Don't get a bloke to do it, he will ask for your soul in exchange.

[Ex- Member]

You could try those plastic fixings designed to fix stuff to plasterboard partition walls. They have a sort of butterfly that opens out behind the sheet material.

clicky

 

If you can't get a decent single fixing, why not put up a nice strip of hardwood batton Oak possibly or something that would extend past the window edge far enough to reach a batton either side for a secure fixing, there should be some pretty close to the window.

[John Orentas]

If you have a small bradawl you could sort of feel around to find a batten, but better still you can buy expanding rubber plugs, you drill a 9mm hole and push the thing through, a 4mm screw tightens the rubber by compression and holds whatever you need to fix.. Certainly RS Components have them but there will be other sources.

 

Remember too that you will need to find a method of holding the curtains close to the cabin side to counter the 'tumble-home', this method is as good as any.

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...=si&img=908

Edited July 10, 2008 by John Orentas

[Water Rat.]

Think a bloke took my soul a long time ago so have nothing to trade with........, but think your idea mught work. I'll have a go. Thank you.