New camperback - a few detail questions for the gang....

[Sunbeam]

Marty:
Funny story about the Volvos I have noticed when looking over the Sunbrella colors that you can tell how "old" or "new" a color is by the name. The original old standbys are natural, taupe, cadet grey, wheat, etc. No "panic button" necessary. But the newer colors: Unity Ashe, Crest Ashe, etc..... really don't give you much idea of what color they are!

By the way, the canvas color on the Marinaut you showed is "Wheat." (I spoke with Les from EQ, who gave me some really good tips, and asked him about it.)

I meant to put the color names with my mockups above. In order from top to bottom they are as follows:

Unity Ashe
Taupe
Spa
Sapphire Blue

I have to decide today; Unity Ashe and Taupe are at the top of the list.... this minute

[Sunbeam]

In case someone in future is following along and also decided the Unity Ashe is really cool, I just found out a couple of things about it.

1) I already knew it was made of partially recycled Sunbrella, but they said something like, "but it's still 100% Sunbrella performance!"

2) But I just found out it only has a 5-year warranty, vs. a 10-year warranty (hmm, that sounds more like 50%).

3) And it is around 60% more expensive than other colors. Not that that would be a deal breaker, because in the grand scheme of a camperback, it's a small percentage of the overall cost, but considering #2 above it's starting to sound like a no-go for me.

4) Also the canvasmaker, who had a sample of it in his book (I don't) said the texture seemed like it might trap more dirt.

Hmm.

[BrentB]

My IRA


I would like to buy The Admiral a new sewing machine and Sailrite offers several Ultrafeed models. Which one did you pruchase?

Brent

[My IRA]

Brent, our machine (Helen's) is an LSZ-1 and you might consider the premium model if you want to make a top. Helen noted that the roping foot left, 1" swing away binding attachment, monster balance wheel, and light attachment were all essential in the sewing of the top. The premium model includes the above accessories and more, so maybe it is a better deal ( they didn't offer that group when we purchased ours). You might consider the LS-1 as well for sewing an enclosure as the zigzag feature in the LSZ-1 is not needed (saves quite a few $).

Also, these machines way a ton (not really) and are robust cast iron construction that can sew through 8-10 layers of Sunbrella with ease (will sew any fabric even leather that you can fit under the foot. Service is excellent if you have questions or an issue with the machine. Because of the weight, free shipping may be the better deal over the 10% discount that they periodically offer.

Sunbeam, in thinking about your color selection, you might also consider the binding color as a tie in to your hull. For example, if your accessories are black and the blue hull accent is trimmed in black then black might be a good Segway for binding on your top (think outside the box).

You are doing a great job gathering information and I'm sure that your enclosure will look great and fit your needs well.

Michael, I understand your need to think long and hard about a project this size. We gave it thought for over a year before jumping in.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Utility Ashe gets my vote...