Camper Canvas ??

M

mathias999us

New member
Hey Folks,

I towed my 26 Venture over to a local canvas shop today to get an estimate on making a full camper cover with screens, eisenglass, privacy cutrains, etc. The guy came out and looked at the boat, and I started asking about what they do to properly bed the snaps to avoid wet cores, etc. And a few minutes later, he said he was going to pass on the job. He'd never worked on a C Dory before, and didn't want to "learn" on mine. He was concerned about the curved hard top, and how to attach fasteners / snaps to the cabin.

OK fine - called another local canvas shop. They said the boat is too big for them to work on their shop. Now I'm 0 for 2 on just trying to get an estimate.

So, I'm about 30 miles north of the twin cities in Minnesota. These boats aren't very common out here. Does anyone know of a good canvas shop in my area that would be able to make a camper back for my venture?

Or - is this something that I could just order from a maker somewhere that has done a 26 Venture before, and install it myself? Sounds like a bit of work, but on the other hand, I could make sure that all the holes are properly filled with epoxy, redrilled, etc.

Thanks for any info you can offer.

Mathias
 
I'm not sure if you have any cored material where the snaps and the track for a normal camper back would go. Canvas guys don't usually get into fiberglass work. Get you canvas done then you can always deal with drilling over sized holes and filling with epoxy and Redrill the hole for the snaps or track later.
D.D.
 
The top and actually most of the cabin sides are best served by using an awning rail. Your response makes me think that these folks are not experts in making a Bimini or camper canvas for a similar boat. I have seen snaps and lit the dot fasteners on the cabin top--but not often, and not a good idea.

The hull sides, and cabin sides are not cored. I have never seen a canvas shop put in the epoxy. You worry more about rot in the sole, and around hatches, but it is a good idea to use the epoxy anywhere there is a cored deck. (The cabin roof is cored--but in different areas in different boats. I don't know about the 26's.

King Canvas does make them--I assume for the 26 as well as the 25. I have installed a King Canvas Bimini and camper canvas. It is mechanically easy (drilling some holes, and positioning the snaps--but I have done my own canvas work, so probably easier for me than someone who has not done any canvas work. The biggest issue is getting the awning rail in the proper position, the support of the bows in the best position and the aft and side snaps in the proper position. You should do the awning rail first--then the support for the bows, and finally the snaps on sides and back--with tension on the canvas.

It is probably best to bring the Bimini back over the motor well, and have the aft curtain drop to the transom, rather than termination at the forward end of the splash well.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

Bob - One thing that has been a nice surprise on this boat for us is that the entire hardtop roof is covered with non-skid, and it's completely sturdy for walking/sitting on. Just as sturdy as any other deck on the boat. I had read in a separate thread that some C Dory's had no-step roofs, others could be sat on carefully. This leads me to believe that most of it is cored, but I have no data to back that up. I don't quite understand how I would have the aft curtain drop to the transom and still have room for the motors? Also, ideally, I'd be able to run my eu2000i on a little platform in the motor well while the camper is up.

Les - thanks for the tip on Proctor Canvas. You are right, that's a bit of a haul. Might be worth it though to get someone that has experience with these boats...

I think I'm up for the challenge of installing one myself. I've emailed King Canvas to see if they could make and ship one to me. Otherwise I'll probably try Proctor Canvas next.

I'll circle back and post some pics of the completed project when it's all finished.
 
I have a Proctor camperback on my CD-22 and am very happy with it except for the awning rail (if that is what it's call, the curved bar with snaps on the rear of the cabin roof). They used a bar of what I think is HDPE (about 1.25"x1.25"x5') and either the sun cracks it at the screwed attachment points or our cold weather in winter storage or both. My second one just totally failed (13 seasons for the two strips). I've heard Proctor may have lost their HDPE supplier and I'm game for trying something else; I'm going to try a wood strip and see how long it lasts.

Jay
 
We have a Proctor Canvas top and it is very well made and works as it should. They have experience on C-Dories. But, like Jay, our HDPE strip cracked. I was able to order a similarly sized strip of Starboard (sorry, I don't remember from where). I then made a wooden template with the same bend as the top of the cabin. I put the thick strip of Starboard in the sauna for a while and it came out like a wet noodle - perfect! I clamped it to my template and allowed it to cool, then installed it on the boat using the same attachment spacing. It works perfectly and, as Starboard is UV resistant, it has held up very well.
 
Cool, thanks for the input guys. Sounds like Proctor might be a good bet. I haven't heard back from King Canvas yet. I'll probably give them some more time to respond (holiday weekend and all), and then if it doesn't seem workable that route I'll reach out to Proctor Canvas.
 
Maybe Proctor Canvas would be open to using a typical bolt rope track instead of the HDPE strip/snap combo. They usually come in either white (or other color) plastic or aluminum. I have the white plastic one. If/when it gets old or wears out, easy and inexpensive to replace, and a bolt rope gives a fantastic seal.

The way mine (and many others I have seen) is done is that you have a strip of about 2-3" of canvas running across the boat at the point where it attaches to the aft end of the cabin top. At the forward end is a bolt rope that "locks" into the track (aka awning rail). Right at of that are two zippers end-to end. They run across the beam of the boat, but break in the center. This allows you to zip either one in from the outboard edge for ingress/egress (especially nice at lower docks), and also to remove the bimini from the boat completely (after which you can simply slide the little canvas "strip" out of the bolt rope. There are only two snaps involved in this part of the bimini - one on each aft corner of the cabintop, which you secure after putting the strip into the track.

Having used this style of cabin attachment on my bimini, I can't think of a way I would change it for either a bimini or a camperback (unless going to something completely different (such as one of the big/cantilevered Blue Coral type frames).
 
Link to Boat Outfitters did not work quite right. When at link go to "custom work" button and them down to "King starboard cuts"

Jay
 
I recently had a eyebrow canvas and night canvas done for my 26 Venture. I can email you pictures. I used Fine Interiors in Anchorage and they have the pattern if interested.
 
Thanks cwthayer - just saw some pics of your canvas setup in your album. Nice.

King Canvas doesn't have a pattern for the 26. So, after mulling over a haul up to Duluth, I decided to do some more searching locally. I found an award-winning canvas maker about 15 miles from my house, and she has done large sailboats, trawlers, and many other boats much larger and more complicated than mine. I've seen some of her work now - it's great. I towed the boat over today and had about a 2 hour consultation session with her. She's going to spend a week going over the design and materials lists, and we're targeting mid-July for a build/install which will take about 10 days. We planned out the whole build - I think this is going to be great. I'll post some pics towards the end of July when the work is completed. I'm also going to have her make a full storage cover for the boat a little later in the year, perhaps September.

Mathias
 
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