Going rate for slant back canvas cover?
- Thread starter johnr
- Start date
An option is to make it your self. Shelter—Rite is a PVC Dacron tarp material which glues with HH66. It would take 7 yards of 61” wide maaerial, at $21 a yard. The bolt rope would be about $8. Glue about $11, snap set and hole cutter about $30. Snaps in the $25 range. $250 for the material, with some left over….Plus you now have the snap setting tool, and a hole punch…. I can walk you thru the steps of making a custom fit.
PNW_Wesley
New member
Hayden Island Canvas, in Portland OR, is making one for my 19 in April.
The cost is $1,050.
They are also making a new rear drop curtain for $1,200.
I got quotes from other local shops that were in the same ballpark.
The cost is $1,050.
They are also making a new rear drop curtain for $1,200.
I got quotes from other local shops that were in the same ballpark.
thataway, I've appreciated many of your posts about making your own mooring covers. so, I'm getting ready to do it with our 16' cruiser with flex-a-rail and awning rope for under the roof. But we want to do it without snaps - for example, there could be a flap of fabric forward on both sides that we can tie to the cleats that are about a foot forward of the cabin, and tie downs to the aft cleats, so it goes over the splashwell about 3 inches. The fabric would hang about 10" or so below the gunwale on the sides. We just don't want to put a bunch of holes in the boat, and would rather the fabric came down further over the gunwales than a traditional snap on mooring cover. Thanks for any thoughts on the matter 
zuunami":2mgaa791 said:thataway, I've appreciated many of your posts about making your own mooring covers. so, I'm getting ready to do it with our 16' cruiser with flex-a-rail and awning rope for under the roof. But we want to do it without snaps - for example, there could be a flap of fabric forward on both sides that we can tie to the cleats that are about a foot forward of the cabin, and tie downs to the aft cleats, so it goes over the splashwell about 3 inches. The fabric would hang about 10" or so below the gunwale on the sides. We just don't want to put a bunch of holes in the boat, and would rather the fabric came down further over the gunwales than a traditional snap on mooring cover. Thanks for any thoughts on the matter
There are certainly some good ideas here. My thoughts harken back to mooring covers we had on wooden sailboats 70 to 80 years ago. We put no fasteners into the wood or railings of the boat. San bags held the sides down. If you have a flap of canvas, or similar material, you would want to have something seeing it in place, or the wind will get under it, and both pull it up, allowing rain and debris to enter the boat/cockpit, but also there may be some abrasion of the material on the gel coat. One could easily make sand bags, which could be permanent or removable for the "flap".
Also on the full camper canvas we did on the Tom Cat 255, we used awing rail along the sides of the cabin down to the combing and deck.
The full mooring cover can be any length over the sides of the hull. Many cover the colored cove strip just below the hull to deck joint and the rub rail. If the boat is on the trailer, it is easy to use straps (either rubber, shock cored, flat straps or cordage to keep the cover in place.
I am curious about the use of awning railing "under the roof". Are. you going to install the awning railing on the back (side toward the cabin and forward part of the boat)?
I also wonder how far forward the cleat which is " cleats that are about a foot forward of the cabin,"? Is this about a foot forward of the aft end of the cabin (pilot house)?
As for the 3" over the splash well, I would probably make it longer because you want to keep this area fairly fully covered. You can cut the material close to the forward end of the motor, and then hang down 10" on the back sides.
I would start by taking measurements from the point of the awning railing. to the very back of the cover, including overhang. The geometry of the lines to the cleat will probably be worked out by experiment. I would probably glue "D"Rings on the outer surface of the Shelter Rite and let the material pass under the rope as it goes to the cleat. (Or would you want to use shock cord / bungee cord for this tie down? I would re-inforce the bottom and back of the fabric.
It often pays to make templates with butcher or wrapping brown paper.
thataway, here's a rough mockup, my photo program is giving me grief tonight. This is just a mooring cover for the summer to keep debris out and deter critters (both human and sea lion wise), but also allow some airflow because we are so humid, lots of condensation. Also not worried much about the wind in the summer.
I know I'm not using the right terms, but the awning rail would be up under the cabin overhang. Then on each side we might need a snap (I'd prefer a grommet and hook type attachment) carrying the fabric about 6 inches toward the bow up under the cabin, before it hangs down to the side and attaches to the forward cleat. There would be no attachments along the sides. In the back, it would attach to those rear cleats, but there would be some overhang into the splashwell to keep any unexpected rain out.
Probably my only concern would be the fabric always touching and therefore potentially rubbing against the gelcoat on the sides, but I'm of a mind to tolerate that to avoid snaps You can kind of see that we currently have a similar setup that's served us very well during the winter - it's actually half of a full cover that I cut in two. I like the fact that it overhangs the rear and we can attach it back there, but when we're in a slip, I want to think of ease of putting it on from inside the boat/dock when we leave, and not fall off the back of the boat in doing so
Thanks for your comments!
I know I'm not using the right terms, but the awning rail would be up under the cabin overhang. Then on each side we might need a snap (I'd prefer a grommet and hook type attachment) carrying the fabric about 6 inches toward the bow up under the cabin, before it hangs down to the side and attaches to the forward cleat. There would be no attachments along the sides. In the back, it would attach to those rear cleats, but there would be some overhang into the splashwell to keep any unexpected rain out.
Probably my only concern would be the fabric always touching and therefore potentially rubbing against the gelcoat on the sides, but I'm of a mind to tolerate that to avoid snaps
You can kind of see that we currently have a similar setup that's served us very well during the winter - it's actually half of a full cover that I cut in two. I like the fact that it overhangs the rear and we can attach it back there, but when we're in a slip, I want to think of ease of putting it on from inside the boat/dock when we leave, and not fall off the back of the boat in doing so Thanks for your comments!
I have never seen an awning railing used on the vertical of the lip of the aft cabin roof. They are all on the top of the cabin on a horizontal surface.
You will want shock cord or something similar to be sure that the cover is tight, and water will flow off easily. The geometry is fairly complex to keep the slant back--back tight and also keep the sides tight. You can buy vents to glue in place to keep the boat reasonable water tight, and allow ventilation.
I would basically build the loose cover, and then use clamps to see where the best angle is achieved to keep the canvas tight both horizontally and vertically across the back of the boat.
You will want shock cord or something similar to be sure that the cover is tight, and water will flow off easily. The geometry is fairly complex to keep the slant back--back tight and also keep the sides tight. You can buy vents to glue in place to keep the boat reasonable water tight, and allow ventilation.
I would basically build the loose cover, and then use clamps to see where the best angle is achieved to keep the canvas tight both horizontally and vertically across the back of the boat.
The flex-a-rail would be horizontal, but under the lip of the roof, rather than on top. Then the fabric would wrap around the sides, be secured in some way near the top under the roof lip on the sides, then hang down and be secured to the forward cleats. Well, I'm working on it I'll post some pics when I'm done Thanks!
I'll post some pics when I'm done Thanks!Marco Flamingo
Active member
Zuu,
I did basically the reverse of your project for a bow cover on the Limpet. I didn't want to put in too many new attachment fittings and tried to use just existing tie-down points. The only new attachment points were twist fasteners on the brow of the cabin roof. It is in my photo album under "Aerodynamic Bug Screen" in the Canvas Project section. It is glued vinyl-coated polyester (VCP). No sewing. Brass grommets around the edges have some light line (using a trucker's hitch) and some webbing and clip fasteners. All attach to existing cleats and hand rails so that the cover can be cinched on tight.
I was also concerned about rub points because the cover is on when being towed (i.e., hours and hours of 50 knot winds). There was really only the side contact points that concerned me and those I addressed by having net float "stand offs" to prevent abrasion. It's now gone a couple thousand miles with no issues.
I was pleased enough with VCP that I used it to fabricate side cockpit window/covers for my larger boat Chiton. For that use there is a small disadvantage that I hadn't noticed on the Limpet. In cold weather VCP, even the thin stuff, gets quite stiff and hard to roll up. Something the size of your cover would be difficult to store aboard if necessary. If the cover is intended only for outside storage and left at home, VCP seems to last indefinitely in the elements. I've seen Sunbrella that didn't make it 10 years.
Mark
I did basically the reverse of your project for a bow cover on the Limpet. I didn't want to put in too many new attachment fittings and tried to use just existing tie-down points. The only new attachment points were twist fasteners on the brow of the cabin roof. It is in my photo album under "Aerodynamic Bug Screen" in the Canvas Project section. It is glued vinyl-coated polyester (VCP). No sewing. Brass grommets around the edges have some light line (using a trucker's hitch) and some webbing and clip fasteners. All attach to existing cleats and hand rails so that the cover can be cinched on tight.
I was also concerned about rub points because the cover is on when being towed (i.e., hours and hours of 50 knot winds). There was really only the side contact points that concerned me and those I addressed by having net float "stand offs" to prevent abrasion. It's now gone a couple thousand miles with no issues.
I was pleased enough with VCP that I used it to fabricate side cockpit window/covers for my larger boat Chiton. For that use there is a small disadvantage that I hadn't noticed on the Limpet. In cold weather VCP, even the thin stuff, gets quite stiff and hard to roll up. Something the size of your cover would be difficult to store aboard if necessary. If the cover is intended only for outside storage and left at home, VCP seems to last indefinitely in the elements. I've seen Sunbrella that didn't make it 10 years.
Mark
here's another (third grade) mock-up of my intent.
Because the 16' is so short, I think the rail on top of the roof lip would cause the cover to rub against the front of the "roof". The rail would be facing up, and therefore the fabric would be laying at a -45 degree angle against that? I don't get the railing until tomorrow, maybe it would fasten with the channel facing aft, but I don't think so. I really don't like messing with the outside of that roof lip, I think it's one of the very distinctive features of the C-Dory? A video I saw on sailrite had the channel on the back of a cabin (not on top), although there was no lip to deal with.
Marco, great looking bow cover! I talked to Angola about a month ago, and they didn't recommend their vinyl covered poly (Aqualon) in certain areas, like Texas and California, because it doesn't have any UV resistance, and lasts only a few years. I would want to do Sunbrella anyway.
At this point, I'm thinking of just modifying the existing aft cover that we cut from the full body cover, and play as we go
thanks guys for all of your suggestions, I know the key is to make it so water runs off effectively, that's the challenge... Karen
Because the 16' is so short, I think the rail on top of the roof lip would cause the cover to rub against the front of the "roof". The rail would be facing up, and therefore the fabric would be laying at a -45 degree angle against that? I don't get the railing until tomorrow, maybe it would fasten with the channel facing aft, but I don't think so. I really don't like messing with the outside of that roof lip, I think it's one of the very distinctive features of the C-Dory? A video I saw on sailrite had the channel on the back of a cabin (not on top), although there was no lip to deal with.
Marco, great looking bow cover! I talked to Angola about a month ago, and they didn't recommend their vinyl covered poly (Aqualon) in certain areas, like Texas and California, because it doesn't have any UV resistance, and lasts only a few years. I would want to do Sunbrella anyway.
At this point, I'm thinking of just modifying the existing aft cover that we cut from the full body cover, and play as we go
thanks guys for all of your suggestions, I know the key is to make it so water runs off effectively, that's the challenge
... KarenI think I found someone to make a slant-back canvas for me. One question for the group. They brought up the idea of adding a zipper for ease of ingress and egress. If past history is any indication, I DO tend to go in and out of my boat a lot with the slant back on and the idea of a zipper is appealing. However, I'm also aware that at zipper can be an early fail point. Any thoughts on the matter?
For those who have installed your own snaps, what length screws? I saw 5/8th in another thread, is that right for the hull?
Related, what size would you use for snaps around the cabin windows for covers? I'm wondering if I can get 3/8s for both, or is that too short for the hull snaps.
Thanks.
- tom
Related, what size would you use for snaps around the cabin windows for covers? I'm wondering if I can get 3/8s for both, or is that too short for the hull snaps.
Thanks.
- tom