Show me your Camper Canvas!!!

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Easyvictor.14

New member
I need ideas for a 23 Venture, but any and all pictures are appreciated.
I've looked at several Brats boats in the photo albums, lots of great ideas.
I'm thinking a top that carries the roof line like Will-C, and one that covers the lazarrettes also. What say the C Brats?
 
Hi we've had our canvas a year and a half now and it came out perfectly suited to our needs. It goes around the hatches and has been 99.95% watertight. I get a half teaspoon full if it pours and we're low on fuel. Boat sits differently and a bit gets in Very happy with the design. It rises toward the back maybe an inch or two higher than needed but its good photos in my album
George
 
In addition to shape, think about ingress and egress when at the dock. Consider having a zipper in the top that you can open up and then step in or out of the cockpit without having to crawl on the dock.
 
I'm planning a zipper up on top on both sides to facilitate in and out at the dock. Also, covering rear lazarrettes with a transom zipper door so I can go in and out using the port side swim platform.
Keep the suggestions coming!
 
You might want to check out King Canvas in Seattle. The canvas on our 2007 Cape Cruiser 23 was done by them and it has all the features you're looking for. They seem very familiar with C-Dory's so I imagine they've got the patterns to make a cover without your boat being present.
 
I have the king canvas on my 22 and although it is well made it is not perfect. It has spots where water can dribble in, like at the cabin bulkhead and also at the back lower corners. They should square off all the corners so that they don't leave gaps. That's a good reason to meet with whomever does your canvas and let them know exactly what you want.
 
King canvas can be hit or miss. I ordered King canvas for my 25, because my canvas guy was too busy to get the job done in time. What I got was inferior. The seams were not all not knifed and none were bound. There were some other issues.

The King Canvas I have on the current 22 is decent--not perfect fit--but adequate.

If you want really good canvas, then find a good canvas worker, and have them do it. If you want some education see

http://www.sailrite.com Also see http://www.glenraven.com/en_us/solutions/marine Probably more than you want to know--but it will help in the decision process.

Also consider what material. Sunbrella is the most common. Be cautions some folks use Chinese material. Sunbrella folks tell me it is not made in China, but it is possible that Glen Raven Mills (maker of Sunbrella) has some similar material which is inferior…There are combinations of acrylic fiver with a backing which are more waterproof.

Also consider the thread. Most are sewn with Dacron--good for several years full time up. If you want a thread which will last the length of the cover (10 to 11 years full time exposure), consider Tenara. It is more expensive (much) and harder to work with, but good for 10 years! It is made of a Goretex material.

Things I would look for in your boat: Free standing top, with at least a narrow panel zipped out in the front. You can be in some very hot muggy weather on the gulf coast, and you want the air flow under the canvas, so it is not an oven. For entrance, it is better to have two parallel zippers on both the side and the top. Start the zipper in the center for both sides. Same of sides, so you can roll up the side. I also like having awning rail on the forward edge of the side, so water does not get in. Have SS tubing, not Aluminum. Use SS hardware. You may have a choice of 3/4", 7/8" or 1" tubing. I would avoid 1/2 tubing. If you have adequate braces, you don't need forward bracing--one up and down right behind the entrance will be fine for both the front and back (gets away from the straps). See the my album on the Tom Cat 255. This was a very well made camper canvas. The worker spent several hours on the boat doing custom fitting, and getting it "right". I intentionally had small windows on the side--there are pluses to larger windows--and that is more light, and when you have insect screens ("No See em screen is better, especially for the Texas and Gulf Coast), as well as the clear vinyl. There are also different qualities of clear vinyl, They range from 10 mill (or gauge) (don't consider this) to 40 Mill in rolled vinyl. Then there are sheet vinyls which are Pressed and polished--these are optically clear. on up to "Strataglass". I have a friend who is a sailmaker who has used Lexan (not easy to sew), but if you are going around the world--worth it.

So lots to think about.
 
We really like having the camperback cover the motor well. For ease of entering and exiting it would be nice if it were taller. It's fine with the side panels off but there is more ducking and crawling in and out under the rolled up doorway. Having he ability to zip back the top a couple feet is a much have. So much easier to enter and exit.

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When we bought our 2006 CC Venture the boat came with a full bimini and cockpit enclosure. The bimini covers the entire cockpit and the enclosure includes more solid Sunbrella material than clear lexan. While I had originally hoped for more lexan, I quickly learned to love the advantages of the Sunbrella, at least for our type of boating.

Where we go we encounter much more hot sun than do folks in the Pacific Northwest. We frequently install one side of the enclosure simply as a sun shade and it works wonderfully. We couldn't do this if the enclosure consisted mostly of clear lexan. We also made small shades to hang down over the lexan windows to block the direct sunlight. Additionally, when over-nighting we usually move the porta potty into the cockpit at night and with the full enclosure up (and only 3 windows - 1 on each side), by putting up our homemade privacy curtains we have complete privacy. In our photo album are a few photos of our bimini/enclosure. They are in our Lake Mead and Lake Powell sub albums.

Regarding the bimini specifically, if I were having one made I would have the frame made with stainless railing (as opposed to aluminum), and I would specifically ask to have the bimini extend beyond the end of the cockpit, basically to the end of the motor well. This would give better sun protection. Ours extends just beyond the end of the cockpit, which is great, but we would have liked the additional ~12" of length. Plus, it would give the cockpit area a bigger feel when fully enclosed, especially if the enclosure is not mostly lexan. I would also want the bimini to have an access zipper on each side near the cabin top so it can be opened a bit to ease access into and out of the boat when at a dock.

The best bimini I have seen is the one on "Desert 1st," another 2006 CC Venture. Casey & Mary have a bimini that fully covers the entire cockpit and motor well area and it looks great. Check out the Snapfish photo album Mary has and you'll see some shots of it. You will find a link to their album in their recent posts describing their cruise up the ICW into the Chesapeake. It is an ongoing thread.

Rob
 
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