Tom Cat Canvas

R

ricka

New member
We recently placed an order for a new TomCat to be delivered Jan. 2020. Could any of you give us any recommendations on who out here on the west coast would be a good canvas shop to have a camper type enclosure made for the cockpit. I have looked at Bobs pictures of his canvas I believe on his last TomCat but I think he had it built in Florida. We would like to find a good shop in Oregon or Washington as we live on the I5 corridor 10 minutes south of the Oregon boarder. We plan on using the boat a lot in the Pacific Northwest.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rick
 
Congratulations on the order of the new boat! Items I would suggest: 1" SS tubing. Have it free standing, so that you don't have to have straps or connections to the top of the cabin. Included in this, is adequate height, to have free flow of air under the Bimini when the front is zipped out. Have at least 2 foot wide, zip open top (outside toward the middle, with velcro over the zippers to seal out water) for entrance and egress from the cockpit. Size of windows and if you want mosquito or no see em screens vary--we were intentionally small on the side windows. Consider quality clear vinyl. Best is Pressed and polished in 30 to 40 mil thickness. Strataglass is an example of this. It is much more expensive, than others. You may also want to consider keeping the clear panels flat, and not rolling them. If kept flat, they will then velcro under the "ceiling" of the Bimini when open. For storage best is sewn Terry cloth or microfiber sheaths.

Get a canvas worker who will have the boat there to make adjustments. Ask to see some of their work. I like to have all edges bound. Double sewn in places of high stress. and use a Gortex or other UV resistant thread such as Tenara. Even if you are not going to DIY, Sailrite has a lot of information here on fabrics.. and Here on clear vinyl
 
This is not in the canvas department but something I would highly recommend that you consider. Get away from the head and holding tank mode and put in an Airhead or similar composting toilet system. Way less fuss and muss, and much less hassle in care, feeding and maintenance. You will be able to gain some storage space -- no black water holding tank, and you will be able to skip the pumpouts every week.

Look up "Airhead".
Check with Pat and Patti Anderson on Daydream. They are Gold Loopers (did the "Great Loop" on a CD-25.
Link to their Great Loop blog:
https://daydreamsloop.blogspot.com/
"The Airhead composting toilet. Never needing to pump out was a huge benefit."


Consider it, unless you like plumbing while standing on your head and reaching where you can't see.
(BTW, no personal experience, just word of mouth from both sides of the "experience") 8) :shock: :twisted:

Now back to your canvass ??? I would second the suggestion to have zipper cutouts into the bimini top for easier egress and exit - unless you are about 4ft8" tall.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

7_SleepyC_at_Port_Harvey_001.thumb.jpg
 
Rick: congratulations on your new boat, how exciting!! DK if they are still in business but we used king marine of Seattle for past canvas work (cd 22) and were well pleased. Keep us posted on your progress. Best, Mike
 
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