Scandal At The Marina-Blue Dodger with Brown Bimini

[thruska]

HH 66 will work for your fabric welding. Works well on inflatables.
Use on lips of inflammatory neighbor.....������

[toddster8]

Haven't tried E6000 - Bish's Tear Mender seems to work on Sunbrella patches.

[somanyboats]

If you just want to change the brown, perhaps the folks at Sunbrella can help with some ideas

[thinwater]

Sunbrella says latex works:

https://www.sailrite.com/PDF/Sunbrel...ne-Fabrics.pdf

I've painted awnings before (not on a boat) white just to make them cooler. Worked fine and made it more water-tight. If it needs a touch-up in a few years, who cares, and a few years after that... heck, anything could happen and you are no worse off.

[thomm225]

Mixing colors is great especially when it's free!

My boat even came with some extra blue Sunbrella which I used to patch my tan dodger

[Halien]

Our oldest son had a canvas shop for several years. Believe it or not, in the long run the cheapest solution is to have a pro pattern and make you a new top. You'll pay retail for Sunbrella and fittings. He doesn't. He already has spools of PTFE thread. You don't, and they are expensive. He has the binding, welt cord, zippers, $7,500 sewing machine, and everything else your project might need. You don't. Anything you try to do yourself is going to look worse that what a pro can do for you, and you'll end up replacing it sooner when the thread rots in the sun.

No offense to anyone, but gluing fabric together, or painting it, is pretty hobo, and using the old canvas as a pattern for new will only duplicate any fitment problems you may already have. When he started out he let a few owners talk him into using old canvas as a pattern for its replacement. Customers were never happy after the new canvas stretched a bit. It's hard to turn away business when you're starting out, but he did turn away the cheapskates. He didn't want people seeing shitty canvas out there with his name on it, and that decision paid off in the long run.

FWIW, he told me that if a canvas shop already has a roll of something that goes nicely with blue, and the frame is in good shape, they should be able to pattern and make a two-bow Bimini top for about $500.

[model 10]

Poly-Tak aircraft fabric cement. A 2" lap seam is as strong as the fabric. On line of course but I see it at the local hobby shop in the model airplane dept.

[CdS2 Roland]

Hello,
Brown, yellow, fuschia, what we expect from covers is to protect us and material from the sun.
That said, using the old bimini as template for a new one, will result in a poor new one. This because your old Sunbrella was streched and deformed and will never came flat again.
Have a nice sunny day.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Sailon1

Yes, my neighbors at the marina threatened to inform the office manager
when they saw the clashing colors! Ha Ha!

I would not want those neighbors. Inform the office manager of their unfriendly attitude. If he agrees with them, find a more tolerant marina.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by bletso

Yea That's an option and when the acrylic starts to harden and flake off maybe it will fall on his decks like leaves. To do it right though you will have to put it on real heavy. He will then have something to cry about. I would suggest latex as it will crack and age so much better

Reminds me of an economy fellow yachty I met in Dampier in Western Australia.

Someone had given him an air-leaky old rubber duck and his solution to the deflate problem was to pour water based house paint into the chambers and roll the dingy around on the yacht club lawn until it coated the internal surfaces. The repair would last until he loaded up in rough water and the paint cracked. Then he'd give it another internal coat. He'd been at it for a while when I met him and the dingy was getting fairly heavy by then.

[mayberrybfd]

Get a Walmart Tarp. Thattl learn em

[Attikos]

Originally Posted by mayberrybfd

Get a Walmart Tarp. Thattl learn em

Best idea yet!

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Halien

Our oldest son had a canvas shop for several years. Believe it or not, in the long run the cheapest solution is to have a pro pattern and make you a new top. You'll pay retail for Sunbrella and fittings. He doesn't. He already has spools of PTFE thread. You don't, and they are expensive. He has the binding, welt cord, zippers, $7,500 sewing machine, and everything else your project might need. You don't. Anything you try to do yourself is going to look worse that what a pro can do for you, and you'll end up replacing it sooner when the thread rots in the sun.

No offense to anyone, but gluing fabric together, or painting it, is pretty hobo, and using the old canvas as a pattern for new will only duplicate any fitment problems you may already have. When he started out he let a few owners talk him into using old canvas as a pattern for its replacement. Customers were never happy after the new canvas stretched a bit. It's hard to turn away business when you're starting out, but he did turn away the cheapskates. He didn't want people seeing shitty canvas out there with his name on it, and that decision paid off in the long run.

FWIW, he told me that if a canvas shop already has a roll of something that goes nicely with blue, and the frame is in good shape, they should be able to pattern and make a two-bow Bimini top for about $500.

Halien hit the nail on the head, here. The old dodger material has stretched, everywhere the fabric is on its bias. Also, even when using an old one for a template, which I did once, there are still problems getting the dodger to come out right....mine was meant to fold down, and I hadn't heard the tricks to getting the clean panels right, yet, and nor did we have PTFE thread. Be sure to specify it throughout. That old dodger did work, AND, it did not look professional. As with many trades, there are tricks, and the beginning canvas worker doesn't know them. However, if your blue material is sunbrella, and they'll let you supply them with it and the bows, if they know what they're doing, it should be very affordable. Royal blue Sunrella lasts quite well, though it requires help, as it loses it's water shedding abilities.

Ann

[JeffH]

If your marina is an upscale yacht club or a really upscale marina (as in dominated by $2M+ yachts), I could see his being concerned. My usual response is to thank him for his kind offer of paying for the replacement of the offending item. Followed by puzzlement at why he thinks he is entitled to complain if he isn’t paying for it.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Sailon1

OK. Just to clarify my posting--just a joke--I should have made that clear.

Anyway, I just bought something called E6000 (Home Depot) and the packaging says it can be applied to cloth and can be used in a washer and dryer.

FYI, It's good stuff, but you can save a buck at least by buying "Shoe Goo". It's exactly the same stuff, but cheaper.
I guess they figure anyone who needs to repair their shoes needs a break on the cost.
I get it at Ace Hardware.