Sunbrella vs Shade cloth for spray/weather cloths.

[GILow]

I’m going to make the side cloths out of shade cloth. I also have a bolt of sunbrella for the new boom cover. If there’s enough left over from that I will turn it into side cloths. But I was pretty stingy with my purchase so I don’t think I will have enough.

[Pelagic]

Resurrecting this thread as I am about to do a DIY on side curtains using both Sunbrella and Phifertex Mesh…. Any notes or advice on sewing the Mesh and Sunbrella together would be most helpful, as I have not found anything yet on the Sailrite video tutorials…. Thanks!

[JPA Cate]

If you want it to look nice, make flat felled seams so there are no raw edges on it. Different ways to accomplish it. Me, I sew the seam, trim the underneath part of the seam (depends which way you want to fold it) to 6 mm (1/4"), and then fold the other part over the narrowed one, and sew it down, a half mm from the fold. There are other ways to accomplish this, but it is something to endure weather, not a chiffon dress, and what I told you will stay together for the life of the fabrics. Use ptfe thread, so you only have to sew once, and not again in 4 years.

I have tried WeatherMax for weather cloths, and the dark red fades to a gray color that I detest; whereas, the Sunbrella stays the same color for its life. The grey WM fades a bit, but the fabric, guaranteed for 5 yrs., is really damaged by UV by 4. Sigh.


*****

As to the use of mesh for weather cloths, we haven't done it, but this boat now, is so dry, it would probably be okay. Our previous boat would take beam seas, they'd run up the hull and leap over into the cockpit. We used sunbrella. You need to leave a good gap at the bottom for the water to run out, too, and run them well forward of the cockpit entry. We have a wx cloth for across the stern, too. I think it was meant for privacy, as the boat has never been pooped. [Fingers crossed].


Ann

PS. The inexpensive shade cloth available from hardware stores works fine, allow 2" (48mm) for the hems, all round, it will lie flat and be stronger for the grommets or ties.

[Pelagic]

Thanks Ann... all the Materials you mentioned were ordered and have been delivered

[capt jgw]

Originally Posted by GILow

Something from this range.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/our-rang...de/shade-cloth

When I bought my boat it did have window and hatch shades made from this material. It’s a bit tricky to sew but once you get the thread tension right it’s not too bad.

The 50%, 90% etc refers to the degree of light blocking.

Phifertex is a brand name here, Sailrite has it.

[JPA Cate]

Phifertex looks like it is a rectangular mesh sunscreen; the coolaroo that Matt is looking at is a lot more open. It is Matt's that requires the 2" seam allowance. Your Phifertex looks more like "Breezeway", which, for hems, if you want 1" hems, you'll want to turn under only 1/4" for a tidy looking seam. Of course, if it is easier for you to handle, you can plan around 1cm turn-under. All these shade cloths come in different weights (heaviness, or smallness of openings), and the heavier ones allow less airflow, while the lighter ones do not repel water as well. Angles close to or at vertical will help them drain.

You may be able to see through the lightweight black, Matt, which can be convenient.

Ann

[Pelagic]

Thanks Ann for the notes on sewing the Phifertex

I was lucky that the chandler in Subic had a variety of mesh types to choose from and salrite does a couple of comparison videos..
If you look at the bottom thumbnail of my post 17 you can see it's opaqueness

The one I chose seems perfect for my use as a horizontal rain inhibiter and mid afternoon onwards sunshade