DIY boat cover

[bony]

Greetings one and all,

Some time ago I started a thread on Cruiser Forum which explained (with pictures included) the tools, methods, and materials I used to fabricate my own DIY stainless steel bowrail during my boat renovation project.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...il-168560.html

At the end of that bowrail thread I said I would one day start another thread to show how I went about making my own Cockpit Cover. Well, I finally got around to doing just that, so if anyone is thinking of making their own covers perhaps some information I include here might be of use. Bear in mind this is not a tutorial, just a rundown of my own methods and materials.

Firstly, heres a couple of photos of the cover I made all finished and fitted to my boat, so you get an idea of what I was trying to achieve. After pricing a custom made cover from several canvas product dealers I kept getting quotes on the wrong side of AU$1,000, which on my budget was unacceptable. I therefore determined to make my own even though I had no access to an industrial machine to sew canvas, and had never done anything of this nature before.

https://imgur.com/ptrAjPv

https://imgur.com/BEbHOl1


Research
The first thing I did of course was get on to Google to do some much needed research because I had a lot of questions that needed answers.
What canvas material would I use?
What fittings would I need to attach the cover to my boat?
What kind of sewing machine would I need to sew the canvas?
What sewing thread and needle size would I use?....and so on.

And I also had to figure out how to go about marking out and cutting the canvas to the required size and shape. With no seamstress in the family I also had to learn what type of seams I would need to use because I knew that if the seams in canvas are not sewn right it will not be watertight.

Canvas Material
In researching the type of canvas I needed I considered using "Sunbrella", which I believe is a good quality product suitable for marine use, but I kept reading that it required an industrial sewing machine to sew it, and when I got onto ebay and other websites I found even a second hand industrial machine would blow my budget. Then I found a marine canvas material which had similar qualities as Sunbrella but was not so expensive and could be sewn using a an old time Singer sewing machines. The canvas I settled on, that you see in the photos, is called "Weathermax 80". The colour is called "Royal" and there was a number "29401" on the receipt which is probably the product number. Unfortunately the Weathermax is only 1500 millimetres (59 inches) wide, not wide enough for my boat. This meant I would have to join it so I bought a 6 metre length to allow me to do that. This quantity was more than I needed but I wanted the extra to practice with. Total cost from the following dealer was AU$214 plus shipping.

https://www.contendersailcloth.com/product/weathermax/


Sewing Machine,.
A modern electric sewing machine might handle the material but it would not handle the heavy duty sewing thread required. An old Singer model 201 would handle it though and as luck would have it I managed to pick up a Singer 201K (with all it's accessories) on ebay for just $180. Although this model was produced in 1939 and it's polished timber cabinet was a bit knocked around, the machine itself was in perfect condition and can be operated with either the electric motor or the old fashioned foot treadle. The 201K is a beautiful machine and a pleasure to use, really smooth and quiet. Those old timers really knew how to make quality machinery. I don't do a great deal of sewing but I read a bit about the history of the Singer company and learned that the 201 series are still considered by many collectors to be the best machines that Singer ever produced. When experimenting with my 201K machine I found it would easily sew through half a dozen layers of the Weathermax and probably would have easily handled the Sunbrella material.

https://imgur.com/OYuf1Ww

https://imgur.com/DWNPZdi


Needle and Thread tension
The machine sewing needles I used for my project were "Schmetz" brand size 110/18. Note: If anyone does decide to use a Singer 201K for any project it is important to know that the needle should be inserted into the machine with the flat side of the needle to the left. Inserted any other way will just result in a tangled knotted mess underneath the material you're attempting to sew. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Regarding the thread tension setting, I found that a setting between 5 and 6 on the thread tension adjuster was right for my project.

https://imgur.com/OHJiuVW


Sewing Thread & Sundries
In choosing a suitable sewing thread for my cover I was conscious of the need to have it, strong, colourfast, able to withstand the strong UV rays of an Australian summer sun, and also able to survive in a marine environment, because my boat would be sitting in salt water for long periods at a jetty mooring. The sewing thread I settled on which met these requirements was "Sunstop Bonded Polyester ", Size 92, and the colour was "Pacific Blue". Information on it can be found here -

Sunstop Bonded Polyester - Paskal

I bought my thread from a Melbourne supplier but can't remember how much I paid for it. I know it was not cheap and I could only get a large reel of it (2100 yds!) which made it all the more expensive.

When sewing the canvas it was necessary to hem it all around and because of the narrowness of it I had to join two pieces together to make it large enough to cover the boat. To make this process easier I bought a reel of "1/2 inch Hemming Tape". This is a double sided adhesive tape and is a great aid when folding the hems and the seams prior to sewing. I also used a "Fabric Marking Pencil" during the measuring and cutting process.

https://imgur.com/CCan8zf

https://imgur.com/QVxwRL7




Fixings
For fixings to attach the finished cockpit cover to the boat I used marine grade Stainless Steel Press Studs with Screw Bases and also black Tonneau Bunji Loops. All of these I purchased off ebay.

https://imgur.com/qwkPBv6

https://imgur.com/Fl9IWxO


Design
When designing the cover I had to decide how I would attach it to the boat so that I could still be able to close it all up as I got out of the cockpit. As my boat would always be moored "bow- in" to the jetty (according to our port authority regulation) it meant having the press studs across the stern and along the gunwhales and the Bunji Loops would be used to attach the cover to the rear of the cabin because this is the area where I would enter and leave the boat. This system works well, I first go around clipping all the press studs into place and then slip the Bunji Loops onto their buttons as I climb out of the cockpit area.

Making a Template.
I could have used a heavy duty clear or black plastic sheet to make the template with but I had none at the time so instead I used some pieces of plastic weedmat, leftover from a garden project. It was ok it did the job, but I needed to use duct tape on both sides around the edges to stop it fraying and falling to pieces. I also found it more manageable by making the template in two halves then joining them later. The photos I will post show the finished template on the boat and where I had to incorporate cutouts in it to allow the new cover to fit over corners on the stern and cabin. This template gave the inside shape and size of the area to be covered so I had to remember when marking the Weathermax 80 for cutting that a extra three inches or so had to allowed for all around for overlapping the gunwhale and cabin roof.

https://imgur.com/gPwWZfP

https://imgur.com/XPuS0iT

https://imgur.com/LDuXgYn

Making the cover
I did all the marking out and cutting out of the Weathermax 80 on the carpet in our loungeroom so's not to get the material dirty. Wifey wasn't impressed but she put up with it, bless her. As mentioned earlier the material was too narrow for my boat so I cut it into two 3 metre lengths and had to join them with a seam which would run across the boat from port to starb'd. This seam can be seen in the photos and although it was extra sewing to do it does not detract from the finished look of the cover. This seam needed to be watertight and I found the answer to this problem on a Youtube tutorial video showing the three types of seam mainly used when sewing canvas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BvIr1mNYiE

From this video I learned how to do a "Full Flat Felled Seam" which is both strong and watertight, ideal for the join in my material. For the edges of the cover I needed to allow the hem to be wide enough and thick enough to accomodate the S/steel press studs and the Bunji Loops. For this purpose I used a "Double Fold Hem" for which there are plenty of tutorials on Youtube. Having joined the material it was simply a matter of laying the template on it and marking out around the edges, leaving enough extra material to create the 'double fold hem' and also allowing extra matierial to overlap a few inches onto the cabin roof. Where the cover needed to be cut out for the corners I allowed for a half inch wide double fold hem. After cutting it all out with a large pair of sharp scissors it was just a matter of folding the hems (made easier with the double side hemming tape) then sewing them on my lovely Singer machine. I found I wasn't the straightest sewer in the world but on the whole was not too bad. When finished sewing it was then then time to fit the press studs and Bunji loops, which was easy enough to do. There's plenty of info on the web on how to do this.

End note
I will end by saying that all up my boat cover cost me somewhere in the vicinity of AU$500, that's a saving of more than 50% on the quotes I was getting from proffessionals. It' been three years ago now since I made the cover and for nearly all that time my boat has been mostly moored at a jetty in salt water. The cover is watertight, and has so far shown no signs of deterioration apart from the usual mould growth and bird droppings, but these wash off easily. For added security, as my boat doesn't have curtains, I also made a small cover for the cabin front windows to protect the cabin contents from prying eyes at the jetty.

https://imgur.com/civ4mug

I hope this long winded story of my sojourn into the world of canvas covers and sewing machines is of some use to someone and maybe encourages them to "have a go".

Regards,
bony.

I apologise for the bad links in the images, just can't seem to insert them properly for some reason.