Does the colour of canvas make a difference ?

[Christian Van H]

Wonder what a light grey Bimini with Reflectix sewn in would be like? Probably be way cool, but not sure about mold / mildew...

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Christian Van H

Wonder what a light grey Bimini with Reflectix sewn in would be like? Probably be way cool, but not sure about mold / mildew...

For the sake of the experiment, on one occasion I stretched a "Solar Blanket"--one of those light-weight silvered mylar numbers that REI sells--over the top of our Bimini and held it in place with clothes pins. The extent to which it cut-down on heat in the cockpit was quite remarkable. I've also tried a couple of these on our decks, stretched over the grab rails so there's an airspace between the deck and the mylar, and they really did cut down on the heat in the cabin. While we carefully folded these up and stored them in a zip-lock bag, they don't last very long and, of course, the aesthetics leave something to be desired.

FWIW...

[Pblais]

We are replacing all the sprayhood / bimini / sailcovers etc on SV Tiki and have a huge range of colours to choose from. The current set is a beige (Toast according to my Sunbrella brochure!) but the previous owner said the light colour was roasting in the Tropical heat??

Forget Sunbrella go with White "Stamoid". FERRARI® STAMOID

It's a laminated fabric that is smooth on both sides and it's white! It won't last much longer than Sunbrella but it holds up at least as well if not better and is easier to clean and Sunbrella is not easy to clean at all. It's made by Ferrari. It's very popular in Florida these days too. We have had it 3 years and it is very nice. We have a full enclosure with it. Also we added sun screens that go down the side short about a foot. The white 80% blocking lets some breeze blow through and under and you can see through it mostly.

If you go Sunbrella the colors makes a difference.

Anything with red including toast fades fastest. With toast among the very fastest. You can tell after the second year. The blue color you see everywhere lasts the longest followed by green. It's the pigment in the dye because the material is really the same.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Pblais

We have a full enclosure with it. Also we added sun screens that go down the side short about a foot. The white 80% blocking lets some breeze blow through and under and you can see through it mostly.

Paul, would love to see photos of this enclosure, if it's easy to do.

[zozo 31]

All this talk about the different typs of fabric and of thread.. one needs to understand the cost issues.. when building a dodger or bimini, of any of the fabrics as "Stamoid" or using thread as Tenara your cost goes to sometimes double or triple the cost of using sunbrella or polyester thread..
we own a canvas shop so I see the product at cost.....
sunbrella will cost us $11.00 to $15.00 dollars per yard where "stamoid open" has a cost of $34.00 per yard.. (we sell it for $68.00) stamoid top is at a cost to us is around $20.00 per yard ..
as for the thread, poly cost us about $12.00 per one pould spool where "tenara" can cost us well over $100.00 per 8 oz spool......or $200.00 for the same amount of thread........
for the cost to restitch every few years, the savings is to the customer..
If we built your project with tenara, the additional cost would far above what restitching would be..
We use "Stamoid" and "tenara" but only about 2% of our customers agree to pay the additional cost of the project.. and the work we do is mostly on boats that fall between 150K and 600K value.. never have we done a project on a boat under 100K where the people would agree to pay for the added cost..

[plottie]

Originally Posted by Jack Tar

Full enclosure cockpit on a center cockpit Formosa 51. Dark Navy blue hull. The dark Navy blue gets very very hot as does the hull. But then again in a land where the sun is scarce it's rather nice to step into a warm cockpit. All of the sides and windows are detachable and or roll up. In addition the cockpit enclosure can be separated into two areas with a zipper.

Thank you very much for the pics, looks lovely and giving me some good ideas. Tiki is a Young Sun 43 centre cockpit so very similar indeed!

[plottie]

Thank you everyone for the insight - seems there's a need for a two tone product in the market with light outer to reflect heat / dark inner to reduce glare &UV!

I'm very envious of the prices quoted in replies as Sunbrella is easily $50per meter for the 1.5m product here in Oz. Shipping from US is expensive but well worth it for the total we will eventually need to complete the jobs.

The Aqua kind of green is at the top of my list - so it's somewhere in the middle of light and dark I guess, plus we'll always stand out in the crowd.

It's a DIY project so will keep y'all posted.

[sailorboy1]

My last boat had a tan colored bimini on it. I had to wear my hat and sunscreen while under it. So far the dark blue on my new boat seems to not require this.

I look forward to some data for a in between color.

[zeehag]

cost issues be danged--- if ye are building a dodger in a hot topical area and using cotton thread, you are wasting money. there ARE threads that stand up to this sun stuff a lot better tha n cotton--prolly why cotton is so frequently used-- the restitch figures are dancing thru lil branes as they estimate the building of the enclosure.....
my dark forest green tarping is fine here in mazatlan--keeps sun off me and allows wind in--- perfect. lots of room between the tarp and decking.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by Bloodhound

That's interesting. ....I wonder what it's worth. I have dark maroon sunbrella and find the canvas lasts well -- now over 10 years old and only just beginning to show wear (actually chafe). But the stitching is another matter. I wish I could find stitching that lasted as long as the sunbrella.

The good news in the next set you buy can be sewn with gortex thread and this problem will be solved! (sold under the brand name Tenera)

It has a lifetime warranty, so as long at the fabric holds together you should be good to go ; -)

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by zozo 31

All this talk about the different typs of fabric and of thread.. one needs to understand the cost issues.. when building a dodger or bimini, of any of the fabrics as "Stamoid" or using thread as Tenara your cost goes to sometimes double or triple the cost of using sunbrella or polyester thread..
we own a canvas shop so I see the product at cost.....
sunbrella will cost us $11.00 to $15.00 dollars per yard where "stamoid open" has a cost of $34.00 per yard.. (we sell it for $68.00) stamoid top is at a cost to us is around $20.00 per yard ..
as for the thread, poly cost us about $12.00 per one pould spool where "tenara" can cost us well over $100.00 per 8 oz spool......or $200.00 for the same amount of thread........
for the cost to restitch every few years, the savings is to the customer..
If we built your project with tenara, the additional cost would far above what restitching would be..
We use "Stamoid" and "tenara" but only about 2% of our customers agree to pay the additional cost of the project.. and the work we do is mostly on boats that fall between 150K and 600K value.. never have we done a project on a boat under 100K where the people would agree to pay for the added cost..

An 8 oz spool of Tenara is 1600 yards--a MILE of thread--for $100. How many biminis can you make with a spool of thread--at least 10? If your customers don't want to pay for the extra cost of Tenara, then you are marking that cost up WAY too much.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

An 8 oz spool of Tenara is 1600 yards--a MILE of thread--for $100. How many biminis can you make with a spool of thread--at least 10? If your customers don't want to pay for the extra cost of Tenara, then you are marking that cost up WAY too much.

if customers dont wanna pay for the added cost of longer lasting stuff, they are either ignorant or they dont respect the lack of endurance of threads IN HOT SUN.
personally, i prefer the longevity factor, despite my lack of riches.LOL
i also see the benefit of making my solar panels into the cover for the bimini so i wont be having that particular problem too much. minimalize the canvas in my covers.

[mrohr]

OK i'll go out on a limb on this one. White reflects visible light ,infrared too, hence cooler,BUT absorbs the fabric damaging UV rays.
Dark colors( Black)absorbs visible light and infrared and so are hotter,BUT reflects UV and thereby lasts longer. ASk any one who flies a spinnaker: which color breaks down first or just look at the stars and stripes ensign that has been flying for too many seasons .The white always goes first while the red lasts.
Gord, you gotta help me here!

[zeehag]

color doesnt matter for shade--just have it. mine is dark green. works great. so far has outlasted 2 previous owners, also....LOL

[forsailbyowner]

as for the thread, poly cost us about $12.00 per one pould spool where "tenara" can cost us well over $100.00 per 8 oz spool......or $200.00 for the same amount of thread........
for the cost to restitch every few years, the savings is to the customer..
If we built your project with tenara, the additional cost would far above what restitching would be..
We use "Stamoid" and "tenara" but only about 2% of our customers agree to pay the additional cost of the project..


I also own a canvas shop. I bid tenara in to ALL my exterior projects. If your not getting customers to use tenara its because your not selling its virtues. The last complete restitch I did cost the owner $700 at $45 per hour. It took 8 oz of tenara to complete. After you restitch you have a leaky compromised pos. Im not impressed with stamoid. One wash with the wrong cleaner and it turns into a gummy mess. My price for solarfix which is the same material and has same warranty is $179.35 per LB I pay just over $200 per Lb. for tenara. I stand by my earlier statement, If your canvas shop isnt using lifetime thread , find another shop.