Fasteners for holding Phifertex material to Railing

[pattyann]

We want to use Phifertex material to wrap around our bridge attaching to the stainless* bridge railing.* All of the gear on our*bridge is open to view(bikes, emergency honda genset,etc) and gets unsightly. plus nothing to help prevent stuff going overboard. What* methods of attachment* have folks used to attach the screening to the upright supports and horizontal railing instead of groments every few inches with woven line.. Its my understanding* Phifertex* fabrics are woven from coated PVC polyester and is strong and flexible with*little stretch. Most fasteners for canvas have to be drilled than screwed into the support and you know alot of stainless is murder to drill. My thought was to drill and attach fasteners at the beginning top/bottom , middle and end of railings pulling fabric tight. Photo shows somewhat of what we're working with. Any ideas, photos, thoughts experiences with this project appreciate..

[OloteleMtn]

How about lashing it with small stuff, like 550 cord or nylon?

[Spindrift NH]

Webbing straps sewn on 12”-18” spacing. Fastening with either backpack clips or common sense fasteners. That is assuming you want to easily remove it. For permanent installation grommets and lacing are probably the most secure.

[Discovery 15797]

I put 1" webbing on the perimeter of my Phifertex screening around the cockpit.
Sides are attached by zipper to bimini and then 1" webbing straps with quick release buckles. These are up while anchored, and removed under sail.

I wouldn't advise drilling a lot of holes into your stainless.

There are some self adhesive flexible base snap studs available through SailRite. I have used them on fiberglass with good success. Sailrite has a video that shows they will also work on 1" stainless tubes, but I haven't tried it.

Ultimately...I agree with OloteleMtn and Spindrift...grommets and lashing are the way to go anywhere the installation is semi-permanent. It looks better also IMHO.

[ranger58sb]

Maybe make snap tabs. Attach to the Phifertex, long enough to wrap around the rails and snap back to each tab?

-Chris

[wingless]

When I created the custom cover for my 1994 Edey & Duff Columbia dinghy, I was unwilling to attach new fasteners to the boat.

Instead I used 1" polyester webbing and Velcro to thread through and wrap around the inwale, then secure onto itself. This method has been working great for years.



My custom propane tank holders are retained to the stainless bow rail w/ webbing and pinch clips.



+1 on using a perimeter reinforcement. A great starting point is folding / sewing the material for three layers of thickness. It is possible to also provide additional reinforcement by burying an internal layer of fabric within those layers.

[Discovery 15797]

[QUOTE=wingless;3180626]
My custom propane tank holders are retained to the stainless bow rail w/ webbing and pinch clips.



Wingless...what a great idea for these little LP bottles.

I currently store mine in box in my LP locker (it's a huge locker even with 3 - 17 lb fiberglass lp tanks). This is a great design to secure them better.

Thanks for sharing!