Bowline Bags – The Details Revealed
You've seen the beautiful, practical, yet pricey sail bags made by big name designers. I thought there had to be a way to make similar sail bags for less money using recycle sails. The Captain wanted several bags for provisioning and carting goods to and from the boat. We were weekend sailors until we tossed the dock lines. So this Seamless Sailor started searching for a used sail to make lots o' bags. The Boat Galley has also written about using good shopping bags for provisioning, too. We used these bags a lot.
The first sail came from the Annapolis boat consignment shop, Bacon's. For a few dollars I got one with which to experiment. Several ok bags came from that sail with a green Sunbrella sacrificial cover on the leech Read more [...]
To err is human...
This post is one of the ongoing series of cover projects. We moved my Sailrite aboard Magnolia into prime real estate on the "workbench" in the passageway leading aft. The Captain again suggested a cover. Ok, no problem. A cover with an opening for the handle.
Away I went with extra Sunbrella I had on hand. I measured the lid (note that I said lid) at least three times using the rule of measure three times, cut once. This is where I confess to my mistake. Also note that I made this cover several week ago and I can only now write about it. I was so mad at myself for the mistake I am about to admit to that I snapped at the Captain. I really try not to do that.
So back to the story. I made the 
Sometimes this Seamless Sailor decides a project is beyond her skill set or available time. I had decided that the plaid settee covers on Magnolia, while still in good shape, didn't represent the look we wanted to create for our new home. We wanted to make our imprint on our boat. I wanted Ultraleather settees - sleek and durable. The captain agreed to my extravagant choice. After we had a positive experience having our enclosure remade by Captain Canvas, we had him redo the settees. Again he did a fabulous job.
We wanted a tough fabric that could be easily cleaned. The trade-off - cost. Ultraleather is pricey. We look at it as an investment in livability on the boat. And at the time we were both working.
To decide 
One morning the Captain advised next on the list of projects - install the TV screen. It's on a folding arm attached inside a cabinet. We decided that a cover would be a good idea to protect the screen. No problem for a Seamless Sailor. I pulled out extra Sunbrella and made up a cover in a few hours. Here's how I did it.
Materials:
Sunbrella
Binding Tape
Creatology Fun Foam
- Measure the screen front to cover. Cut the foam to this size. For the Sunbrella front panel, add 1/2" seam allowance for each front side. Cut two of these in Sunbrella with a hot knife or finish edges.
- Measure the back. Is there a need for an opening for the arm or extra depth for a stand? Mark where the opening should be. Is there 
Sewing Machine Maintenance. Gotta get it done.
- I admit it. I abused my sewing machine. I neglected it. It started making sounds that didn't sound good - sorta metal on metal. But I have redeemed myself. I took it apart and cleaned and oiled it. It wasn't that hard. I read the Sailrite manual and watched the video. You can do it too. It just takes a screwdriver, paper towels, and sewing machine oil. Test it on some scraps before your next project for any residual oil. Don't abuse your machine. Take care of it before each big project. If it's happy, you'll be happy.
-Watch needle size for the project at hand. I recently broke a needle on several layers of webbing. My bad as I was using too small a needle