Tag Archives: Sunbrella

DIY Screens for Pilothouse Doors

Magnolia, a 1997 Kadey Krogen 42, has a raised pilothouse with two side doors. Being averse to biting black flies, I wanted screens before going down the Delaware Bay - a known fly habitat.  No one seems to enjoy their visits as they arrive in swarms.  I completed the first phase of the screens before we left the Chesapeake Bay bound for the Great Lakes. Reporting no flies aboard to date. 

The screen material is cut the actual size I wanted with a two inch binding top and bottom which I made from Sunbrella and a 1" Sunbrella binding on the sides.  The material is Phifertex white 54".  This is the basic Phifertex which will allow more air flow, but may not keep out any noseeums.  For noseeums, I'd spray the mesh with "Shoo-Fly".  Primarily Read more [...]

Line Lock Covers

 More covers.  Everything teak needs a cover from the sun. Handrails, winches and line locks.  The two line locks on the aft cabin deck got new varnish, hence, new covers.

 

Basically, I made a box cover to slip over the top. Using a "boxing strip" for the top and forward and aft sides; I sewed the top to a side panel; then carefully lined up and sewed the forward and aft side strips to the side panel. Repeat for the other side. After testing the fit, I hemmed all around the base/opening, trimmed the corners, and carefully pushed out the corners with the blunt end of the seam ripper. (You could use your fingers or a pencil eraser.)  That's it.  The Captain used wire ties to secure the cover to the base.  You could add snaps Read more [...]

Cover the Cables

The Captain is upgrading our electrical shore power cables. Considering the small investment in the cables (although the value of any fire safety improvement is unquestioned), we want to cover the cables to reduce the potential detrimental impact of sun, weather and dirt on the cables.  So another Sunbrella cover.

First a bit about the cables…We bought the SmartPlug cables at Defender during their annual warehouse sale in April. These cables are supposed to be safer because they have 20 times more cross-section connector area than traditional marine power plugs which were designed in the 1930s.  The design should reduce the chance of overheating and fire. The plug connector allows an easier snap-in connection rather than the older threaded Read more [...]

Stack Pack Repairs

This past weekend I caught the zipper pulley line for our Mack Pack sail cover on the end of the batten while the Captain was raising the mainsail.  Why is it so hard to keep a 44' boat head to wind?  If I slowly ease the boat into the wind I hear "hurry up it's not fun standing here at the mast waiting.".  If I go fast to the wind I overcompensate and have to back off.  Probably half the time we catch a lazy jack or reefing line on the edge of the batten off the mainsail leech.  I really do try to watch the leech (and the depth and the crab pots and the other boaters) while keeping the bow directly into the wind.  But this time we caught the pulley line for Mack Pack zipper and pulled the zipper slider and one of the pulleys off the pack.  Read more [...]

Sport-A-Seat Covers–Part II

You’ll recall a recent post on my Sport-A-Seat cover project.  About the same time our friend, Prue Preston on Exuberant, was planning to do the same project.  We each had different approaches so we thought we'd see what worked best from each attempt.  Prue did an excellent job and gets high marks for fit and finish.  She admits to some cursing and seam ripping but don’t we all!

Prue selected this lively stripe from several very nice Sunbrella swatches to go with their recently redone cockpit cushions and the boat’s color scheme.  They have a very pleasant Hylas cockpit used, besides the obvious passage-making, for happy hours and late morning Christmas mimosas (in champagne flutes no less).

She did a great lay out to maximize Read more [...]