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Wish now I'd taken pics....  Factory canvas with the bow seam across the top.  The top fit nicely, but you couldn't get at the zipper (tape sewn into the seam) to attach the enclosure.  The teeth were wedged between the rain flap and pole.  Then, when you finally got the enclosure attached and snapped to the windshield, it pulled the pole pocket down and the pocket got all baggy and nasty looking.  The seam was meant to stay on top, but the tension on the enclosure moved the seam around the pole till it just looked bad. 

June

Me too, Mike.  But then it's easier with a one-man/woman shop.  I don't have to communicate my patterning marks or methods with anyone but myself.   I've also learned to make lots of notes on the pattern if it'll sit for a week or more before I can get around to the fabrication. 

June

When we sewed a zipper flap we laid the flap flat on the main top and sewed the zipper to the top. We did this (almost) always on every flap.

What are you referring to as a "zipper flap"?  You mean the rain flap where a zipper will be attached to the enclosure/camper?  Or the pole pocket? 

I'm not following your post at all here.  I understand what you mean about needing the seam to lie in a certain place on the pole, but pushing/pulling the flap I don't get.  Maybe I need another cup of joe?

June 

It's a wind-powered back up propulsion device?

Hey, don't laugh at that.  I once sailed about 5 miles home after an engine overheated using a bimini top.   

June

I totally agree, Peppy.  I always tell my customers to start each zip, don't finish any of them. Do the snaps, then finish the zipping.  But still, some covers defy you to snap them.  I've seen them recently come up as much as 3" short of snapping.  Even with soaking the canvas, they're never going to reach.

June

funny thing on tight whats wrong with tight i ask?

Yeah, easy for you to say.   ::)  You're what, freakin' 7' tall? :P And I'm 60" IF I stand up REALLY straight.  I can't do the "200 pound gorilla" canvas anymore.  Just too small/old/weak/frail/wimpy/you get the picture. 

June

Indeed!  Very nice looking work.  Can a normal-strength person put those covers on?  And what are those red "barbell looking thingys" on the dingy cover?  The fit on that thing is impeccable. 

June

Looks like one of mine.  :P

Well, then.... I think I happened across one of your old enclosures.  Pics tomorrow  :-X

June

Someone probably saw zips starting "off fabric" for an enclosure and thought it would be a good idea for a bimini.  For tight enclosures, having a 1" tail can be invaluable, but for bimini's, no so much...  The turned-under edge on the strap cutout isn't such a good idea either, given the shape, but I've seen that trick loads of times.  Does it not have a rain flap at all?  Looks like the bimini ends at the frame.

June

My guess is this guy/gal's trying to work their way into a tight market and doesn't really understand all the costs or time involved - ME about 5 years ago.  I learned the hard way.  I got LOTS of work, all of it underbid and now I know better.  It was either change my pricing structure or go under and live off food stamps.  What I didn't know at the time was what competitors were charging.  That info was hard to come by so I guesstimated and got burned multiple times.  Occasionally I still make a mistake, but not nearly as often as I used to.

Stick by your guns.  You know what you're worth and if they want cheap stuff, they can just get it off eBay or from China or from people like you're competing with. 

June

Again Doyle is right.  The marinas bear the liability for damage to property in their marina.  Most will ask for proof of insurance for your to work there at all.  Even if the products are produced off site, you could still bang up someone's boat by hitting it with the end of a bimini top pole, or start drilling/installing snap studs in the wrong boat (I've heard of it happening).  Around here, there are very few DIY marinas/boat yards.  Almost all have to approve every single contractor that sets foot on their premises.

As for charging, they consider themselves a retail provider of boat services, including mechanical, fiberglass and canvas/upholstery.  They buy those services at wholesale prices and mark them up.  It's a big part of their income stream.  If they're marking up the going rates by 30% and other marinas only mark up 10%, they'll lose business to their competitors.  Boat owners have the option of shopping around if they think the price they have to pay is too high.  I give my marinas and others in the business (like outboard mechanics that give me LOTS of referrals) a wholesale price that is just slightly lower than market rates.  I save money on those deals by not having to advertise, or go give quotes that I never hear from again, etc.  I pass that savings on to them in the form of a discount. 

June

Yep - Peppy and Howard are right - wiggle out of it and take your lumps.  Your blood pressure/sanity will thank you for it later.  BUT, like you, most of us are in this because we want to be.   A little bit of us goes into every job we do - we're not assembling microwaves coming down the line.  That first unsatisfied customer is REALLY hard to take.  Take it from me - the sting of defeat will ease with time.  Don't see it as a sign of failure - it's a sign that all of us on this planet are different (thankfully).  You and this customer are on different wavelengths.  What you see as best efforts are to him just mediocre attempts.  Let him go frustrate another canvas guy- if he can find one. 

Do NOT worry about the marina and their giving their work to someone else.  If he's so difficult in dealing with you, he's difficult with other vendors at the marina.  He probably has a reputation you're not aware of and his bi^%hing will not change your relationship with them.  If it does, they will eventually figure him out and realize it wasn't you in the first place.  Sounds like you have lots of work waiting so concentrate on pleasing the customers who appreciate all your efforts.  If 9 out of 10 customers rave about your work, it'll be obvious to even the disinterested observer that the one who complained is just a whiner.


Juen

Same here - Trivantage ships from all over the country because they don't have enough stock.  I get my canvas supplies from Manart-Hirsch and cushion vinyl and foam from Keyston Bros.

Doyle, your post reminded me of something that happened a very long time ago.  In the late 70's I worked for a very successful businessman who was in the market for a mid-sized yacht - 40' or so.  So he went to a local marina that carried a brand he was interested in and the salesman wouldn't even take him aboard one to have a look.  My boss was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with no outward appearance of wealth. 

2 or 3 weeks later my boss pulled up at the dock of this same marina in his brand new 48' Bertram to fill up on fuel and made certain it was during a time when the salesman was on duty.  Someone lost a BIG commission. 

Simple strategic business question - to be the low-cost provider, or to differentiate yourself somehow (quality, customer service, niche product).   I broke into the business as the former, but am quickly moving to the latter because I like to eat and pay the mortgage.  Competition in this area is very healthy.  Lots of it.  I don't worry about them. 

I frequently encourage my prospects to shop around.  This actually seems to have the reverse effect - once I tell them to call around, they don't.  Happened this morning, in fact.  I gave a price, he 'bout fell over, I told him to call around to see if he could get it for less, and sooner (I quoted late October), and 5 minutes later he gave me the job  ;D