Storage Cover for Wooden Boats

[zanepurcell]

I am in the planning and designing phase of a concept for a wooden boat cover. My primary market use is for boats that are housed on winches/ lift cradles in boat houses generally behind a canvas curtain in a stall. Think ChrisCraft and Garwood. generally under 20' in length, mahogany , teak etc. Rarely trailered and advisably never trailered with a cover on. They are generally easy to pattern, large flat fop surface with a glass windshield coming up. Abrasion resistance when the cover is coming off and on is an issue as the boat wood and chrome trim simply cant be abraided. I am thinking weathermax and or sunbrella. I dont want to attach fasteners so I am going to use shock cord in  the hem and run it under the rub rail. I want to make a skirt in the back and sometimes on the sides to protect the transome from weather and this is most often where hand painted boat names are located. Thoughts on lining the cover and or adding chaffing resistant patches are appreciated. I will have to make some sort of allowance around where a winch will clip on the front and back of the boat unless they have a lift cradle which is most often the case with wooden boats. I want to generally pattern them while on the lake from the dock or take them to my dock and pattern them.
so talk amongst yourselves.

Zane

[Mojo]

Zane:

You will probably get some good ideas from the Marine masters here. If not then
something you may want to consider is maybe contacting MiamiMike and running by your ideas with him. He is a HUGE fabric resource and someone that I consider to be an expert in fabrics and construction techniques. He has seen it all and sold it all and he because he has hundreds of customers knows exactly what works in certain applications and what doesn't.

If I have a project that is out of the ordinary I contact him and discuss fabric selection and construction techniques. He is great with all this and could lend .

His number is: 513-298-5519

Chris

[fragged8]

Florida Mike is the king of patterning and making covers for boats on lifts

if the boat is wood then include lots of vents for air flow or use a natural
cotton canvas

[Mojo]

Richard is right. Mike is the marine King and June is the marine Queen. Both have done more marine work then I can dream up in my head.

I am not a Marine fabricator but the two things that popped into my mind was preventing the cover from scratching the wood in the wind and like Richard said, coming up with a way that it vents itself.

Chris

[Mike]

On the dVits eould be the best place cor patterning the. Youncan pattern around the cables. As on this cover

http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy102/Mike8560/covers/img_0219.jpg

As far as far ric for a nice soft liner i really like outdura trio outdura if your not familiar id simmilar to sunbrella looks the same the but trio has a soft felt like finnish on the inside

http://www.outdura.com/our_fabrics.html

Miami mike sells
This also btw. As far as chafe points like cleats or sharp windowmframes ive aleay used material
Like herculite   Ripresistate material at thoose points.

[DBR1957]

It's expensive but Sunbrella Supreme wouold be a great material for this project. Soft, suede feel
underside.

With no fasteners you will have to come up with a method to keep the cover from sliding around.
Had a friend with a center console full cover over the Tee Top and the wind would slide it around
because the bungi wouldn't hold it in place. I got under the cover while it was on and marked
to top framing, cleats and rails. Sewed some straps with buckles at select spots inside and fixed
the problem.

[JuneC]

I've used Odyssey Soft Touch (Miami Corp is a source) and like it, but it is waterproof so must be vented.  Sunbrella supreme is higher quality and will most likely last longer, but is heavier and more expensive.  One thing I don't like about Soft Touch is it's ability to pick up all sorts of stuff in the fuzz on the underside.  On a lift it wouldn't be a problem, but in a weedy storage lot for boats on a trailer, it'll pick up burrs and other scratchy stuff which defeats the whole purpose of a soft cover. 

Also, when making this type of cover, I don't just turn under the edge for the webbing/drawstring channel. I cut a facing and sew it on "inside-out" so that ONLY the fuzzy part touches the boat, never the outside skin of the fabric.

June

[zanepurcell]

these covers wont ever see any water so waterproof dosent make sense. I have thought of sewing in a vent or using the round kind that go on top of a pole. One thought that I had to needs to be dealt with- these things take on water and when put down in the water after a long stent of hanging they have to swell first to be as water tight as possibly. So the average wooden boat hanging in a boathouse has an inch or two of water in the hull. In addition to bungee, I should probably make a chin strap or two. They historically all had cotton duck covers...
Zane

and for June-- " I never drink water because of the disgusting things fish do in it"

WC Fields

[fragged8]

when I make a vent i cut a triangle of the cover material and a triangle of Phiphertex

make the cover material one an inch or so longer and wider than the mesh
so it will arch when sewn edge to edge and sew in a piece of bungee or something
into the open edge.

[zanepurcell]

thats very nice. I want to come to Norfolk and work for you for a free vacation...

[Mike]

This is simmilar to what rich doese but no bungy. There cour in the shade

http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy102/Mike8560/covers/40A75343-180D-41EA-AA0A-2E9291DA548C-1031-00000139763F46A9.jpg

If its just a dust cover there is that soft quilt loke materialmused formclassi. Auto dust covers. I dont know the name  and never used it   Ut i had supplier in the past that had it.

[Miami Mike]

Yes Softouch is a good product. The fabric has a soft backing so you will not get scratches on the wood finish. And if you want to step up and pay for the Trio from Outdura you can have a super cover for the boat. The trio has some breathability so venting is not needed. Again the backing on the trio is soft like the headliner in your car.

[zanepurcell]

bimini escutcheon pictures and methods please
while we are at it?

[JuneC]

I just line the triangular vent with a scrap of 40ga Strataglass to make it stand up off the cover.  Flat covers require a Vent-So-Port, but if there's enough angle for water run-off, I prefer the fabric vent so there's no bulky plastic to fold up inside the cover when not in use. 

And what's a "bimini escutcheon"??

June

[zanepurcell]

when something has to stick up through the cover because you cantget it under the cover, a hole has to be made ,o some sort of opening- I just want to brainstorm about how to make the openings