Canvas projects

[DCatSea]

I was researching handrail covers and came across this great website - check out marine projects. Now all I need is a bolt of dark blue Sunbrella, a sewing machine and advice from MiL on how to do it.

Has anyone done their own canvas work (I know Smacksman has)?

https://www.sailrite.com/

[WillieC]

I'm right behind you, Doug! Just picked up a Thompson machine. When these old dogs quit learning new tricks, I guess it will be time to hang it up.

I understand a hotknife is real handy for cutting sunbrella since it seals the edge from fraying. I am thinking of modifying an old solder gun for the purpose. What could go wrong?

My plan is to practice, practice, practice on old blue jeans, or something similar before destroying fabric I actually might have to pay for.

[hetek]

WillieC - The hot knife trick sounds slick. I might have a tip for you -

When I was in electronics school WAY back in the day, we used solder guns. Why not irons I'll never know, but we used guns. Anyway, being a school, they tried to do everything on the cheap. Instead of buying new proper Weller soldering gun tips, they would take a piece of 12 ga Romex wire, strip the insulation, bend it into a soldering gun tip shape and trim to size. Voila! Cheap soldering gun tip. And it worked!

Take that 12 ga copper wire and make a triangle shaped loop instead of a soldering tip. Hammer the middle of the loop flat to resemble a knife edge. It need not be sharp, just thin. You can probably even reshape it and put an offset into it for clearance.

Or you could just buy a proper hot knife tip from Weller on eBay. Search: Weller RCT tip. About $6 with free shipping.

Me? I have a hammer and I have copper wire. Guess what I would do?

[WillieC]

Hetek! A man after my own heart! Tripping over Boat Bills to save pennies!
I have PILES of copper wire floating around! And PILES of hammers!
(Ok, enough exclamation points, sorry)

I was pondering just what you suggest, thinking I need to find some nichrome wire, but how malleable is that? Not very. But copper? Perfect. Thank you!

"You can probably even reshape it and put an offset into it for clearance."

I am thinking of making a lightweight cradle that holds the gun upright and steady for easy straight cuts. Either that or cut back on the alcohol consumption before 10am.

[dkirsop]

You can buy a hot knife blade for the Weller type guns. It's only a couple of bucks. I bought mine 30 years ago and I am still using it! Its the only way to go when cutting Sunbrella. It seals the edge and eliminates the need for sewing a folded seam.

I also highly recommend the book Canvaswork & Sail Repair by Con Casey. It will save you hours of frustration in figuring how to make patterns, plan projects and install zippers. Get it from your library and it costs nothing!

[DesertAlbin736]

Ah yes, been there, done that. Sailrite is a great resource, not only for materials and supplies, but a wonderful library of how-to videos on YouTube for just about every project you could imagine. WillieC just got himself a Thompson Mini Walker sewing machine. The famous Sailrite machines are essentially improved clones of the Thompson design. We've done extensive canvas work for our boat, made a new cockpit enclosure upgraded with enhancements of my own design, made covers for all three pairs of hand rails, over the main cabin, wheel house, aft cabin, and the teak roof hatches I made for the hard top. So much you can do with a heavy duty walking foot sewing machine. The Thompson and the Sailrite machines will sew through 4 layers of Sunbrella.

All the canvas you see in these pictures we made ourselves. Those grab rails I refinished two years ago with varnish over epoxy resin & keep them covered to protect them from the brutal Arizona sun & they still look Bristol.

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(click to rotate right side up)

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Our machine

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The sewing loft...

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[hetek]

I was thinking of doing some Sunbrella sewing myself and thought a proper machine might be a worthwhile investment. Maybe we can form an Albin sewing circle?! Or not. I might be picked on by my non-sewing peers.

Willie C - The nichrome wire you mentioned is definitely not malleable. More like brittle, if you ask me. I have a Woodland Scenics foam cutter/knife that uses the nichrome wire. It might be good for cutting Sunbrella but I think I'd vote for the soldering gun trick. Google the RCT tip and look at the images and you will easily be able to reproduce it with copper wire and a hammer. And, btw, the Weller tip is copper too.

And remember: Practice! If you have a dual heat gun, try the low heat first. If it doesn't work out, heck, no money spent and lessons learned.

[DCatSea]

Excellent work; La Dolce Vita always looks good.
The Admiral just reminded me that we have a professional seamstress in the family, with a big-ass machine - so I may well delegate a couple of small tasks to her - handrail covers and 2 hatch covers. May use HD Velcro instead of grommets.

Plenty of other tasks of an aesthetic nature for me to do without learning a whole new skill.

[WillieC]

"professional seamstress in the family, with a big-ass machine"

Careful where you place the commas!

[DesertAlbin736]

As WillieC & I have done, surf CL, Ebay, etc looking for used machines. Thompsons are good ones, but there are others too, Pfaff, Juki, heavy duty Singers, to name just a few. Main thing is you want upholstery rated "walking foot', that is the lower dog in the base plate and the needle foot both move together to pull the material through rather than just the needle foot sliding the fabric over a smooth base. As long as you don't have need for zig-zag stitching, as in sail making, used Thompsons usually sell in the plus or minus $300 range depending on age and condition, less than half the cheapest new straight stitch Sailrite machines which are based on the Thompson design, which can cost as much as $1,200 or more for top of the line. Often times there are folks who have machines they used for quilting or canvas work etc that they no longer use or want to keep. These machines are pretty bulletproof & last forever, kind of a like a Kitchen Aid mixer. Word to the wise, spend the money for UV resistant thread and the right type needles for the job (there are different ones for different materials). I actually did use velcro on the hand rail covers, also on the flaps over the side & rear windows of the canvas aft cockpit enclosure, and on the removable vinyl windows, although in hindsight zippers might have been better. Our situation on those windows is somewhat unique in that the boat sits exposed to high heat & intense sun which is rough on clear vinyl, and most times we want just the sun screens & lots of ventilation, so I leave the vinyl inserts detached most of the time and leave the flaps down for storage & privacy as seen in those pictures. The one drawback is that with the flaps up and the vinyl windows installed they are not quite waterproof in the rain & water drips down along the bottom edge. This isn't much of a problem with the side windows, since the water just trickles down the outside & not into the cockpit, but the back window is angled and does drip into the cockpit, in which case the back flap would need be down & we'd lose rear view visibility.

[kerrye]

I've sewn a fair amount. I have a home machine and an industrial sewing machine. Nowadays I mostly make boat stuff with vinyl material which can be glued instead of sewn. I prefer both the method and the material. Some people find sunbrella more aesthetically pleasing than vinyl.

I made a new enclosure for our A25 with vinyl.