Custom cover?

2shiv

.
Jul 25, 2019
2
Texas Tornado 16 Kansas
Hey guys, casual sailor, first-time poster. A couple years ago I acquired a Texas Tornado. This is not the large cat-style sailboat that also goes under this name. These were made in the 70s and 80s, and not in very high numbers. The highest sail number that I have ever seen on the internet is 182. The boat is a day-sailer, 16-ft. fractional sloop. Open cockpit. I picked it up in pretty decent condition, with good sails, hard rigging, bags and trailer, for $300 and no title. I then went through a years' worth of hassle to eventually get it titled, but that's another story...
As I said, the boat is in pretty good shape. Mostly fiberglass, but the keel skirt is teak, which I redid with a pure tung oil finish. I replaced all the sheets and the scupper drain. I've been keeping it under poly tarps with mast down, but it still gets debris inside, as well as some sunlight exposure. I'd like to get a nice mast-down cover for it, but all the manufacturers that I have looked at sell covers for specific models. Plus, I don't want to spend more than $300 or $350. I've thought about buying a heavy canvas tarp, and fabricating my own cover with rivet-on snaps to close it up around the mast. Any suggestions?
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
cat-style sailboat
I think you mean catamaran, no? A cat boat is a very beamy, shoal draft sailboat with the mast nearly at the stem, and usually gaff rigged.
 

2shiv

.
Jul 25, 2019
2
Texas Tornado 16 Kansas
The boat has a swing-up keel, the skirt is the box inside the hull that encloses it. Please forgive my lack of knowledge if that isn't the right term. No sewing machine, wish I had one.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
When I had a runabout and wanted a cover I did an internet search for boat cover and found some sites with dozens of options. They were mostly in your price range. Drawstrings, re-enforced grommets and 5 year "Warrantees." I don't remember the site but they are not to find.
 
Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
I've thought about buying a heavy canvas tarp, and fabricating my own cover with rivet-on snaps to close it up around the mast. Any suggestions?
First thing to do is to have a look at www.sailrite.com and find their instructional videos. If they don't have a specific video on how to make a custom cover, they have many other videos that will show you how to make templates, and the techniques would transfer over to template out the cover before cutting fabric and sewing. They have this plastic scrim material that seems to make patterning pretty easy.

Next you have to worry about a sewing machine to make the cover. Assuming you'll be using a robust, UV resistant material like Sunbrella (not especially abrasion resistant), Top Gun (which is a urethane coated material that is very abrasion resistant), or Weathermax 80, you'll still need a sewing machine that can go through 2-3 layers, maybe 4, of the fabric. Any of the Sailrite machines will work well for you, and for a cover, just a simple zig-zag stitch is good (as opposed to the sail making machines that do 3 straight stitches for each zig and zag.) Used industrial machines can also be good, but if you find them, they usually require a separate motor. Juki makes some good machines, but they can be more expensive than a Sailrite machine. I recently bought a Singer "Heavy Duty" machine, and while it may be good for someone sewing denim, it's probably not up to the task of making a sail with multiple layers of cloth. I think it could do ok making a cover, though, and for under $250, would be worth a try.