Great D.Y.I. experience

[Rico]

Just wanted to share a project of mine with other P.C. visitors who may want to replicate it. It was relatively simple, very effective, and very professional looking. It resulted in mainsail, tiller arm, and outboard covers that match the hull color. Total cost...$12.After a little thought on how to begin to provide myself with a mainsail cover, I paid a visit to a local awning fabricator (Capital City Awning, in Columbus, Ohio). After a few jokes with the sales rep. there, He escorted me to the dumpster, which was FULL of scraps of heavy duty awning canvas. Lots of scraps were perfect for mainsail covers...Long and narrow. Plus, plenty of scraps to complete matching tiller arm and outboard covers. After mearusing all the items to be covered (twice), it was on home to the 1923 garage sale singer sewing machine. The mainsail cover had velcro sewn in to secure it around the front of the mast ($6) and 6 brass grommets (I happened to have these on hand, but would not be hard to get or expensive) to secure the bottom. It consists of two symmetrical pieces which run from just past the boom to just past the front of the mast. I traced several arcs on the canvas. To do this I placed a tent stake in the lawn, tied a string to it, and wound the other end around a pencil. Then I laid the canvas on the grass and after several trials of different string lengths, found a curve that was visually pleasing and gave the sail space required. To this arc a taper was added to the end of the boom. At the top, a brief shoulder, then a cutout for the mast, and four inches of overlap which wrapped the mast, onto which the velcro was sewn. The tiller arm has a bracket for a tiller pilot which required a unique shape, but was not difficult to template or sew. The outboard cover is one piece for the engine housing and another for the throttle arm sewn togehter with a strip of canvas. Both this and the the tiller cover are secured by string running through a hem.Once together, the finished peices were sprayed with fabric paint which matches the hull quite nicely ($6). It stiffened the canvas somewhat, but it still folds/rolls up nicely. It added substantially to water repellency, will hopefully provide some added U.V. protection, and should re-touch for easy future maintenance so long as the color is still available...(add another $6...I think I'll buy some surplus).Next... a sailbag for the jib.Best of luck for those who are willing to give it a try. --Rico

 

[LaDonna Bubak - Planet Catalina]

Thanks!

I copied your post & will keep it for future reference. Thanks!LaDonna

 

[Aldo Camacci]

Other Projects

Rico: I also enjoy making covers and other things for our Catalina 22, Key Largo, with my sewing machine. I also have an old Singer machine, although I don't know how old it is. I think that this may be part of the reason that you had so much luck with your projects. These machines sew through many layers of thick material without a problem. I usually make my covers from Naugahyde. I made a cover for my tiller too, but the best thing that I ever did was make covers every piece of teak on the boat. The hatch boards, hand rails, hatch slide boards, and even the coaming compartments have covers that snap on. This keeps the teak looking great all summer. Many of the snaps were already on the boat because we got a vinyl cover with windows with the boat. (We rarely use this cover, but I would like to make a similar one with nylon and screen for keeping the pop top up during hot summer nights on the Chesapeake). Sail bags are easy and fun to make. (Even little ones for the reefing lines). I usually used nylon, but there is now heavier nylon availiable at fabric shops, probably used to make knap sacks or other camping things. I have also made screens for both the front and main hatches. I sewed foam into the nylon trim around the screen, and then put snaps onto the trim that snapped into the existing snaps around the main hatchway. I added a piece of velcro across the top inside of the main hatch. The front hatch screen is held in place with velcro, which surrounds the front hatchway on the inside. This velcro is available at a local hardware store and already has the adhesive on it. I even made a little play-pen when my first son was one year old. Thanks for writing your article. I sure enjoyed it. I'm curious about your "tiller pilot". What make and model do you have? How do you like it? How often do you use it? Does it drain your battery? Which side of the tiller is it on? I have been working on a self steering device that works surprisingly well.