Making new bimini, dodger, etc...

Ed Schenck · Oct 10, 2011

I made my bimini with a standard machine, no walking foot. The edge seams are six-ply and would have been much easier with a sailmakers machine. Without the foot you have to help the material through and keep a very even pull. I also did cushions with a heavy material and a welt(pretty proud of those). Still wish I had saved up for a "walking foot".

Steve Dion · Oct 10, 2011

Just a word of advise. Making a bimini is a good project for a DIY project.

We have several people in our marina that are very experienced in doing this type of sewing. A couple of have done this with marginal success (dodger repair/fabrication). One lady said she would never attempt it again.

You may want to get some quotes before you attempt this and see if it is worth it.

Look around for a good used machine like a Bernina or a Viking. The older ones are are very well made and can handle most anything you can throw at them.

Sumner · Oct 10, 2011

We are right now making a new dodger and bimini along with the connecting piece that ties them together for the Endeavour. It is a big job and we are doing the dodger first and I don't think we could of made one from scratch very well without having the current one to cut apart for patterns and to see how they did it. It and the bimini were trashed so I don't mind cutting them up. I think the bimini is going to be much easier than the dodger. We will see. One other thing that we are adding is a front window that opens easier than the old one and removable bug netting for the front of the dodger and also bug netting to enclose the whole cockpit. The old dodger/bimini didn't have that.

We bought a sailrite machine last year, the LSZ-1 and love it. Before that Ruth made everything with an older....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-2.html

...industrial Singer that we bought for $200. It will sew the heavy stuff, but didn't have the walking foot that is nice. I looked at some LSZ-1 clones, but the Sailrite machine seems to have some other options that others don't have. Don't ask what they are as I forgot

. We would sell the singer for what we paid for it plus shipping and we would contribute $20 of the sale price to this web site if anyone is interested.

One thing we didn't like is that the LSZ-1 didn't have the slow speed control that we thought it should. They sent a second controller and it was no better. I made...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-14.html

...the above contraption and it works very well.

Ruth's projects to this point are here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-index.html

...and I'm doing more as she had surgery on one foot and will have surgery on the second Wed., so will be out of commission for a few weeks.

A couple things besides a good machine are needed if you want to stay sane. One is a...

... large table and a good work area. I made ....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-8.html

...the tables so that they break down and right now they are out in the shop where I made a jig to replicate the cockpit of the Endeavour so that the dodger and bimini would be held just like they are on the boat.

If you are working with sunbrella it is much better to cut it with a hot knife so that the edges don't unravel like they then to when cut with scissors. I got a cutting tip for a soldering gun, but our new expensive purchase for these new mods was a hot knife like sailrite sells, found another source that is a little less. The soldering gun works ok, but is slow.

As has been posted, you might be able to find someone to make these items for for not too much more than buying the material, glass and other items. I think we will be in it for a little more than $1100 for materials and are doing it as we want the dodger, bimini and full screened in enclosure and some other custom ideas. Not sure what this would of cost to have it done?

Not sure what your sewing/fabrication background is, but I don't think we would of had good luck with this for our first project and I'm still worried some about the outcome now. Anyway good luck and I might post some pictures when we get done, but this is a long project,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

Scott NIelsen · Oct 10, 2011

Yes there is. You can get the same machine, although it will be beige insted of blue. When you compare them they are exactly the same except for colot and most imprtantly price and it does zigzag so you can repair your sails too. It is the Alphasew. I got mine two years ago for something like $228. You will need to buy a case and you can get those for Rounf $50 or less. Cases on Ebay are really cheap. Just do a Google search for the Alphasew. I have replaced my dodger, biminie's etc.

Bill Roosa · Oct 10, 2011

I made my bimini with a standard machine. The machine has the power to make the stitch but does not have the power to feed the material without help. Just set yourself up with a large table(s) so you can move the material around as you sew.

alexco38 · Oct 11, 2011

The best way is to make a new template. I watched this from a professional canvas company.

They tape a masking tape along the SS tube frame and the boat-top first. Then lay down a double side tape on top of the masking tapes.

Now stretch a plastic drop sheet over the frame. Pay attention to the double sided tape and make sure the plastic sheet is tight and smooth. Re-position it if necessary.

Now use a permanent marker to draw where the seam has to go. Take the pieces of plastic sheets and lay them out on the fabric. Tape or pin them together. Leave some seam and you'll get a fantastic template. Even better then cutting up the old one as it might have stretched.

The masking tape is to make the double sided tape easier to remove.

Don't forget to use blue jean needles 16+, nylon foot and UV threads.

I use Kal-glass 40mil double polished clear vinyl for windows. Sew the vinyl on first before cutting the fabric off. You can fold the fabric inward and sew a second line. You must use nylon foot or else it sticks.

People ask where I got mine made. They couldn't believe I made it myself on household machine.

Great DYI project. Saved a few thousand dollars.

Sumner · Oct 11, 2011

alexco38 said:
The best way is to make a new template. I watched this from a professional canvas company.

They tape a masking tape along the SS tube frame and the boat-top first. Then lay down a double side tape on top of the masking tapes.

Now stretch a plastic drop sheet over the frame. Pay attention to the double sided tape and make sure the plastic sheet is tight and smooth. Re-position it if necessary.

Now use a permanent marker to draw where the seam has to go. Take the pieces of plastic sheets and lay them out on the fabric. Tape or pin them together. Leave some seam and you'll get a fantastic template. Even better then cutting up the old one as it might have stretched.

The masking tape is to make the double sided tape easier to remove.

Don't forget to use blue jean needles 16+, nylon foot and UV threads.

I use Kal-glass 40mil double polished clear vinyl for windows. Sew the vinyl on first before cutting the fabric off. You can fold the fabric inward and sew a second line. You must use nylon foot or else it sticks.

People ask where I got mine made. They couldn't believe I made it myself on household machine.

Great DYI project. Saved a few thousand dollars.

Good suggestions. We use clear template material also that we got from Sailrite, but the drop cloths would be cheaper. We will try that when we run out of what we have. Are you using a 4 or 6 mil?

Also if you have never done it before sailrite's videos on putting in windows, and zippers and hidden zippers and other tips have been good for us. Some are free and we even bought a couple and they have paid for themselves in not wasting material. We will do a project and then another a year or more later and by then we forgot how to put that zipper in the window

:cry:

or something else, so out comes the video for a refresher.

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

wonkodsane · Oct 11, 2011

Like Sumner, I bought an LSZ-1, but I made my purchase halfway through a bimini project. I got sick of how miserable it was to feed material through a non-walking foot machine.

I spent three weeks in my spare time in order to get halfway with the consumer grade machine on the project, and once I got the LSZ-1, I finished it in a matter of days.

I strongly recommend that once you're ready to put the binding around the edges of your bimini or dodger you use a hot knife to seal the edges of your fabric before putting it on and prevent them from raveling.

The Sailrite folks are on the ball and super friendly, too.

Hermit Scott · Oct 12, 2011

I had a regular machine and made a main sail cover. The stiches were crappy on the inside. I recently bought the LSZ-1. I actually use it for my business and sew together sports harnesses. I just did a bimini a few months ago. One thing I did do was to buy the instructions for assembling a bimini from sailrite's website for $5. It was well worth seeing how their kit goes together. I did use my old bimini for dimensions but it was so trashed and repaired so many times I couldn't tell how it originally went together.
Oh and install zippers so it can be installed and removed easily. all that is in the instructions for the sailrite kit.

alexco38 · Oct 12, 2011

I use Kal-glass about 1/2 price of Strata-glass. Kal-glass is softer so you can roll them. Strata-glass is a rigid sheet.

I found Kal-glass from Jeep / convertible car soft-top shop. If they are good enough for car top they should be good enough for boat.

Kal-glass has DOT certification stamped on the material; i.e. won't yellow or crack in cold weather.

Do use 303 once in a while to clean it. It's crystal clear.

Making new bimini, dodger, etc...

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