Sewing a companionway cover

[hunkydory]

I am about to start on our companionway cover after the Sunbrella fabric arrives. To finish the edge I plan on pressing under 1" and then folding that over and pressing again to hide the raw edge before stitching. I'm concerned it might be too thick for the snap installation. Does anyone have any tips or advise for this project?

Thanks,
Robin

 

[BLIGHT]

Robin

The prefered method that I used is to do a 1/2" fold and then the 1" fold using the 1/2 fold to hide the raw edge. For the top section I used a 3 layer fold over about 4" to give the top some body. Also, I have found that snaps are not a probem using even up to 4 & 5 layers of Sunbrella. You will notice that I have designed a window fir the hatachcover that can be removed during the day and installed when more privacy is required. Another feature that I constructed is the reinforcement patch that you will see on the top center of the cover that is used to eliminate the chafing that will occur from the hatch lock assy.

Hope that this answers your question.

Bob

 

[capejt]

I'm About to start one too

WOW What timing! I too am about to start making a cover for my companionway as well. I was planning on using velcro to attach it, but snaps sound like a better idea.
One question though, how do you sew it? By hand? or machine? It seems a bit thick for anything but an industrial type machine. Robin- How did you sew it and how hard was it?

 

[Seattle Scott]

when I did this project ( on a Suzie Homemaker Singer) I added a couple of battens in sleeves to keep the thing from falling down the companionway or blowing around - used snaps on 3 sides. Cover stays attached to the top of the hatch and is rolled up on top when the hatch is open.

 

[Steve Dion]

The nice covers like are available on this site use reinforcing materials around the edges. This give the fasteners something more substancial than Sunbrella to attach to.

They also use sand in the bottom part of the flap to keep it down. Their units also have a gusset at the corner where the cover goes from horizontal to vertical.

Our companionway cover only has 4 snaps (two forward and two aft) on the horizontal surfaces.

This is a good project for someone that has the equipment to produce one, but not worth the cost if you need to buy a machine and the other equipment ($126 complete).

 

[hunkydory]

looks great, thanks for the pics!

 

[hunkydory]

Re: I'm About to start one too

I'm using my very basic model sewing machine, I made our tiller cover a while ago and it worked great as long as I had a sharp needle in it. Make sure you use poly thread, the cotton isn't strong enough to hold up outdoors. The snaps are available at sailrite.com, which is also where I get my fabric. Good luck!

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Helm Cushion

This is the Sunbrella project I did. The fabric weight on this project was light enough that it sewed like any other fabric.

The boat name matches the graphics on the side of my boat.

The inner cushion is one designed for the marine environment.

For boat covers and other projects that cover large areas I connect two peices with french seams (like seen on jeans) Fold each seam over 1/4" and then slide them into each other. Use two stitch lines, one on each edge.

I used Sunbrella to make the pennant below. All my Sunbrella projects have held up very well for the last 8 years.

 

[BLIGHT]

To answer a few of the questions I use 3 snaps at the top which are attached to front side of the hatch pull. The sides are reinforced to give it some structure. At the bottom, I have sewn in a 3/8" galvanized rod with the ends protected from chaff with topgun sleaves, this I have found holds the bottom on the outside ot the compainion way track. For the window that is attached with Velcro. As for the sewing machine, I took the plunge and purchased the Sailrite LSZ-1 at the last Annapolis Sailboat Show. If you check Harbor Frt's web site you will also find an industrial unit that they handle but, I have not seen any reviews on the unit. Another reason that I purchased the LSZ-1 was that I was recanvasing this year so it came in handy for making several of the pieces. As for thead I have been using the UVR Polyester V-92 thread and perhaps sometime I will try the Tenara thread.

Hope this info helps

Bob