Sunfish Covers Make Your Own
- Thread starter signal charlie
- Start date
mixmkr
Well-Known Member
I do canvas work and have a wholesale acct with Sailrite....basically a great company. But this is one of those projects where you can buy a premade cover, for less than the retail cost of the supplies from Sailrite....
Granted the pre-made generally aren't Sunbrella....but price the cost of 5 yards of material. Stuff like this gives you premium satisfaction to make your own, for sure.
Granted the pre-made generally aren't Sunbrella....but price the cost of 5 yards of material. Stuff like this gives you premium satisfaction to make your own, for sure.
mixmkr
Well-Known Member
Yowza...jist watched the end where they list materials....12 yards of fabric...!! Didn't watch the vid, but not sure where that amount comes from. As a ruffie...figure $20/yard...thats pushing $250... not to mention the other stuff. Without watching...I must be in error.
Cactus Cowboy
Well-Known Member
I wish I had gotten into making canvas covers back in Dago, I knew a guy there that made pretty good money doing it, and there were always folks who needed covers due to the number of boaters out there... 
Only cover I ever had made was for the padded hiking strap aboard my Laser... I had part of a pool noodle for padding over the webbing, then this rectangular cover with Velcro stitched lengthwise along the edges.
It worked great, and I could easily remove it to rinse salt water from the canvas... best of all, a friend made it for me out of a scrap of blue canvas and some Velcro he had in his garage, so it didn't cost me a dime, LOL.
My friend was a strack ex-Army paratrooper, and somewhere along the line he learned to operate industrial sewing machines (to repair chutes & harnesses). Kinda weird, seeing this burly combat killer sewing up my hiking strap cover, but he did a good job, the thing lasted for years & years.
For a full-sized cover as shown in the video, I'd probably just buy one, since I have zero experience with sewing machines... me beloved & dear departed mum was a pretty good seamstress, had her own Pfaff machine and everything, but I never developed the knack.
Only cover I ever had made was for the padded hiking strap aboard my Laser... I had part of a pool noodle for padding over the webbing, then this rectangular cover with Velcro stitched lengthwise along the edges.
It worked great, and I could easily remove it to rinse salt water from the canvas... best of all, a friend made it for me out of a scrap of blue canvas and some Velcro he had in his garage, so it didn't cost me a dime, LOL.
My friend was a strack ex-Army paratrooper, and somewhere along the line he learned to operate industrial sewing machines (to repair chutes & harnesses). Kinda weird, seeing this burly combat killer sewing up my hiking strap cover, but he did a good job, the thing lasted for years & years.
For a full-sized cover as shown in the video, I'd probably just buy one, since I have zero experience with sewing machines... me beloved & dear departed mum was a pretty good seamstress, had her own Pfaff machine and everything, but I never developed the knack.
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As a canvas worker you can probably get that cover out of less than 12 yards. Skipper is a talented seamstress and prides herself on fabric economy. Sunbrella comes 60 inches wide and that gives you enough to make a seam, then add a drawstring pocket to the seam. 6 yards plenty for the hull plus a couple more yards to make a drawstring pocket.
Some folks like to make their own things, if you don't SLO Sail and Canvas has a nice Sunbrella cover, Spars On Deck, with straps that we like.
Some folks like to make their own things, if you don't SLO Sail and Canvas has a nice Sunbrella cover, Spars On Deck, with straps that we like.
tag
my2fish
I don’t own one (yet), but Intensity Sails sells a cover for $100.
Intensity Sails Deck Cover for Sunfish
www.intensitysails.com
mixmkr
Well-Known Member
Yeah..you can't beat the intensity price. Downside is nylon has a pretty short UV exposure lifetime....where here in Kentucky, Sunbrella easily gets you 10 years or more. Use the good thread too like Tenara...expensive stuff....or plan on restitching in a few years.
Cover material selection is important, you get what you pay for. Here in Florida we can watch inferior fabrics disintegrate almost minute by minute in the Florida sun while our Sunbrella stays nice and blue. And there is not a magic "Goldilocks" material that will do everything, be waterproof, handle highway trailer speeds, prevent mildew, etc...
We use regular Sunbrella because it breathes, it is water resistant if retreated every 2-3 years. We don't leave sails on the boat year round for concerns of mildew and critter infestation. We also know regular Sunbrella will not survive trailering or Florida high winds unless properly reinforced.
We use regular Sunbrella because it breathes, it is water resistant if retreated every 2-3 years. We don't leave sails on the boat year round for concerns of mildew and critter infestation. We also know regular Sunbrella will not survive trailering or Florida high winds unless properly reinforced.
mixmkr
Well-Known Member
Signal Charlie speaks the fabric gospels.
TheGoldenDuck
Member
Would you recommend two sail/spar bags from Slo? One made from Sunbrella for storage and one made from polyester or TopGun for trailering?
Ed
chris williams
Active Member
I have gotten covers from Moorhouse MacCausland Sailing in New Jersey. I don’t know what they are made of but they never seem to wear out, and I have cartopped and trailered with them for countless miles. They have also spent a lot of time covering my Sunfish and Lasers on the beach. My oldest one must date to the early 00s and it is going strong.
I don’t know if they make sail covers - mine are old ones from Masthead but they aren’t available anymore - too bad as they seem to be indestructible too.
I don’t know if they make sail covers - mine are old ones from Masthead but they aren’t available anymore - too bad as they seem to be indestructible too.