Cockpit Awnings

[sailorgirl]

With summer coming on we urgently need some shade in the cockpit of our newly acquired sailing boat. Any recommendations (finished product or fabric types) or design ideas for a cockpit awning for a 22 foot, aft cockpit boat kept in extreme sun/heat (ie the Middle East)?

Not decided yet whether its easier to make or buy. I suspect if I choose the DIY option the components will have to be shipped here from the UK or another location anyway so it might be easier to purchase a finished item when I next return to the UK and bring it back in my luggage. I've even thought a cheapie sun umbrella might work as they are around a tenner (GBP) from our local supermarket.

Any ideas or suggestions welcome.

Sailorgirl

http://gbr195t.blogspot.com/

 

[sarabande]

Come on ! The alley ways in the Middle East are teaming with tailors and cloth workers who coudl run you up an awning in half a day, and charge you fourpence for it.

Just go along with a picture of what you want, some measurements, and ferret around in the back of the store to see what curious bolts of material are lying around.

Or trot along to a Mina, and ask where the boats get their canvas work done .

 

[sailorgirl]

Come on ! The alley ways in the Middle East are teaming with tailors and cloth workers who coudl run you up an awning in half a day, and charge you fourpence for it..

I want to make it myself if I can... so far my admittedly limited attempts at finding canvas in the souk have only turned up artists canvas or dressmakers stiffening :-(

Still trying to get a more sensible answer than "tent makers" or "it was on the boat when I bought it" from fellow yachties here. I know they make tents in Bahrain but tracking down an actual tent maker is proving difficult as there is some confusion here over addresses since the authorities started numbering roads that previously had names!

 

[Searush]

Are you telling me that you can't find "Egyptian cotton" in Egypt! Surely a heavy cotton used for sunshade locally would be ideal. I have a heavy vinyl cover & I put flexible grp tent poles into the seams to create a "covered wagon" effect that was shady, cool & roomy. But you may prefer something a little more trendy!

 

[sailorgirl]

Hey I like that idea - looks like you have space to stand up under it. Being trendy never worried me!

 

[doug748]

A very simple thing to make, just a 6 foot * 6 foot square of stuff would be a good starting point. Sew in tabs at the corners and at the half way point for light lines to attach to your backstay, boom and lifelines; and that's it. An old sail would do the job.
It tends to be used more for keeping rain out of the cockpit in my neck of the woods.

 

[Bajansailor]

My pal David here also has a Galion, and he built a very neat little bimini awning over the cockpit that can be used when sailing - there is really only sitting headroom underneath it though.
Here is a photo of her on her mooring :

 

[sarabande]

You don't need canvas as such. Any polyblahblah material which has a high sun factor will do. As for stiffeners used as hoops, then plain water pipe (blue alkathene wil do (Haha ! Al Kathene, that well known arabic plastic maker).

You don't even need grommets with piping as you can secure string to the pipe itself.

The whole project is dead simple, honestly, and can be rolled up and stuffed under a bunk when not needed. Go for it, and then make a fortune doing other ones for other sailing people.

Pics when you have finished please.

 

[Searush]

Sarabande has a good point. Once you have sorted out your prototype & have a tame tailor you will make a bomb selling them to the other yotties passing thro. Insh Allah

 

[Bobobolinsky]

Dishdash material will do fine, or shade cloth 80%, available in every country in Africa

 

[johnphilip]

Sun Brolly

This cheapy was better than nothing, but the area of shade is smaller than you expect, so not ideal.

 

[sailorgirl]

Sunbrolly

This cheapy was better than nothing, but the area of shade is smaller than you expect, so not ideal.

With a cockpit as small as ours a sunbrolly is probably going to be over large but at the price they are I'm willing to give it a go.

 

[Blueboatman]

Just as in Searush'es piccy, I had similar over the cockpit supported on 3 lengths of flexible plastic 20mm conduit, whose ends were simply notched to sit on the guardrails. Boat same size as yours.

Works very well as you can move it fore and aft, no screwing holes or brackets into the boat, its light and flexible and stows in next to nothing space, no complicated shapes to sew, just 3 pockets to feed the conduits through across the fabric.

I mocked it up in plastic tarp, then an itinerant sailmaker knocked me one up on his boat in posh acryllic. Did an Atlantic xing with that, plus an ex cafe brolly to block out the sun aft/act as a bit extra sail area!