Curtains

[Boathook]

I'm going to get new curtains this year once I have chosen the material and dragged some money out of a deep pocket. The main concern is, is there another way of securing the bottom edge apart from using the sliders back to back. The window leans in by about 30 degrees and is on a curve so the use of a curtain wire is impractical if not impossible. Hopefully the pictures show how it is presently done which has worked for many years, but does mean that machining needs to be accurate. The top image needs to be rotated 90 degrees clockwise as the forum systems thinks it knows best!

 

[Cactus Sailing]

we made curtains on our boat and never had a bottom rail - The old ones just had a couple of loops in the bottom on a little elastic hoop so i got some new elastic "rope" from the local haberdashery and made new curtains with new hoops.

im not the best at sewing / curtain making but this is what they look like with a navy blue back lining and pleated? front

FWIW cost me £40 for 7 curtains including all the material, thread, etc - i reused the old hooks etc

 

[Neeves]

Maybe a flexible rod, fibreglass tent pole, sail batten, thin dowel, thin drain cleaning rod. Secure at each end, obviously and somewhere in the centre to achieve the desired curve. Rod, obviously, passes through the hem, or sleave in the curtain with a 'cut out' where you secure the rod in roughly its centre.

Jonathan

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Velcro.

 

[[70521]]

we have three press studs on each curtain.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

There was a thread some time back which that, rather than using fabric curtains suggested using yoga mat material cut to shape a smidgwon oversize so that it grips within the frames and stays in place unaided.

 

[vyv_cox]

Ours are very similar to yours and have been remade twice. There is quite a bit of tolerance in the hook position that should take care of width variations.

 

[Hydrozoan]

This recent thread may be useful, too: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?517121-Boat-curtains

 

[Boathook]

This recent thread may be useful, too: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?517121-Boat-curtains

Thanks Hydrozan. I reread it and the use of black out lining was something that I missed originally. I suspect that I will carry on using the hooks back to back.

 

[LittleSister]

You could perhaps attach the hooks to the header tape using elastic thread to give the arrangement some additional flexibility.

I disagree with Neeves that a rod, or similar, should 'obviously' pass through the hem of the curtain. that's one way to go, but having the rod or whatever in front of the curtain, slightly above its bottom, will make it much easier to open and close them. The aesthetics of the arrangement could go one way or the other, depending on details.

Re 'black-out' lining: as i mentioned on the previous thread, this doesn't actually need to be black. You can get white and cream lining (or curtain) material which blocks the light, and not all black fabric will keep the light out. The light-blocking qualities depend on the material and the tightness of the weave, not its colour.

 

[Hydrozoan]

... I disagree with Neeves that a rod, or similar, should 'obviously' pass through the hem of the curtain. that's one way to go, but having the rod or whatever in front of the curtain, slightly above its bottom, will make it much easier to open and close them. The aesthetics of the arrangement could go one way or the other, depending on details. ...

I agree with you, and rod/flat holdbacks in front of the curtains are good if their tops and bottoms are not exactly parallel. I made mine from teak-stained hardwood D-moulding screwed to the cabin inner liner through standoffs cut from fine aluminium tube, but one could use (at greater cost) proprietary SS gallery rail and fittings – not uncommon for narrowboat curtains, I believe (see e.g. https://ahbrass.co.uk/tube-fittings/fiddle-rail-fittings)

 

[LittleSister]

one could use (at greater cost) proprietary SS gallery rail and fittings

I am still searching for proprietary holdback fittings that will accommodate, without stand-offs, a 6 foot + length, a slope one end to the other, and a concave curve to the cabin side, whilst blending in nicely with the 1970s Scandi decor!

 

[Hydrozoan]

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