I'm thinking of making a sprayhood, and possibly awning, for my Jaguar 23. I have a massive old tent which may provide the materials - does anyone have any recommendations, links, handy hints, etc?
The frame needs to be quite strong, so it's probably worth looking for a professionally-made frame. You can buy frame kits from Point North, or if you want to buy the tubing separately, you can just buy stainless fittings from here.
We have a professionally made spray hood on our Jaguar 23 but we usually sail with it down because vertically challenged helms can't see past it.
When we got the boat the hood hinges were attached to the coach roof by four self-tappers. It took us quite a while to trace leaks at both sides of the cabin to these. They are now bolted right through and well bedded in Sikaflex and the boat is much drier.
Thanks for the welcome - and the information! To tell the truth, I'm just looking about for ways to use this useless tent - I may start with an awning of some kind, so we can sit in the shade on the lovely summer afternoons I'm sure we're going to have this year...
Forget it. The tent will take up too much space and will take time to erect and dismantle. What I found to be the best solution was a large green fishing umberella. Covers nearly the whole cockpit and goes up and down in seconds. About £15 from Argos or Index
Welcome - sorry can't help about the awning but have you considered joining the Jaguar Owners Association? - see http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/westgatefamily/default.htm
where you'll get lots of useful information, get to know a lot more about your boat and gain a lot of friends!
Thanks - I've been "about to" join the association for a while, and your posting has spurred me on (finally) to get the cheque in the post.
As to the awning/sprayhood thing, thanks for everyone's suggestions. I'm going to see just how many things I can make out of this tent's material. I haven't given up on the sprayhood, but will probably get a professionally made frame at some point. I'd still like to make an awning, though - sailing on the Hunters Yard boats on the Broads has shown me just how useful the extra "room" can be...