full cockpit canopy

[dave_b]

We want to have a full cockpit canopy made for our centre cockpit ketch.

Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome!! /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

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[ROSSCO]

C & J Marine chichester 01243 785485 probably not the cheapest but good service.

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[Robin]

It is best to have this made by a specialist canvas company near to your boat IMO since it will require many fitting visits to the boat to get it all perfect. We had one on our old centre cockpit W33 Ketch and have just revamped the original bimini system on our latest boat (everything but the frames replaced) to give a full conservatory when needed.

Decide what you want to achieve and list your priorities before meeting with the makers, there are many ways of doing the job and some will suit you better than others. Is the default position 'hood up' in your berth or 'hood folded away'. Is the primary requirement for wind/rain protection or global warming sun protection? Our last one was default 'up' so we always had to put it up on leaving for home and take it down before going to sea, our current one is default 'down' so requires less work when leaving the boat or going to sea. In both cases the cover was designed to be used as a sun cover as well, with multiple options using zip out or roll up sides and back etc as well as a roll up centre sprayhood window (known as out air conditioning). Our current one can be used as a bimini underway but the old one could not, that may be a priority or not to you, but you need to decide it beforehand.

Whatever you do you will wonder how you did without it, dinner outside in the cockpit is possible in all weathers (we have a choice of a small gaz light or a small 12v electric light and even a 220v table lamp for dark evenings) and you can leave cockpit cushions and so on up top without them getting wet from dew, plus the mainhatch can be left open overnight too.

Enjoy!



<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[gtmoore]

Just used Tecsew who are based in Gosport for a new sprayhood and canopy for our Moody 29 - excellent service and very pleased with the product.

Their website is at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tecsew.com>http://www.tecsew.com</A>


<hr width=100% size=1>Gavin

 

[pvb]

No suggestions on suppliers, but I have a full cockpit canopy on my boat, and I'm a bit concerned about leaving it up for long because of chafe. It overlaps the normal sprayhood and there seems to be a fair bit of chafe. It's also caused a bit of abrasion through flapping on the sides of the coaming. So if you're getting one made, it might be worth thinking about where it connects to the sprayhood and the boat, and designing it to minimise chafe. Having said all that, if the boat's in a fairly sheltered place in filthy weather, it's very nice to have a full canopy.

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