How much would you expect to pay for a sprayhood?

[ithet]

I had a replacement sprayhood for a Moody 28 made in 2010, cost was £475 at that time, in Solent area, and two quotes the same from smaller suppliers. Went back to same supplier last year for new canvass work on current 34 footer, sprayhood was £680+vat and included zips for cockpit cover and back screen. Supplier spent time on both occasions measuring and templating.

 

[jamie N]

It's another illustration of the way that buying a boat is often only a minor part of the overall cost deal, unless you are able/willing to DIY stuff.

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I fully agree. My sewing machine wouldn't be able to cope with the material thickness that a spray hood/cockpit tent has, however I did make a genoa cover & a spinnaker snuffer, saving myself about £700, by virtue of them being quite simple and not requiring 'surgical accuracy', as well as the material being SO much lighter to sew and there being many generic YouTube clues about how they should be.
Neither item required too steep a learning curve.

 

[mikefleetwood]

Thanks everyone for the input. Boat's currently ashore Mylor, with a mooring at Helford from early June. Tempted to go the ebay route, but I suspect any sailmaker who is including a couple of visits to the boat is going to turn out around the same price (judging from what you've said here) - and I'd rather be confident that it will fit properly.

I got the boat for a "good" price, including an allowance for the sprayhood and some chipped gel-coat, and prepared to do whatever DIY seems within my skillset (and available tools!). Plumbing, wiring and headlining I can cope with, but not sewing a new sprayhood.

 

[Graham376]

I fully agree. My sewing machine wouldn't be able to cope with the material thickness that a spray hood/cockpit tent has, however I did make a genoa cover & a spinnaker snuffer, saving myself about £700, by virtue of them being quite simple and not requiring 'surgical accuracy', as well as the material being SO much lighter to sew and there being many generic YouTube clues about how they should be.
Neither item required too steep a learning curve.

Now you have some practice sewing, maybe time to buy a better machine plus £200 of materials and have a go at a sprayhood when you have a few days to spare.

 

[Beneteau381]

Now you have some practice sewing, maybe time to buy a better machine plus £200 of materials and have a go at a sprayhood when you have a few days to spare.

As Graham says! We made our own as well. Perfect using a singer 201k machine

 

[jaminb]

2023 - £2.2k for a C&J Marine off the peg spray hood, new frame and fitting. It would have been considerably more if I had one patterned to fit the existing frame. 37ft AWB.

 

[Beneteau381]

As Graham says! We made our own as well. Perfect using a singer 201k machine

We bought proper pattern material and double sided tape as per Sailrite instructions on Youtube. Took us about a week of careful work in the sun in Portugal

 

[Daverw]

We had ours replaced last year by our local marine cover guys, £550 total, 29’ boat

 

[Daydream believer]

Sprayhoods are the work of the devil. Buy a tent for £150 & go & sit in a field.

 

[Hoolie]

We're having a replacement sprayhood cover made in France for our 40ft. Cost at about £2400 is on the high side but it is a big three rail cover and has to be made from scratch as the old cover is completely shot. The cost includes making a made to measure template out of plastic sheet and custom fitting the new cover. It might have been cheaper in the UK but our boat is in France! I'm hoping some of the cost is for high grade UV resistant windows as the old ones (from the UK) are now seriously degraded.

 

[Boathook]

When I had a new main made I was worried that it wouldn't fit in the existing stackaway cover.
The worry bit was that I was told a stackaway cover had lots of little bits that all take time and materials to make so cost a lot.
I have seen a company fit a new canopy to a boat using existing lift the dot fittings on the boat. They fitted the bits on the canopy when fitting on the boat to give a snug fit.

 

[seumask]

I have been doing all our own canvas work for the last 10 years including 2 Spray hoods, 1 Bimini, several 15 ft rib covers, some tender dinghy covers and many dodgers. Currently I'm in the middle of a cockpit tent to go with the Bimini. You don't need that powerful a sewing machine I use an old metal body New Home (Janome) sewing machine that you can source for about £50 to £150 on ebay in the UK.
The materials come from one of several good sources such as Profabrics or Hawke house Marine and I reckon they are about £300 for our 37 footer I have just done.
The advise on the Sailrite videos is easy to follow
I reckon its about 30 hours to complete a spray hood including patterning when I only do it only occasionally. So any price under £1000 is a bargain if your not doing it yourself considering the number of hours it takes. Spray hoods are by far the hardest to make with real 3 dimensional challenges.

I enjoy the challenge and as long as your patient you'll save your self a fortune

 

[Ferring]

I get my sprayhood repairs done by a local tarpaulin company whose main business is making lorry tarpaulins. Recently had the large front window replaced and some new press studs fitted and a few minor patches for £100 which I considered very reasonable. If you have the old one as a pattern they may be much cheaper than boatie places.

 

[MontyMariner]

Sail Makers charge sail making prices. If you're not into DIY then get quotes from people who make boat covers, upholsterers, even a seamstress.

 

[diverd]

I have a frame and spray hood off a moody 30 i dont use. Case of beer and uplift it from Aberdeen and its yours. Its only 3-4 years old, no damage but its grubby from being in my garage. I changed it as i wanted a full enclosure canopy and it was easier to get the whole thing at the same time, rtather than altering one made by another company

 

[lustyd]

I’d be suspicious of anything under £1000. We have a Sailrite machine and just made our own.
Canvas, zips, boltrope, stainless fasteners, webbing and window material probably came to £400 alone.
Patterning was half a day. This is either unstitching an old one (for a bad pattern) or patterning on the boat (for a good one). Add in travel for patterning on the boat.
Cutting was half a day. Bear in mind that there are 4-5 pieces many of them 3-5m in length. This is not quick.
Sewing probably 2 days for a pro.
Add up that time and you’re looking at 4-5 days of effort for a professionals time.
A pro should work 48 weeks a year so an absolute minimum should be £1000 in labour costs for that work week.

Then add 20% VAT, National Insurance and pension contributions if it’s a viable business.

We saved money but it took a lot longer and our house was unusable for a couple of weeks while furniture was moved out of the way.

 

[dave_gibsea]

Problem is there's a lot of work to make one and they really need templates made and a fitting to ensure they fit nicely and look good. I know the sailmakers hate doing them as it so fiddley!

 

[mikefleetwood]

I have a frame and spray hood off a moody 30 i dont use. Case of beer and uplift it from Aberdeen and its yours. Its only 3-4 years old, no damage but its grubby from being in my garage. I changed it as i wanted a full enclosure canopy and it was easier to get the whole thing at the same time, rtather than altering one made by another company

Thanks for the offer. Distance from me in Cornwall would be an issue, plus the fact Moody 29 and 30 aren't quite the same, so might not be a straight swap. I've accepted the quote from my local sailmaker now. Thanks anyway.

 

[mikefleetwood]

I’d be suspicious of anything under £1000. We have a Sailrite machine and just made our own.
Canvas, zips, boltrope, stainless fasteners, webbing and window material probably came to £400 alone.
Patterning was half a day. This is either unstitching an old one (for a bad pattern) or patterning on the boat (for a good one). Add in travel for patterning on the boat.
Cutting was half a day. Bear in mind that there are 4-5 pieces many of them 3-5m in length. This is not quick.
Sewing probably 2 days for a pro.
Add up that time and you’re looking at 4-5 days of effort for a professionals time.
A pro should work 48 weeks a year so an absolute minimum should be £1000 in labour costs for that work week.

Then add 20% VAT, National Insurance and pension contributions if it’s a viable business.

We saved money but it took a lot longer and our house was unusable for a couple of weeks while furniture was moved out of the way.

It's that logic that decided me to accept the estimate from the local sailmaker. Another sailmaker I spoke with talked about £40 per metre of stitching - I estimate at least 30m, plus materials and travel for fitting, so probably £1500 is on the mark. Thanks.

 

[jane444blue]

I had a replacement sprayhood for a Moody 28 made in 2010, cost was £475 at that time, in Solent area, and two quotes the same from smaller suppliers. Went back to same supplier last year for new canvass work on current 34 footer, sprayhood was £680+vat and included zips for cockpit cover and back screen. Supplier spent time on both occasions measuring and templating.

Can I ask who that was ?