New Spray Hood

[mdonnelly]

Have finally succumbed to buying a spray hood. It's a fairly major purchase so I want to get it right and am looking for forumites experiences. Looking for ideas and what not to do. I would like proper grab handles incorporated and possibly some storage pouches for example.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[Hornet_UK]

If your spray hood covers your secondary winches on the coach roof make sure that you get the supplier measure up with the winch handles in so they don't hit the frame when in use. I had a new Spray Hood and Frame fitted earlier this year then found out the supplier hadn't allowed for the winch handles when measuring up. I got it sorted in the end but it took weeks and weeks of asking the supplier politely then sending sh*tty emails before they finally fixed the problem.

 

[prv]

Don't assume the supplier knows what they're doing - query anything that seems wrong. We had a new frame and hood made by a well-known supplier, and although the quality of fabric and sewing is fine the design details leave something to be desired:

• Despite the boat having a built-in boltrope track for the bottom edge of the hood, they used Lift-the-Dot fixings that had to be screwed into the aluminium. There's now a gap where spray comes through in rough weather and, when the hood is folded down, a ring of spikes like a punk dog-collar right where your leg tends to land when going between cockpit and deck.
• They forgot to install the straps that hold the hood in the folded position. When they did come back and fit them, they used a weird type of buckle that is really awkward to operate in that position.
• If installed according to the instructions, the grab handle mounts would leave sharp screw ends pointing downwards at head height. There were some little plastic covers that were always falling off. I reassembled them the other way up and used stainless dome nuts instead.
• The removable frame for the cockpit tent (ordered at the same time) leaves great big mountings on the coaming, with a long screw that has to be done up when the frame is assembled and is easily lost when it isn't. This despite the ready availability of low-profile fittings which the frame simply slots into.
• The fitting instructions for the frame emphasised the importance of not moving a certain pivot position, which had been carefully set at the factory. When we could not get it to fit and they eventually came out, it turned out that the position had been set wrongly.

I was busy with other refit work at the time, so my dad ordered the hood. The company said they had a pattern on file for this type of boat and no further input was required - what we got was the result. Therefore this is not an approach I would recommend - essentially it means you get a copy of their first attempt.

Pete

 

[Border Terrier]

Goacher Sails on Windermere made me a beautiful sprayhood for my Ben. 285.
earlier this summer.

They surveyed the coachroof, making a plan of control line runs, winch positions etc.

With the hood frame in place, a pattern was made from which the fabric was cut and
stitched.

Once the fabric was made up, it was installed on the frame and stud fastening
positions marked.

The end result was excellent but the as ever success is in the preparation!

 

[mdonnelly]

Thanks for these thoughts, most useful.

 

[TQA]

Fabric or vinyl. Having had both I would prefer vinyl [ Stamoid ] because of the ease of cleaning and the better water proofing.

You might also consider getting one that covers enough of the cockpit to offer a dry corner when beating in the rain.

 

[West Coast]

Some of the well known UK manufacturers have a good database of various boats they have made spray hoods before. Worth exploring this avenue. I did this for my starlight, the supplied spray hood design had gone through a few iterations and so the one made for me has been spot on, accommodating all the issues other posters have raised.

 

[prv]

Fabric or vinyl. Having had both I would prefer vinyl [ Stamoid ] because of the ease of cleaning and the better water proofing.

I'll admit I've never tried one, but it sounds horrible to me. All clammy plastic, and somehow even sweatier in the heat.

You might also consider getting one that covers enough of the cockpit to offer a dry corner when beating in the rain.

Absolutely. Somewhere there's a picture of me sitting in the forward corner of our cockpit, close-hauled just off Cherbourg in the top end of a F6 and chucking it down with rain - and I'm wearing a T-shirt and normal trousers and perfectly dry under the hood.

Pete

 

[Border Terrier]

Fabric or vinyl. Having had both I would prefer vinyl [ Stamoid ] because of the ease of cleaning and the better water proofing.

You might also consider getting one that covers enough of the cockpit to offer a dry corner when beating in the rain.

I chose a Sunbrella fabric but covered the rear edge with vinyl to protect the fabric from grubby hands as a lot of people grab the rear edge as they descend to the cockpit.

Not my idea but it works!

 

[Vallich]

I chose a Sunbrella fabric but covered the rear edge with vinyl to protect the fabric from grubby hands as a lot of people grab the rear edge as they descend to the cockpit.

Not my idea but it works!

'Hope you don't mind me being inquisitive but how much did it cost?

Thanks

 

[Concerto]

You have not mentioned what boat it is to be fitted to.

Recently I had a new sprayhood made for my Westerly Fulmar in Sunbrella canvas by C&J Marine. They hold a standard pattern for the Fulmar, but I did find the instructions slightly wrong and needed to move the hinge fitting slightly further outboard. http://www.cjmarine.co.uk/c/8/sprayhoods

The standard position for the genoa winches on the Fulmar is at the end of the coachroof and now means you could not a fit a 10" handle, only an 8". This was not a problem as I was fitting extra genoa winches on the cockpit coaming.

Part of my specification was for an extra grab handle bar behind the aft edge of the sprayhood, worth every penny. The grab handle could be covered with leather as an extra, along with extra pockets and opening front window in the sprayhood.

In the past I have watched someone measure a sprayhood on a boat. Very interesting. My advice is if you are doing this is to get the rails fixed then and have the canvas made to fit your boat exactly. This would be a chargeable practice, so try and choose a sailmaker close to where you are based to minimise costs.

The current cost can be found here http://www.cjmarine.co.uk/p/780/westerly-fulmar-sprayhood at £838 incl VAT plus £168 incl Vat for the Grab Handle http://www.cjmarine.co.uk/p/818/sprayhood-grab-handle. These costs are plus delivery/fitting.

 

[mdonnelly]

Boat is a Jouet 950, not many about!

 

[TeamSpirit]

Consider materials carefully - top gun is a coated fabric which does not require proofing ever and is similar in cost to sunbrella it just washes clean. Specify what fastening you want and have grab handle. would avoid pockets as these just gather rubbish. I think already suggested is measure with winch handles in place to ensure correct winching space is allowed for.

 

[prv]

would avoid pockets as these just gather rubbish.

+1 - seem like they might pull the fabric out of shape over time as well, and the tops of the seams are liable to promote leaks.

Pete

 

[Border Terrier]

'Hope you don't mind me being inquisitive but how much did it cost?

Thanks

As PM'd, £815 including VAT

 

[Stu Jackson]

Rear edge grab handles are a must for safety. In some cases they can make handholds with the fabric going the rest of the way, others I've seen have separate full width handles. Essential safety item.

Side grab handles are also a must. Essential safety item.

I'm not sure about the issue brought up about winches. We have two on our cabintop, but the handles never go all the way around, because they're two speed winches, so I don't have to.

Most importantly, go LOOK AROUND and see what features YOU like that will work on YOUR boat.

DODGER HEIGHT. I hate looking through plastic all day long. My dodger was low when we bought the bot 'cuz the PO was very short. I love it. I look over it most of the time. http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7161.0.html

Glass material is also important, research the options.

Discuss the details with whoever makes it before they make it.

Color: light makes less of a visual bump, light colors Sunbrella deteriorates faster in the sun, we got a separate cover for it.

 

[jaybee63]

Don't assume the supplier knows what they're doing - query anything that seems wrong. We had a new frame and hood made by a well-known supplier, and although the quality of fabric and sewing is fine the design details leave something to be desired:

• Despite the boat having a built-in boltrope track for the bottom edge of the hood, they used Lift-the-Dot fixings that had to be screwed into the aluminium. There's now a gap where spray comes through in rough weather and, when the hood is folded down, a ring of spikes like a punk dog-collar right where your leg tends to land when going between cockpit and deck.
• They forgot to install the straps that hold the hood in the folded position. When they did come back and fit them, they used a weird type of buckle that is really awkward to operate in that position.
• If installed according to the instructions, the grab handle mounts would leave sharp screw ends pointing downwards at head height. There were some little plastic covers that were always falling off. I reassembled them the other way up and used stainless dome nuts instead.
• The removable frame for the cockpit tent (ordered at the same time) leaves great big mountings on the coaming, with a long screw that has to be done up when the frame is assembled and is easily lost when it isn't. This despite the ready availability of low-profile fittings which the frame simply slots into.
• The fitting instructions for the frame emphasised the importance of not moving a certain pivot position, which had been carefully set at the factory. When we could not get it to fit and they eventually came out, it turned out that the position had been set wrongly.

I was busy with other refit work at the time, so my dad ordered the hood. The company said they had a pattern on file for this type of boat and no further input was required - what we got was the result. Therefore this is not an approach I would recommend - essentially it means you get a copy of their first attempt.

Pete

With regards to the grab bar, consider using a company who will weld the grab bar. It's a dearer but much better option, as stated the screw caps fall off and if it's screwed through the canvas as is usually done, the time to remove the canvas from frame for repair/cleaning can not be under estimated.

We would also use quick release frame fittings, and again use the heavy duty solid cast stainless frame fittings, not the nylon/ stainless fittings. The fittings should be riveted to the frame with stainless rivets, don't rely on the grub screws which won't hold.

Look at a fitting, search part no dec050, we offer these as an option, not cheap, but the post removes via the push button and stays attached to the frame. The frame will need to allow for the camber of the combings or a teak packer made to correct the angle.

We are unique in using a 3d cad process we developed ourselves, for design on new designs to provide cad pictures detailing the design for approval by the customer before going into production. This avoides nasty surprises.

Finally, ask for detailed pictures of any standard design being offered, we have over 5,000 pictures on our website, and will usually have many more in our database showing fitting arrangements for most projects on our site.

Our site is www.Tecsew.com. Sprayhood section is here www.Tecsew.com/Sprayhoods which will also show grab bar examples. Click on the thumbnails at the bottom of the pages to open relavant sections, or use the search function. A brochure can also be downloaded from the Sprayhood individual product pages, or from the Faqs/ information section.

There is a video of the home page showing a little of the design process and many of the more recent projects will include the cad pictures of the projects that were approved before producing the project. Alternatively read the 3d cad design article in the Faqs section.

Different companies will produce different specification products, higher spec comes with a higher price and donor all companies will be comparative on price. Our spec for example Includes Sunbrella plus marine canvas and features such as zipped pockets, zipped track if the design requires it, reinforced back edge to the hood and heavy duty frame fittings, all quick release and riveted, all zips double sewn, 40mm Webb strap and stainless bar buckle to back edge of wings and fully reinforced 150mm strip to back edge of Sprayhood.

Hope this helps in terms of offering advice and research. A Sprayhood is a major investment and needs to be right.

John

 

[jaybee63]

If your spray hood covers your secondary winches on the coach roof make sure that you get the supplier measure up with the winch handles in so they don't hit the frame when in use. I had a new Spray Hood and Frame fitted earlier this year then found out the supplier hadn't allowed for the winch handles when measuring up. I got it sorted in the end but it took weeks and weeks of asking the supplier politely then sending sh*tty emails before they finally fixed the problem.

On certain boats it may not be possible to allow for a full revolution of the coach roof winch handles without having a serious impact on the aesthetics of the hood and may on certain boats not be possible at all. If you look down in plan on the boat and the winch handle when rotated goes outside of the width of the coachroof, allowing for the Sprayhood frame you will see the problem. Usually a hood will have some slope to the sides to help with aesthetics, going forward and the frame folding neatly.
However this sounds like it may not be the case in your instance.

John
www.tecsew.com

 

[jaybee63]

Consider materials carefully - top gun is a coated fabric which does not require proofing ever and is similar in cost to sunbrella it just washes clean. Specify what fastening you want and have grab handle. would avoid pockets as these just gather rubbish. I think already suggested is measure with winch handles in place to ensure correct winching space is allowed for.

Top gun is great for abrasion and hence winter covers but is not as colour fast as Sunbrella Plus. Sunbrella plus has a permanent waterproof coating on the inside, provided a jet washer is not used. However a few premium products also have an additional invisible coating to the outside of the fabric which offers stain repellency and makes water bead up on the fabric like a waxed car bonnet. This wears off and can be reapplied but the fabric still stays waterproof.
If considering Sunbrella, or you would like to research the fabric, much information can be taken from our website home page, go to the Sunbrella menu on the left hand side at the bottom of the page.

John
www.tecsew.com

 

[jaybee63]

+1 - seem like they might pull the fabric out of shape over time as well, and the tops of the seams are liable to promote leaks.

Pete

+1
In my expierience pockets often rip through miss use, distort the Sprayhood and a patched newish Sprayhood won't look great