Spray Hood.

[uforea]

I have all the fittings and the metal framework for a sprayhood on my boat (UFO 31) but no material. How do I go about getting this made up. Does anyone have a Hood I can copy or is there a Co. with stock patterns for different boats like sailmakers have for sails. Ted.

 

[alahol2]

I suspect most spray hoods are more or less one offs.
Whenever I've had one made, the cover maker actually comes to the boat and measures up himself. They are quite happy to use whatever fittings you already have. You need to find one local to the boat to reduce travelling time (& money).

 

[Allanrichard]

I have used C&J Marine Ltd from Chichester, on 3 occasions now and found that they have a vast stock of patterns already. tel 01243 785485 and on line www.cjmarine.co.uk

They are excellent.

 

[aidancoughlan]

I ordered a sprayhood from Quay Sails recently on the basis of a good quote and past recommendations on this forum.
As I am not local to them, they would only make the sprayhood if I sent them the existing Hood as a template - normally they would come out and measure up.
Otherwise, they advised me to get a local company to make it - the exact individual measurements of the boat seemed to be important to them even though my boat is a production westerly.

If you want a good fitting hood, it may be worth trying to find a local supplier who can measure up.

 

[VicS]

I would strongly recommend getting the hood fitted by a local firm.

Some years ago a friend had a new cover made using the old one as a pattern. His idea was to refurbish the frame and refit it himself. Due to some major family problems there was a big delay before he got round to doing so and then found the fit was appalling. By then it was too late to go back to the supplier. Had he got them to fit it in the first place it would have been down to them entirely.

 

[iangrant]

Arun Sails are 30% cheaper than CJ..

Ian

 

[charles_reed]

Find a local sailmaker who makes hoods. - They're few and far between.

Go and have a look at his work - if all the hoods you see fit and are relatively unworn after 5 years invite him out to measure up and discuss the material and hood design.

A few tips -
1) ensure you have lots of window area, to look out through. Your boat has a fairly deep cockpit and if you can look out over the top (the normal design preference), you'll have to contort yourself to get in.
2) Get a good acrylic material, Sunbrella is one of the best, don't choose the false economy of reinforced vinyl.
3) Rig the current frame, ensure you have easy exit/entrance - if not get the hoodmaker to add on to the bottom.
4) If you're intending to sail to sunnier climes, either have an unzippable centre section or a forehatch wind chute (they keep you cool when at anchor). In fact leave getting till you get down there.

Unfortunately few UK sailmakers are suffuciently specialist to produce a good hood, Gowens, Jeckells, Ratseys are three that spring to mind that are competent and UK prices are, well, elevated.
Cheapest place to buy is Turkey and there's one very good man on the Cote Vermielle. In all cases, if they're good at the job they'll need to fit it whether or not they have the original as a template. As travel costs money you're best bet is to take the boat to thier nearest port.

 

[Das_Boot]

If you dont mind a bit of DIY and you have the old hood you can use it as a template to make a new one. A singer manual sewing machine will sew through just about any thickness of material. Machine can be bought for as little as £50. We have one on the boat for sail repairs etc when cruising.

Unstich the old one carefully mark each pannel carefully cut out of material available from kayospruce and restich carefully.
Cost £30 to £50 depending on size.
If you are meticulous and precise it should fit fine.

 

[andy_wilson]

C & J

They do have a range of patterns.

Unfortunately, whilst mine was a good overall design and fit, it was let down in a couple of areas.

1. Some of the pipe fittings used were a poor design and popped out everytime the frame was folded. Took ages to persuade them there was a fault and get them replaced.

2. There was (is) a problem with the geometry which meant that you can't just pull the back edge to raise it. Otherwise one of the itermediate loops jams on the instrument pod on the hatch garage. This in turn damaged the canvas where it caught on the pegs it clipped on. Again, with some argument they fitted a flap over the pegs.

Pr'aps not such a good design afterall, on what is a very popular class (Fulmar).

Use someone else!

 

[tome]

Re: C & J

I've used C&J in the past for sprayhood, dodgers and sail cover. Expensive, but well made. The sprayhood had to go back for some alterations as it didn't align properly, but they came and removed it and then refitted it.

Had a quote from them last year for cockpit cushions which was very expensive. Delivery was a problem, and they got my back up by offering to do it within 6 weeks if I paid 'over-time rates' which would have taken the cost up to £600!

I talked to Arun (who contract out this type of work) and was put onto a small local company who made the cockpit cushions to my templates for £300. Very pleased with them.

 

[dickh]

Re: C & J

Also look at Pointnorth who do a 'kit' for sprayhods www.pointnorth.co.uk

 

[charles_reed]

I think

many are missing the point - he hasn't got the old sprayhood covering to use as a template.

 

[Captain_Chaos]

As an alternative to C&J (who I have used in the past) my last spray was made by Osen Sails in Plymouth.
Fantastic service and I was given more options than I had considered in terms of number of clear panels, material, trim etc. Also, on my original sprayhood, the frames had to be threaded through a tunnel in the fabric and then attached to the deck, The new one uses heavy duty zips so removal/replacement is a 5 second job.

 

[uforea]

Thanks all for your comments and links. Hopefully should be able to sort something out for the season. Having a sprayhood makes such a difference to the overall comfort on a boat.Ted.

 

[Lofty]

I'd have a word with Janice, Ted

 

[uforea]

Thanks, but I've already tried your's and it doesn't fit Richard.
Ted.

 

[srm]

If you are going to go sailing under a canvas cover why not do the job properly and make a hardtop. No flapping and fraying and looks a lot better after a few years. You can also have proper windows (and make them opening for warm climates) rather than thin plastic that gets scratched and milky after a few seasons.