Sprayhood fabric

Ruffles

Ruffles

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Joined
26 Feb 2004
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Boat: Portsmouth, Us: Stewkley
www.soulbury.demon.co.uk
I'm replacing my sprayhood at last. It needed doing 6 years ago when we bought the boat and I'm now running out of sail mending tape to patch the holes.

So. I've bought a second hand sewing machine. And I have the old sprayhood to copy.

Now I will be using Acrylic Canvas from Kayospruce but they sell 3 different types: plain fabric, PU proofed and PVC proofed. They recommend using PU proofed for a sprayhood however in my experience of waterproof clothing PU coatings don't last long. And as far as I can tell the old hood has/had no coating at all. Also, I want to buy enough fabric to replace the sail cover as well and I suspect that the sail would benefit from a slightly breathable cover.

Any opinions?? Anyone done this sort of thing before???
 
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Hi Ruffles
Just bought a kit from pointnorth for my sprayhood frame and I understand it is easily put together but that remains to be seen.

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We shall await the photos.
Of course if no photos are forthcoming we shall draw our own conclusions /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Seriously, I looked at the kits from them. They seemed a bit pricey if you're just buying the fabric.
 
In the winter of 2001 we bought at very low cost a do-it-yourself sprayhood kit from MARTEK (Tel: 01270 522 251). In Somerset I think.

Maybe they can help with the fabric too?
 
SWMBO did ours on her industrial machine, which is definitely required. Is that your intention, she did some minor bits on a domestic but it could not get through parts such as triple seams, windows and zips.


We bought everything through C&J.
 
**Weird warning**

I love the smell of industrial machines, the hot oil OM12 is it?

Wonderful!

I'll get my coat.
 
[ QUOTE ]
In the winter of 2001 we bought at very low cost a do-it-yourself sprayhood kit from MARTEK (Tel: 01270 522 251). In Somerset I think.

Maybe they can help with the fabric too?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes Martek are OK, they are in Cheshire near Crewe though
 
I used to be a professional sailmaker/covermaker before I gave it all up for art, and I can offer the following wisdom free and gratis..

Firstly, if you want the thing to stay waterproof for longer than 18 months (if you're lucky) make the sprayhood in PVC not Acrylic. Acrylic looks fantastic when new, but chafes so easily, and stretches if not reinforced properly.

Second, if you're not totally fixed on what colour you want, choose white, as this allows more light into the companionway. PVC has a more limited range of colours than Acrylic, but lasts for so much longer and is naturally waterproof, and you may only need to run some cheap seam-sealer over the seams if a leak develops. You can also fit a complementary coloured finger strip/rear bar pocket to carry on the boat's colour scheme.

Thirdly, a lot of people get hacked off with PVC as it stiffens and cracks and is hard to fold down after 3 or 4 years, but here's the easiest and most commonsense piece of advice to make your sprayhood last longer..
When you aren't using it, fold it down, tucked into a neat roll on the cabin top over the hatch, and cover it with a sacrificial square of PVC to absorb light damage. This with eyelets and fastening will cost you £20 at most and will save you the trouble and expense of replacing the hood 4 years early and at about £500(?) for a replacement , this is a no-brainer. Unless you are using it constantly, those of us who only use boats at weekends (whats that, 50 days a year max?) leave hoods on boats over the winter 365 days a year. All so pointless, but then again, us sailmakers could use the extra income.

Make sure you take a few moments to ensure that if you have a new sprayhood made, and especially if you are making a replacement, that you design it to be able to fold up into a neat sausage over the main hatch, and don't let the wings (side panels) flap all over the deck.

If you also need the window replacing, do it earlier rather than later, so the PVC has its original shape left. Old acrylic hoods with long lost window panels are virtually unrepairable.

'Nuff said.

Have fun doing it.

Mac /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Mac,

Confusingly Kayospruce do PVC proofed Acrylic. Is this what you mean? The PVC coating is inside according to the blurb. Is it as easy to sew? My only reservation with using white is that it may make the rest of the boat look grey...

Wish I got to use the boat 50 days a year /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
**Weird warning**

I love the smell of industrial machines, the hot oil OM12 is it?

Wonderful!

I'll get my coat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hard to get hold of as well. After the machine emptied its oil into the back of my car I had to get some more. John Lewis couldn't cope with the idea of a sewing machine with a sump that take a litre to fill up!
 
Probably the simplest and most economic way of doing a replacement would be in PVC coated nylon.

It never looks particularly smart and has a limited life, so using it could be considered a fairly short-sighted solution but it does have the advantage of being reasonably waterproof, can be washed down and errors in fitting are disguised by the general untidiness of the fabric.

By far the most professional would be to use a high-quality acrylic such as Sunbrella - life span about x3 that of pvc coated, especially in high UV areas. But, it has to be perfectly fitting and professionally sewn. Cost comparison is in line with the added life.

To increase the life of your hood, leave it up. It's the clear pvc used for windows which is the first to go and folding it accelerates the entropy.

I usually expect about 5-7 years out of the clear plastic (but you really need to use the best UV resistant) and about 8-10 years out of the fabric part.
 
Slightly off topic'ish, but for those who know, what is the difference between the impact of UV in & around the Channel versus being in the Med? Are we talking things lasting 10 years in UK that would be gone in 2 in the Med, or what? Just wondering.
 
UV increased the closer you are to the equator and the higher you are above sea level so we know a bit about UV damage as we are close to the tropic of caprcorn and at 6000ft above sea level the UV is very strong.
 
I've not been a sailmaker fro 13 years so I'm not as up on modern materials, but as I recall, PU coated acrylic just had a thicker sprayed-on coating of PU (plastic) on the reverse side, and this didn't really last much longer than the standard acrylic. I really meant standard PVC. I know it comes in a brilliant white rolled finish so it looks like matt silk, or a leather finish called "cape grain" though this may well have changed too. There was also an acrylic that was lined with PVC, and this was quite easy to work, and also came in a colour with white on the reverse, so you get the best of both worlds. Not used this much, though, and you'd have to be careful with delamination of the two layer and water retention.
It would be a lot easier to work than PVC, for which you would really need a machine with a walking foot, and be prepared to fiddle with the tensions. I'd got into the intricacies more but not here.

I'd also advise you make a new paper pattern, as the old hood will have stretched or shrunk a bit and the new hood will set like a sack of spuds if you aren't careful. Unless the 'original hood' is in very good shape (ie, just had bad accident damage) its always best to make a new pattern. You can always use the opportunity to move bars and deck fiitings about if you weren't happy with the original. Make it an opportunity.
I've no experience at all with kit hoods, so I can't say. I may even post a site with DIY instructions on patterning your own hood to send to a sailmaker, or build yourself in the future, but that won't be for a few months yet! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif



Hope this helps.

Mac /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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