Strenghtening canvas for eyelet insertion

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pcatterall

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We are making our own boom cover. It will be on traditional lines going over the boom and fastening underneath with cord through eyelets and clips. We will probably make it a 2 piece job with a main 'long tube' and an overlapping 'hood' around the mast.
We recognise that the eyelets are an issue as they can come under some strain. Our eyelets will be in a 2" hem along the bottom of the bag so effectively through 2 layers of medium weight canvas but we wonder if we could put some sort of stiffening inside this seam to strengthen the eyelet area.
Any suggestions welcome but not zips or Velcro as the have been considered!
 
pcatterall said:
We are making our own boom cover. It will be on traditional lines going over the boom and fastening underneath with cord through eyelets and clips. We will probably make it a 2 piece job with a main 'long tube' and an overlapping 'hood' around the mast.
We recognise that the eyelets are an issue as they can come under some strain. Our eyelets will be in a 2" hem along the bottom of the bag so effectively through 2 layers of medium weight canvas but we wonder if we could put some sort of stiffening inside this seam to strengthen the eyelet area.
Any suggestions welcome but not zips or Velcro as the have been considered!
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My cover has strips of pvc folded into the overlap to strengthen it. I bought some from Kayospruce Ltd, Fareham.

I had a look at the invoice and I think it is "PV15MBMT Mid-bluePVC 150cm matt". A metere length of it cost £8.40 in 2012.
 
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Three layers fabric minimum is best for an eyelet .If you have PVC or window material offcuts that also can help beef it up.
If nothing else available, just tuck a folded square of original fabric into the hem .
 
pcatterall said:
We are making our own boom cover. It will be on traditional lines going over the boom and fastening underneath with cord through eyelets and clips. We will probably make it a 2 piece job with a main 'long tube' and an overlapping 'hood' around the mast.
We recognise that the eyelets are an issue as they can come under some strain. Our eyelets will be in a 2" hem along the bottom of the bag so effectively through 2 layers of medium weight canvas but we wonder if we could put some sort of stiffening inside this seam to strengthen the eyelet area.
Any suggestions welcome but not zips or Velcro as the have been considered!
Click to expand...

A 2 inch hem works well if you are using a fabric like Topgun which i have been using for 12 years to make my own boat/sail covers. If you are at all concerned, particularly if using a lighter fabric just double the hem to give three layers. If you have already cut the fabric just slip a 6inch strip 2inches wide of the same stuff inside the hem, before stitching, where the fastening will be.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
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Thanks all.
I was thinking that rather than simply beefing up the layers in the actual seam ( and the attendant risk to the bosses sewing machine!) I could slip something strong and stiff into the seam which would be held in position rather than sewn through rather like some of your suggestions. I did look at the kayospruce site but could not locate a 'seam stiffening material ( £8 per m sounded expensive as well!) Will persevere with the search. I wonder if gluing a strip of the canvas inside would help, using something like the old 'copydex' to add stiffness and keep the material from moving would help?
 
As Plum has said, just add another short length of fabric in the seam, sewn in before eyelets. Could even be a triangular shape as used on heavy duty tarpaulins. Also get if you can the professional eyelets as offered by Kayospruce and the proper tools for setting them. They'll last much longer than DIY ones found in some stores. That is what I've used and they are excellent.
 
johnalison said:
They would, but it might be convenient to fix the reinforcement before closing the hem.
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You would think so, and so would I, but my professionally-made overall winter cover has the reinforcement unstitched along the length of the border although it does have stitching across it where seams cross it. Assuming there was a reason for this, I have done the same when repairing and altering it.
 
I used short lengths of seatbelt type webbing trapped between the layers when making a winter cockpit cover. This gave the eyelets something to 'bite' into. So far has worked very well through two Scottish winters with no movement at all.

Webbing bought off ebay and professional quality eyelets used!
 
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I have used a lot of eyelets and they can work ok but they do tend to work loose over time, particularly if you load them with a knot from behind, rather than a loop through the eye. Being lazy, this is what I tend to do.

Wherever I can, I now use plain loops of c1in webbing sewn into the hem of the canvas. these are extremely strong, cheap, easy to fix and take twisting loads just as well as a straight pull. You can put D rings into them if you prefer, I use these on a conventional sail cover as an easy form of adjustment.
 
doug748 said:
Wherever I can, I now use plain loops of c1in webbing sewn into the hem of the canvas. these are extremely strong, cheap, easy to fix and take twisting loads just as well as a straight pull. You can put D rings into them if you prefer, I use these on a conventional sail cover as an easy form of adjustment.
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Eyelets almost always fail over time so I agree with Doug and use webbing loops. They are so much easier to repair. Cheaper too.
 
doug748 said:
I have used a lot of eyelets and they can work ok but they do tend to work loose over time, particularly if you load them with a knot from behind, rather than a loop through the eye. Being lazy, this is what I tend to do.

Wherever I can, I now use plain loops of c1in webbing sewn into the hem of the canvas. these are extremely strong, cheap, easy to fix and take twisting loads just as well as a straight pull. You can put D rings into them if you prefer, I use these on a conventional sail cover as an easy form of adjustment.
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So does this mean, about 12" of webbing per loop, slit the inner part of the seam, insert the ends of the webbing with a, say 2" loop protruding and then sew each end of the webbing in through the seam? I suppose I could run the webbing along the full seam and just pop loops out through the slits? I could make the seam a bit smaller to make the webbing a neat fit?

Thanks all, good info as usual and I will check for a better eyelet kit anyway to replace my Micky Mouse one.
 
Does anybody know a brand or defining term to distinguish professional grade eyelets from the lightweight ones available everywhere? "Professional" is one of those over-used descriptions which inaccurately adorn cheap crud in every realm.
 
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dancrane said:
Does anybody know a brand or defining term to distinguish professional grade eyelets from the lightweight ones available everywhere? "Professional" is one of those over-used descriptions which inaccurately adorn cheap crud in every realm.
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The Hipkiss kits are about as good as you will get on the 'amateur' market. They are solid brass, ie not brass plated, and come with a setting tool that will work OK for a while. I've always found the hardest bit is to cut the hole into which the eyelet fits, a hollow hole punch is invaluable.
Having said that, I still would use a webbing loop if at all feasible.
 
Thanks again for the responses. We will go for a continuous webbing stiffener with loops sticking out every 12", the loops to stick out around 2" as they will have to twist through 90 degrees to fit the lashing line.
I don't know how the advocates of this system deal with ends ( where strain may be considerable) I propose to simply have a webbing loop coming out back and front so that the pull is along the webbing.
 
Best to use spur grommets (eyelets),but you will need the matching sized die set to close them.
 
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Hmm, but where to get 'em?

Cindy at Wilkinson Sails (contributing here) supplied me with excellent brass bell-shaped 'turnover' pieces, which hammer out , neatly flattened around a stainless ring between two 25mm ball bearings. If I could buy more of these, I could use them in many places.
 
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