Making new boat canvas

Canvas	So, I need new canvas. It seems to me if you have the old canvas, it should not be too tough a job. And you can save a ton of money doing it yourself. Two professionals came out to my boat and quoted me $5000-6000. That's nuts. So, I'll be even nuttier and replace the canvas myself. Tools: Seam ripper Pick this handy tool up at any sewing center. It's used to rip apart seams quickly, and without damaging the fabric. Very handy for disassembling the old canvas, which is then used as templates for the new canvas. Sewing machine I bought a used HusqVarna sewing machine. It's a good strong machine, but not industrial strength. Just a good sewing machine. Binder Swing Bracket Again, pricey but worth it. Binder Swing Bracket, from Sailrite.com. This handy little add-on for the sewing machine makes it so easy to sew together all the materials at the edge of each canvas piece. Sharp, new razors / scissors For cutting materials. Snap Tool Pricey but worth it. Don't forget to get snaps (I bought 200 of them). This little tool will save you hours of frustration and make you the darling of the dock (everybody looses snaps every year). Materials: Canvas Here I debated going with the usual boat canvas or using Seamark canvas (at least it was called SeaMark when I bought it). The difference is that the Seamark is rubberized on the inside, making the canvas water-proof (not just water-resistent). I decided to go with the Sea Mark, because I wanted Canvas that is absolutely, positively water-proof. After 3 years experience with it, I can confirm Seamark is water-proof. No drops of water ever come through. It is a little heavier than regular canvas (due to the rubberized surface, I'm sure) I kept my eye on eBay for weeks, and finally found enough seamark canvas to do the entire job (the retailers are trying to get $65/yd (60" width)). I think I paid something like $4/yd, including shipping. Some folks say that the SeaMark canvas doesn't breath, but I've so many seams, and snaps, there is plenty of room for breathing. Centerfold binding This stuff is sewn onto all outer edges of the canvas. It makes the edges clean, and it's easier than trying to fold the canvas over onto itself to get a clean edge. Other than the canvas, I bought all my supplies from http://www.sailrite.com ... friendly folks and they were very knowledgeable and helpful too. Upholstery thread and needles The helpful folks at Jo Ann Fabrics told me this is the strongest stuff. Get lots of it, and then some more. Snaps Buy lots of them, and not the little boxes either. Get them by the 100 from sailrite.com. Shelter-Rite 18oz White 61" I bought this stuff for reinforcing the edges of my canvas pieces. The edges always seem to take the most stress so I added this to make for an extra strong edge. Shelter-Rite 18oz White 61" . You don't need a ton. For my 39' boat, I bought 5 yards (and I have some left over ... better to have too much, than too little). Total cost: $1500.00 And that includes the cost for the sewing machine ($900), and the snap tool ($150).

Remove old canvas and mark it	I was happy with the structure of the old canvas, so I just want to replace it. Besides I do not have the skills or experience to design a new layout. So, I'm going to use the old canvas as a template for making the new canvas. For each piece of canvas, Before doing anything, I mark each piece of my old canvas with chalk so I know how it goes together This includes all zippers (which I re-used on the new canvas). Then I carefully use my seam ripper to rip / separate all seams. Now don't go crazy and do it all at once. Start with a single piece, mark it, separate all seams (using the seam ripper), and then use the old piece(s) as a template to make the new replacement canvas. After you've completed a single piece, and sewn the new piece(s) together, then do another.

Template cutting	Roll out your new canvas, figure out carefully which side represents the outside and inside, and lay the old canvas down flat over the new canvas (again paying attention to which side is outside and inside). Be sure to spread out all of the old canvas; the edges will be tough but you need them. I used chalk to mark the outline of the canvas. Most of my canvas was old and stretched here and there, so there was hardly a straight line left on an edge. But it was obvious to me that many of the edges were intended to be straight edges. So, I did my best to guesstimate the edges. I used my sharp scissors to make the cuts. I found it easier than a razor.

Reinforcing edges	I didn't feel I needed to reinforce every edge, but rather I decided to reinforce only the edges which are stressed. For me, that included any edge with snaps or a zipper. For me, that ended up being the vast majority of edges, although not any edges which were just two pieces of material coming together to form part of the boat canvas. To reinforce an edge, I decided to include a length of the Shelter-Rite 18oz White 61" cloth. First I cut the Shelter-Rite 18oz White material into 2 1/2" strips. These 61" x 2 1/2" strips are strong, and sewing them into the edge will make the edges strong. Anyway, that was the theory, and after 4 years, it has proved to be a good system. So, I ended up with two types of edges: Outer edge Any edge that will hold a zipper or a snap. Inner edge When two pieces of canvas are being sewed together to make a single, more complicated part of the cover.

Outer Edge	Because the outer edge is more complicated, here is some more explanation, and some pictures. Notice the layering: Canvas Shelter-Rite 18oz White strip Binding The Binder Swing Bracket makes sewing these layers together fairly straight-forward. Spend some extra time lining up the Binder Swing Bracket with the needle, so that the sewing machine puts the thread about 1/3 of the way into the binder. I took this picture during a repair. Normally, the snaps will NOT be in place yet. Word of warning: The white material tends to bunch up as you sew. I ended up stapling it into place, and then sewing. Afterwards, I just removed the staples. My sewing machine has a max speed setting, which I put on its slowest setting. Hey, I'm no seamstress.

Inner edge	Here's a picture of an inner edge. Really, just sewing two pieces of cloth together. Perhaps it is good to mention here my sewing experience. In third grade, I sewed some cloth. In 12th grade, I watched my Grandmother sew up a jacket for me (from scratch ... she was a seamstress) And when I bought my HusqVarna sewing machine, the saleswomen gave me a 15 minute lesson on how to thread the machine/needle, reload the bobber, and sew a straight line. It's not rocket science, though there is skill there. So, I am an amateur.

Zippers	My zippers were in good shape so I decided to reuse them. Now part of my disassemble process of the old canvas was to mark each zipper, so that: I know where zipper goes with which piece of canvas I know the approximate location of each zipper. In my experience, if you can get the zipper within 1/4" inch of its location, that was good enough.

Snaps	I waited until I could mount the canvas on the frame, on the boat, before I attempted adding any snaps. Once the canvas was in place, I started adding snaps, about every 4th snap or so. Eventually, I would return to fill in all the snaps. A few snaps had to be removed; not an easy process. But if you take a pair of pliers and squeeze the snap, it'll usually break off. To add the snaps, I used an awl to punch a hole in the canvas. Then the Snap Tool (mentioned above) made putting in a snap very easy ... just like using a visegrip.

Conclusion	Even an amateur can make canvas. Maybe it may not look as good as a professional job. On the other hand, it might. I'd say my canvas looks at least as good as most other boats, and a lot better than many. The pictures below of my boat show the canvas after 3 years, including 3 Ohio winters (I don't shrink wrap). After 3 years, I've noticed that some of my seams have split. The sun and weather simply wears out the thread. But I just took my HusqVarna machine to the boat, pulled down the canvas, and re-sewed all the thread. Took me about 6 hours. I strongly recommend the SeaMark canvas. It is waterproof and tough. No rips anywhere after 3 years. Again, I strongly recommend buying the Snap Tool and the Binder Swing Bracket. Money well spent. Even though I'm only an amateur., the investment in the tools and sewing machine was well worth it ... and still several thousand dollars less than a professional job. Now that I have all the tools, I also made a cockpit cover for my Wellcraft and a cover for my Waverunner. I'd say this is a job well worth doing for yourself. If your wife can sew, get her involved too.