Discussion
After ten years the navy canvas hood on HMS Simpo looks very tatty and needs to be replaced.
I know from experience that canvas traps dirt, goes green round the edges, and needs to be cleaned, re-waterproofed and sometimes re-coloured. It's a hateful job and the materials cost £80-£100 each time. I got the hood looking lovely last year and now it looks s
t again.
Hence I'm considering PVC as an alternative. I've always thought of PVC as a cheap'n'nasty option, but the practicality has great appeal.
What does the panel think, and are there any alternatives I haven't heard of?
Also, I have a quote from a reputable supplier, and am slightly surprised that PVC and canvas are the same price. I thought canvas would be more expensive so are they right?
I know from experience that canvas traps dirt, goes green round the edges, and needs to be cleaned, re-waterproofed and sometimes re-coloured. It's a hateful job and the materials cost £80-£100 each time. I got the hood looking lovely last year and now it looks s
t again.Hence I'm considering PVC as an alternative. I've always thought of PVC as a cheap'n'nasty option, but the practicality has great appeal.
What does the panel think, and are there any alternatives I haven't heard of?
Also, I have a quote from a reputable supplier, and am slightly surprised that PVC and canvas are the same price. I thought canvas would be more expensive so are they right?
SpeckledJim said:
Canvas for overall niceness, plastic cover for protection when you're away from the boat?
If you took a tarp to the boat, you could cut it to make a template and then have a PVC cover made up to fit over the canvas?
It's logical, but even if a cover could be made for a reasonable sum, in practice the canopy would be extremely awkward to cover as it's high with no catwalk around the sides or rear, and the boat only has one side against land. Getting it on and off each time would be a nightmare, and it would have to be stored somewhere.If you took a tarp to the boat, you could cut it to make a template and then have a PVC cover made up to fit over the canvas?
The ArtfulBodger said:
I may have mentioned before - our most recent PU backed acrylic canopy has shrunk like a bugger over the last few years, it was new in 2013 and is now just about fit for the bin.
Replacement will be a PVC one
Interesting. The supplier says that PVC can go baggy, but I can counter that by moving the hoops a little.Replacement will be a PVC one
Simpo Two said:
Interesting. The supplier says that PVC can go baggy, but I can counter that by moving the hoops a little.
When we redo ours I’m going to add a slider for the centre hoop, it’s something I wished we’d got right last time.This sort of thing
https://www.sheridanmarine.com/product/canopy-side...
How many hoops have you got? We have three, one behind the cockpit windscreen that drops forward inside the screen, a central hoop that has the rear hoop hinged off it about 1/3 up from the bottom of the hoop.
It’s way better than a typical two hoop set up.
The ArtfulBodger said:
This sort of thing
https://www.sheridanmarine.com/product/canopy-side...
How many hoops have you got? We have three, one behind the cockpit windscreen that drops forward inside the screen, a central hoop that has the rear hoop hinged off it about 1/3 up from the bottom of the hoop.
Teehee, Freeman owner https://www.sheridanmarine.com/product/canopy-side...
How many hoops have you got? We have three, one behind the cockpit windscreen that drops forward inside the screen, a central hoop that has the rear hoop hinged off it about 1/3 up from the bottom of the hoop.
I remember those special SM prices... A 26 maybe?I had that fitted to my F23; it's remarkable that Mr Freeman never thought of it.
My hood is in two halves, each with a hoop. The front one's on a rail because it needs to slide to fit inside the windscreen. The back one is mounted to handrails and the 'joiner' can be moved.
Simpo Two said:
Teehee, Freeman owner I remember those special SM prices... A 26 maybe?
I had that fitted to my F23; it's remarkable that Mr Freeman never thought of it.
My hood is in two halves, each with a hoop. The front one's on a rail because it needs to slide to fit inside the windscreen. The back one is mounted to handrails and the 'joiner' can be moved.
Not me - Elysian 27 here! SM do have some useful stuff for sale, it was the first site I could think of for a link tbh! I remember those special SM prices... A 26 maybe?I had that fitted to my F23; it's remarkable that Mr Freeman never thought of it.
My hood is in two halves, each with a hoop. The front one's on a rail because it needs to slide to fit inside the windscreen. The back one is mounted to handrails and the 'joiner' can be moved.
If you want vinyl there are cover makers who will do that, there are also inbetween fabrics which are essentially slightly poshified material for curtainside lorry trailers, usually polyurethane or similar, which are as you'd expect as durable as cockroach shells. Your boat, your rules.
Simpo Two said:
Sure, the company I'm talking to can do either; I've asked for samples.
Would you expect PVC - which I suppose is vinyl - to be the same price as canvas? I thought canvas was more expensive.
Most of the cost of covers is in the labour. So the material cost will be...immaterial. Would you expect PVC - which I suppose is vinyl - to be the same price as canvas? I thought canvas was more expensive.
Simpo Two said:
What does the panel think, and are there any alternatives I haven't heard of?
What sort of ‘hood’ is it - a sprayhood as you might have on a yacht or a tonneau cover for an open boat? If the former, in recent years we have rolled up the sprayhood when we leave and mounted a heavy canvas boom tent (which protects more of the running rigging and deck gear from UV as well). If the latter or something else… ignore me!Just had a new cratch hood made for mine.
Some people suggested getting a PVC hood as it wouldn't shrink - when I asked the guy who came to survey the boat he laughed ! Think they shrink more than a canvas type hood.
Saw a guy who had a cream coloured PVC hood on his cabin cruiser, he was very pleased with it but to me it looked awful, just cheap and shiny.
Some people suggested getting a PVC hood as it wouldn't shrink - when I asked the guy who came to survey the boat he laughed ! Think they shrink more than a canvas type hood.
Saw a guy who had a cream coloured PVC hood on his cabin cruiser, he was very pleased with it but to me it looked awful, just cheap and shiny.
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