Oriental, NC

 Our fold-up bikes are a pain to store.  They're quite bulky even when folded and take up a huge amount of valuable storage space inside the boat.  We've decided to make covers for them and store them on the deck year-round.  Other folks store bulky kayaks on the deck so we figured the bikes would not be too large.  The idea will be to collapse the handle bars and push the seat all the way down and create a bag to attach to the lifeline.

 

First things, order the Sunbrella material and heavy duty #10 plastic zippers from Sailrite.

 

And borrow Cathy's hot knife to cut the sunbrella.  The hot knife is terrific because it cauterizes the edges of the material and prevents fraying. 

 

Lots of measuring, fitting and double checking. I won't bore you with details, but basically I made a large box with a zipper on one end.

 

This is the stopping point for the day with the bike inside.  Next I'll create a zipper pocket that will hold the entire bag on the white lifeline and a "lid" that will complete the box and make it semi-waterproof.  More tomorrow!