Making boat bumper covers

Today's crafty project was to make some covers for our bumpers.  I know, you can buy them.....but they're "pricey" and I'm a cheapo!  Plus, they're super simple....

This all starts with our poker table.....I ordered some fabric from an Ebay person who had yards and yards of fabric that she had used to drape tables for some seminar.  It was the perfect green for a poker table cover. 

I ended up with many yards of the stuff for the outrageous price of $11.....

And I ran across the bag of extra cloth the other day and noticed that it was a very similar color to Sunbrella Persian Green!  

The fabric is just a jersey knit.  We'll have to see if it holds up - but if it doesn't, I'm just out a couple of hours labor.


Here's one of the bumpers (fenders)

I just started by draping the fabric and marking approximate measurements.

I made pockets  in each end for a small string.  Nothing had to be too exact because it's stretchy! 

Then re-measured around the bumper just to make sure....then sewed up the "sock" leaving the pockets for the string free.

Used one of Duane's fids to push the string thru the pockets.

All done!!

Pretty simple!  We only use these when we're at docks when we're away from Pecan Grove.  Our slip at Pecan Grove is wide and we don't need bumpers, so these will be stowed most of the time.

We also have a really big bumper....comes in handy when the winds are really strong.  As you can see, it's been up against some nasty pilings.....

Same process for it - doesn't that look nice???

Storage for life jackets

We're required by the US Coast Guard to have life preservers readily available.  We've been storing them under the cockpit seats....but that takes up a lot of valuable storage space.

Duane suggested we store them under the fiberglass cockpit cover in the "rafters"......

So, we began designing on-the-fly.

Using the reinforced, plastic coated mesh....we measured and made the basic frame that would hold the life vests.

I had to protect all the edges - so made patches out of the same Sunbrella material left over from other projects.

Turned right-side-out and ready to sew in place.

Several hours later.....the entire thing is reinforced.

Next was putting grommets in for attachment points.

Almost finished!  Bungee cords hold it in place.

All filled up with the life vests!  The blue square is required by the US Coast Guard to be "ready to throw".....

And here's another view.  Nice to have them up, out of the way!

Clams!

The clams that we dug at Ocracoke were spectacular!

I had kept them fresh in saltwater for a couple of days - so they spit out all that "sand and goo".......

Grilled up at Pat and Diane's house at their pool.

And they were truly wonderful!!!

Finish up Ocracoke trip

We had a fabulous sail back from Ocracoke - all the way with the main and spinnaker!

We spent an extra day at the boat back in Oriental doing some chores.  Duane wanted to replace all of the lines that hold the sailbag up....in order to do this, he had to climb 1/2 way up the mast.   He's not a big fan of me snapping photos of him working....so I had to sneak this one while he wasn't looking.  Here he is, about 20 feet up on the bosun's chair.

And that's it folks! Another wonderful mini-vacation!

Another mini-vacation

Last week, I had wanted to head to Ocracoke.....so this week, I got my way!

There was a small boat "regatta" in progress when we left Oriental.

About halfway to Ocracoke, we crossed paths with this small trimaran.  Neat looking boat - and fast!

It was a pretty long slog to Ocracoke - the wind was exactly on the nose, so we chose not to sail.  Plus there was a good amount of "swell" that slowed us down.  But, it was beautiful weather and comparatively cool.

We arrived a little after sunset.  I snapped this lovely photo of one of the "sunset cruises" that they run out of Ocracoke.   I think the patrons got their money's worth!

Approaching Ocracoke as the sun sets.

The next morning - all tucked in at the National Park Service docks!

More sun protection

This sun is brutal!! 

We have windows all around the salon area - and these let in a LOT of heat, particularly early morning and late afternoon when the sun is at an angle.

The windows already have a nice see-through covering material that snaps on to the boat.  This filters some of the sun's rays, but not nearly enough!

The sun shines through that material.

So, I got the idea from new friends Willard and QP - use store-bought automotive sunshades and cut them to fit!  (The window bends around the front of the boat, so I have to put a "bend" into the finished product!)

I used some left-over Sunbrella material from the dinghy chaps to sew reinforcements  at the seams.

And I used the same material to bind all the cut edges.

All I have to do is partially take off the existing shade - and slip the new solid panel in place.

Here's the inside view - already cooler!

All buttoned up - we'll just remove it each time we go sailing.  Takes just a minute! 

More Spinnaker Fun

We went for a sail in light winds - and played with the spinnaker again.  Pat and Diane were on their boat sailing around and shot these wonderful photos!  Fun to have a different perspective!


Coming out of the channel in the marina.

Just getting everything set-up.

Moving along nicely now.

The wind has picked up and we actually let the sail get a little too high.  But we're learning!

Fun sailing!

And here's Pat, Diane and A.D.....on the "photo ship".

Sun shade made of white tarp for boat

The sun is brutal!!  The air conditioner has trouble keeping up with the 95'ish outside temperatures.

So, we decided to make a sunshade from a 10'X20' white tarp....a little measuring and a little sewing.  Here is the result.  Kindof hard to see next to the white boat, but it's tied up over the cabin area of the boat. 

Keeps the boat 5-8 degrees cooler.  Worth the effort!

Making a cover for the dinghy motor

The next little project that I needed to do was to make a cover to protect the dinghy motor from the sun.

Duane obliged by lifting the 100 pound motor and mounting it on the railing.  This made it much easier to fit the cover (as opposed to doing it while the dinghy was in the water.)

This really wasn't that complicated since it doesn't need to fit snuggly.   It will be removed for each use.

So, I just used some more plastic to make a very vague outline and left plenty of room for error.

After several back-and-forth's into the nice, air-conditioned boat for fitting, this is the general shape of the bag.

Then I trimmed the bottom and sewed a casing all the way around the bottom for the drawstring.  I also made two button-holes for the drawstrings to "exit" the casing.  I thought this might protect the fabric as we tie/untie this bag over the years.

And there we have it - this should keep the motor cover clean and scuff-free for a while!