42] DIY BOAT CANVAS: Replacing The Spray Dodger, Sail Pack & Bimini On A Sailboat | Sailing Skua 

Don't diminish what you are doing, both. I am so impressed with your gumption, patience and willingness to get a hold of a project and see it through. Your stitching looks pretty damned good to me. Let's face it, once the wind and sun get to the sprayhood, it gets baggy/tightens/sags/nips up constantly, even when done "professionally". You've done a great job, seriously. You are both the real deal; salty mariners making a euro go a long, long way ;-))

Guys, I’m truly humbled by your comments. If there was one key message to take away from this video, this is it: anyone can do this. Anyone, really. And I don’t say this lightly. I’m a clumsy person with zero practical skills, who has trouble using the most basic tools! So anyone who wants (or needs) to make their canvas, can do it. Honestly. It’s not easy and sometimes it isn’t pleasant either, but it is definitely doable 😊 Elena

You are an amazing woman to tackle all of that canvas work on your new boat. That is a huge project and something I would never have done. Good on you. I also commend you for your great dialog that is informative and efficient. I'm glad I found your channel.

Great video you two. Amazing display of spirit. That was a lot of canvas work. Herculean in task! Great job.

An Impressive display of ingenuity and adaptive learning - well done. By adding an extra level of grief through recording the process for our benefit, you ably demonstrate your determination to succeed, nice to see, thanks

Love your combined handiwork. Your overall restoration has made your old boat look like a million bucks! Well done.

Hi Guys. Top Tip for sewing thicker materials or PVC is to use some silicone lubricant on an artists brush and wipe it on the needle every 3-4 inches of stiching. The needle slips through the material better. Great work. Sail safe. Ant & Cid xx

Helluva accomplishment! I can't imagine, well done!

Congratulations for persevering with your sailmaker skills, making errors when you are learning a new skill are apprenticeship badges of honour. As you get more skilled you will get less badges.😉👍⛵️

Hi Guys, So, after careful analysis of your approach, sewing techniques and skills, my learn'ed conclusion is it is not indeed your fault! NO, the fault lies wholly with the attitude of the sewing machine. In order to fix this issue I would recommend the following strategy. Whilst sewing, place beside you, one bottle of strong spirits, one Aluminum baseball bat and one long coil of rope tied off on one end. When said sewing machine is particularly disobedient, crab Baseball bat firmly, hit said sewing machine violently across the arch at least 4 times [or until exhausted, whichever comes first] whilst screaming obscenities about it's heritage. Upon completion of phase 1, Phase 2 entails tying the free end of the carefully prepared rope coil around the bridge of said sewing machine, whilst continuing to berate it's heritage, then proceed to carry said sewing machine up onto the deck and heave it into the harbour whilst screaming something along the lines of " See how long you can hold your breath down there, you rusty bucket of cocky snot!!!" By the end of phase 2 your frustrations should have started to subside. Lastly, all that is required is to carry out Phase 3, which entales heading back downstairs to take 4, maybe 5, good long swigs from the carefully prepared bottle of spirits....... sit on the couch for a good length of time prior to going on deck and dragging the, by now, spluttering but subdued sewing machine back on deck, give it a quick once over with a hairdryer to dry it out and carry on where you left off!!!! Using this technique, you may find it adds a little more time, maybe even days, to the task, however, you'll find your psychological health improves no end, not to mention your upper body physical strength from heaving and retrieving said sewing machine to and from the harbour. Al. :) PS. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT try and throw said sewing machine out a portal, they don't fit!!!! Don't ask me how I know...... PPS. It may pay to buy copious bottles of strong spirits as one does tend to become quite fond of the taste and often, by the end of all the canvas work, one has to have considerably more than the 5 or so swigs to get the desired calming effect........ Have a great day, and a good laugh because life is too short to take it too seriously. BTW, well done on the re-canvasing. Al.

All credit to your perseverance at making the bimini and sail sack. I'm mightily impressed with your work ethic.

Nice job on the canvas, it will look especially great while sailing in the Med.! My friend that got me into sewing my own canvas stressed that the most important tool was the seem ripper, and for me he wasn't kidding! BTW, hand sewing is not easy but you made it look so.

At least you didn't throw the sewing machine overboard :D Looks good, that spray hood, guys! Happy greetingz, Wim

Yea you can spend $100 easy for a hot knife, which considering all the purposes one can use it on a boat (lines, fabrics, sails, etc) I think is great investment. However, a cheaper method, which is not quite as good as a hot knife, but I am sure would save lot more time is to get a soldering iron knife blade attachment for about $20. That way you can cut and seal at the same time ... again I would imagine it would be slow going compared to a real hot knife, but doing both steps at once just has to save bit of time.

I absolutely love you guys! You make an amazing team and achieve so much, you should both be very proud of yourselves your both a great inspiration! X

Following. Enjoying. Not a sailor .... complete landlubber. You have awesome skills, tenacity and drive. Admiration from MikeinMinnesota.

I love these videos :-) Very good information. You're giving me a very good insight into what I need to know to "Live Aboard" a Hans Christian... They're all designed by Robert Perry and very much alike... The differences are insignificant... Thanks for sharing :-) BTW, I'm a Disabled Senior Citizen, on a pension, for now... When I can afford to become a "Patreon" - I will :-)

Doing something for the first time is just awful. Trial and error. Way to persevere 👍

your boat is starting to GLEAM.

BTW, that canvas work does NOT look "easy and relaxing" to me!!! I am a great admirer of your pluck in doing that job!!!

That boat looks roomy and big inside. Being that you use a wide-angle lens for interior shots, does being there in person feel spacious? How old are your sails (the white part)? They look pristine new, and I'm sure expensive. Does the salt and sun really wear them out?

Anchoring on a lee shore is child's play compared to this project. You are brave and industrious folks. Congrats on a job well done.

Thanks guys great work, need to replace my spray hood, showing it age and the seams are starting to split 😱 after watching this and watching sailrite videos think i might try my luck having the old one to copy should help i hope🤔. Did you cut a bit shorter to accommodate for stretch over the years? Thinking trace out the old and cut inside 3mm?

Well done Kiddo, I promise you will get better, that's from a guy who's been using a thumper of a machine, pattern cutting and upholstering leather suite's for years get your patterns correct , give yourself plenty of room to throw the material about let the machine do the work, in a few months time you will see the faults in other sailmakers and machinists work, oh and you will blame someone else for making your rain and sail cover, wink, wink, good on you for having the guts to do it, and of course you made the statement regarding the saving's, could be a nice little earner for you gotta be others with the same probs who won't even attempt it. Good Luck.

You have taken on a mammoth task in such a small space.....your poor little fingers. Very well done.

Fantastic commitment, Seems like you’ve been sewing for weeks. Fair winds.

Get a pack of sharps or jeans needles so you always have sharp ones at hand, try using silicone spray over the material you will get better thickness penetration. What thread and bobbin thread are you using???

I hope the canvas dodger and bimini work because you did a much better job than I could have tried to do. Just think when it needs to be done again and it will it will be a piece of cake for you. Trust my friend did this for well craft. :)peace

Can I borrow you to do my boat? Great job. Nobody gonna ever look to see if stitching is perfect or not! Look at all the money you saved!

What a mammoth task I'm well impressed by your efforts and determination :)

That was brilliant! Well done. I made a canvas windscreen cover last week, nothing as complicated and impressive as your work, but always very satisfying to make something yourself. Adventures Adrift stand in the front hatch and work the sewing machine on the deck, like a sailing loft a real back saver i reckon!

Elenor you are amazing! Such a huge task set but they look great. Sorry you seem to attract those wasps, but perhaps you are just too sweet for them to resist a taste!

WOW u guys did a fantastic job,thanks for sharing.

Wow, you salvaged and re-used the original fasteners? You guys pinch pennies so hard, I can hear them scream! ;)

Sailrite hot knife $150 they also make a $15 blade for a soldering iron.....

Thank you for sharing! You’ve shown that any of us without any experience are capable of repairing anything you set your mind on. You made it seem so easy even if it is time consuming. You got grumpy? Nothing compared to myself! I probably would be a lot more grumpy. LOL. Keep up the amazing work, the boat is already beautiful! Fair Winds!

Skua looking fantastic down to the very hard work from both of you, you have a great deal of patience the sewing machine would have been in the drink if I had been doing it ! Really impressed with your work , look forward to more.Well Done.

Great effort and you got the result you wanted. Looks good.

That was one of the best DIY boat repair videos I've seen Good work, looks professional. I thought the backpack like strap as a tensioner on the back of the bimini was ingenious. I was a little confused about the problem at the top of the luff of the foresail, was the beltrope coming out? Or just the stitching at the head? Now that you are finished, would you recommend the Jeans sewing machine or would you think the sailrite is a good investment? Appreciate the great vid! I'm subscribed now.

another amazing episode! You two are such resourceful grafters: I think you'll do anything you put your minds to.

Colour me impressed by that canvas work

if push comes to shove you can now earn new income from a new trade...well done...

Great video! Link for the fabric? Or can you spell out the name?

Way ta jump in and do,and ta keep with it,so so much Work,just even moving canvas alone ,good going!!!

Have been enjoying following your story... Apologies if others have made the same comments about your excellent seamstressing - a couple of tips: 1. The zip on the bimini fore edge will be the weakest point as it is likely to fail first long before the stitching or material due to UV damage. Good idea to add a flap to sit over the zip teeth. 2. the aft edge of your 'horsey' could do with some elastic in a hem to hold it taught with extra length (elastic) underneath to allow tensioning to your kicker or other point under the boom. This will help it not to flap about which will shake poor horsey apart very quickly. Cheers

Well done. You did a phenomenal job on the canvas work. Many seasoned sewers would not undertake a job like that and the end result is fantastic. Wow!

So very courageous Elena to take on the canvas work. I’ve seen the results, fantastic!😀

Clever girl. Very fine work. Others will pay you for that. May help you along the trip.

Yes a magnificent achievement to make all of that, you'll enjoy the boat all the more for doing all the work yourself. I made a sail stack myself on a much smaller boat and that was a bit of a battle, so I know how much effort you must have put in. Well done and it all looks professional too.

I have never and probably won't but enjoyed watching you give it a go. I'm sure it will get easier with each piece. Enjoy watching the new boat come together!!

I replaced my worn canvas and made a number of new canvas items for my boat using an $80. sewing machine and it worked well sewing easily through 4-5 layers of Sunbrella. It saved me a LOT of money and it was fun learning a new skill and being self sufficient. I used the same machine along with some hand sewing to do all my own sail repairs also. It is very important to be self sufficient if circumnavigating. Fair winds, far places!

If no one else mentions it, you have now learned a very profitable skill. As you travel, you may be able to pick up canvas work . It will help to finance living your dream. Good luck!

If it was easy the pro's would not be able to charge so much! It all looks fantastic!

Practice sewing a couple more lazybags and you can both work in my yard.

Fantastic Job! You should be quite proud of yourselves, thanks for the inspiration! Cheers~

great job on the canvas, looking good guys !!

The way that seam is coming apart you didn't replace it any too soon

Look at you two your doing so well I'm so very proud of you look at you go your working overcoming hardships. How could anyone no be so proud of you two !! May God bless you and your boat I love you kids !

Your request for Patrons at the end of each video does not tie up with what is available on the Patreon website. In any case I think there used to be the facility for making a one off donation did there not? I don't want to 'join' but would be happy to contribute from time to time. Am I missing something?

Did you have any issue sewing through the basting tape. Tried it on my machine and it just gummed everything up.

well done guys absolutely brilliant. top credit to you both for getting stuck in , it looks perfect.

I should hire you guys to redo some of the canvas on my boat!

You did great - a little bit of wobbly stitching kinda makes it yours! if you know what I mean :) I watched another sailing channel/couple a while back who actually paid for theres to be done (knowing what a difficult task it can be), but even after two attempts the Bimini Makers still could not get it right for their particular vessel! - in the end they refused to pay-up, & told 'em to stuff it (and rightly so).

You did an awesome job!!! Barney

Cool dobro

Amazingly done! Love it :) I’d like to renew a few canvasses on our boat too. Can you tell me where you bought you’re sewing machine and what the brand is? We’re in Spain too at the moment :) happy sailing !

Fabulous result especially using a residential type sewing machine. Ebay is your friend. Try and get a hot knife and a Sailrite machine. Now that you have done it once you have a new side line. Just having the machine and thread will get some jobs.

Gee I hope you were thinking of making winch covers with the left overs , wink wink.I suppose by now you are sailing or at least floating and just thought I'd share this link with you ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DfSu1jHuFec.html Hope it works as I don't do this linky thing much.I just thought you would get into this sort of thing and hope it's useful to you both...I do it at home.

I'm as interested in your repairs and maintenance as sailing. Pitched perfect to someone like myself ( average DIY guy ). You do great videos, really engaging and you are both really natural to listen to. Please keep them coming but some ppl run out of things to report on and still make videos which are then rather bland. Quality not quantity for me.

What tenacity to take on such a project. I'm beyond impressed and inspired

that is an excellent job on that both of you

looks terrific inspires me to have a go at it

nice job! way to get things done!

Wow, you guys did a great job!!

You proved you can do anything if the will is there and you do the necessary research of how to do it. Goo news you can decuct the cost of sewing machine because you calculated it in with upholstery work. God bless you and give you the necessary skills to do what you must. Amen

Fabulous effort. Great skills to make all those pieces.

Awesome successful sewing projects. Well done!

That is some sewing machine for the price paid. Well done for getting all that sewing done.

Looks terrific! Nice work.

You should be very proud of that... great job!

you should get rid of your stove top espresso pot and replace with stainless. The white spoors inside these aluminium pots is dangerous and can be a cause of Alzheimers

Very impressive !!!!

Thank you so much for this video! It has been very helpful and we love all your DIY! We bought our first sailing boat just a few days ago... it's was very inexpensive which means it needs lots of fixing up, and we're on a budget so learning that it's possible to repair the spray hood ourselves is amazing! :) I'm wondering what is the spray hood fabric called and where do I buy it? Thank you, and looking forward to watching the rest of your videos! :)

Very nice work!

The both of you seem to be quite handy at all the tasks that needed doing….bravo!

Cool.You two keep it so real!You just became DIY GODS!!!Thanks!there's hope for us all!!

It looks nice

Very well done!!! Striving is good for everyone!

Here me out!, I can't believe you are canvasing right out in the open like that and in day light hours no less!. There are people out there, some looking out of windows from there boats, Well let me just say this, I watched a old man at my home Marina canvas his boat. Before he was even close to done he had two other boat owners hire him to re-canvas there boats, and before he was done with them he had over six months worth of canvas jobs back logged to do. You may of just opened a whole new and profitable business here, "Am very impressed" Kittiwake Canvas & Repair. Make your slogan simple. " We Got-Cha Covered"

Amazing job guys, huge amount of tricky work there. Looks brilliant, just keep reminding yourself how much you saved. I just had my sprayhood cleaned, reproofes and new windows and that was £290 so you saved a huge amount. Andy UK

Good job

Nice one.

It's always so good and interesting watching your videos. Thanks

Once again, Impressed, admire your persistence and willingness to take things on, great work with the canvas, I am assuming that any sail repairs now will not seen so daunting due to the sheer volume of stitching you have done.

Bravo, nice job.

Good job with all the canvas work. I have been redoing mine slowly over the last couple years. Trying to sew those large panels in the restricted area of a boat cabin or cockpit really adds to the challenge.

Excellent job well done to you both, ya got grit! as they say 👍🏼💥💪🏼😄

Brilliant ....again! I love the fact that you tell it as it is - warts and all. If it seems like a disaster you bite the bullet and tell us...its so refreshing....and so helpful to everyone else! Yes its frustrating when you feel you have wasted days of painful sowing - but remember that you haven’t - its part of your knowledge and experience and if you paid for that course it wouldn’t also cost you a couple of grand. So at the very least you still saved £2000! Regarding imperfect work - apart from you, who really cares! It all looks great 👍 and a few unplanned sowing zig zags or imperfect fits - well its for you to worry about but nobody else. You saved an absolute fortune - respect!!! I think you guys are totally great! The biggest scandal of the 20th century is the corporate demand for perfection in a far from perfect world. Far better to go with the flo, aim for the best you can but be happy with what you do and move on. Life is too short to constantly aim for an impossible perfect result. There are places to see! Go and see them!!!

Hey good job but sewing machine might be better with a sailrite I know they are expensive but well worth it for jobs like that . Fair winds and folowing seas. SV Chewbacca

Wasps always go for the sweetest meat!