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From: Larry N. Brown (no email)
Date: Thu May 03 2007 - 16:24:06 EDT
> Tenara is available from Sailrite
> <http://www.sailrite.com/Categories/Lifetime-Guarantee-Thread>, it's
> dear at $139 a spool. I've heard about it from others who are familiar
> with the canvas business, say it can't be beat. Given that it's true
> that the seams are the weak link in canvas longevity, it seems that it
> would be worth every penny not to have to remove the canvas to have it
> re-stitched every couple of years.
>
> Steve
A little over a year ago now, I was trying to square the circle with a 4
bow, SS Bimini using a kit from Sailrite, Sunbrella included. I asked the
list what the normal height was and a listee who has a sail and canvas
making shop in the Caribbean, gave me the info.
Long and short of it is that a Bimini of the size I needed could never have
been made with the conventional multi-bow format, so I had a welded
aluminum Bimini frame built. Next was the discussion of materials. Sunbrella
performs so poorly with continuous use in the tropics, they can't give them
much of a warranty. It didn't take much talking to convince me to use
Shelterite, the truck tarp stuff. By the way, they'll only warrant the white
or beige stuff; the colored material isn't nearly as UV resistant.
Only use the Gore-Tex thread. He recommended using a #22 needle and 800
Silico Reactivator HF fluid from Clearco as a thread lubricant, running the
thread through a bath and dunking the bobbin in a bowl of the stuff to
prevent snarls. Bought a spool of the stuff.
As I was steeling my nerves to sew the thing up myself, I ran across a
couple of itinerant sailor/sail who stitched a white ShelteRite top up for
me, using a #20 needle and no lubricant. Worked out fine. They said the
material was a little more difficult to stitch than Sunbrella but just
watching, it seemed effortless to me.
If anyone's interested, I can send pics of the top and other instructions
for using Shelterite.
Oh, we have a great deal of Captain's Navy Sunbrella from which we plan to
stitch up several things with the remaining quarter of a mile of Gore-Tex
thread. Soft, toss-around cushions, carry-all purses for the ladies and my
own cunning invention: a hand-stitched, handsome duffel with Cigano's logo
on it and a note on the guest invitation card to bring no other luggage.
Regards,
Larry & Teri Brown
MV Cigano, 47' Prairie Sundeck
(still glued to the dock in Covington, LA)
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