In the fall of 2015 we purchased a 28' Shannon Brendan. It's an express style powerboat with a large cockpit for fishing. Seriously, she has an 11'8" beam and the cockpit is probably 8' long, it's big. The previous owners had a beautiful cover than went from the hardtop to an arch across the back. This also had a entire screen surround since their slip was on a buggy river. We tried it for the first year, and while we liked it, the arch was constantly in the way when fishing. Most of the time we took it off the boat completely and only used it when we'd be travelling for a couple of nights and needed protection from the sun.
So, I began my search for a better designed sun fly for the back of the boat. I thought there had to be a way to make one that would attach to the hardtop but could be supported by poles that went into the rear rod holders.
I was thrilled when I found the SunFly Strut system. However, it wasn't perfect. I didn't want to mount additional hardware to support the cover. I found some other poles that would work with the rod holders, but I'm a frugal New Englander and I choked on the price.
I found another company that made Boat Shades, but I wasn't crazy about the idea of spending that much money on something and not actually being able to touch it before I bought it. Add to that, I know how to sew. Pretty well actually. Looking at the various designs I felt that with a bit of help and instructions that I could figure this thing out. So I continued to look.
One of the best sites I came across in my searching with Sailrite. These people are the definitive word on sewing for boating. Not only do they offer free instructions on how to make softgoods for your boat, they also sell all out the parts and equipment to do it. I was in love.
Around this time I started seeing sail shades popping up all over. These seemed pretty similar to what I was trying to do. And wouldn't you know it, my friends at Sailrite put out a video on Making a Structural Sun Shade Awning. I found tons of instructions on how to make these (some better than others) and I started making my plan.
I was lucky in the fact that my boat had a previous shade that I could use to determine the correct size. There was already an awning track attached to the hardtop so I used that as my width. I measured out to were the previous cover started to curve to fit over the arch. This was about 5 inches shorter than the length of the deck. I decided to use those two measurements for my finished size.
Since I had no idea how this was going to work out, or if I was going to be able to do this correctly, I chose to buy some outdoor canvas at Joann Fabrics for about $8/yd instead of jumping into buying Sunbrella at $25/yd. I also bought some stainless D rings from the local boating store and some heavy outdoor webbing to use to attach the D rings to the shade. Since this was only a prototype, I used the awning rope from the old cover to attach the shade to the hardtop.
Basting tape has become my best friend when sewing for the boat. Anyone who has ever tried to pin a 8' long hem knows what I'm talking about. This stuff is a life saver. Again, great instructions on how to use it on the site.
Since my boat is ridiculously wide, I had to sew two pieces of fabric together to create one big piece for the shade. I used a flat felled seam for the center seam. The first seam that I sewed was about 1", bigger than I normally would but better to hold the heavy fabric. For my side seams to finish off the shade I used a 1" wide double fold hem.
The corners had to be reinforced so that they wouldn't rip when stress was placed upon them. I used a method that sail makers use to reinforce the corner and attach the webbing. I altered these ideas a bit to work with what I had, but the result is a sturdy corner that stood up to a beating of rain on our last day in P-Town.
How to sew a corner for strength on a sail shade
Install a corner ring in a sail using webbing
When it comes to actually sewing for the boat, my Huskylock machine is great for interior work like curtains, but it won't handle the heavy canvas and vinyl that we use for the deck. My dear husband wanted to buy me a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1, but I'm cheap. I looked at used Singers and other machines. Trolled Craigslist hoping someone would be selling a Sailrite and not know what it was, but no use. I seriously started looking at the Reliable Barracuda. It looks like the Sailrite but can be quirky. Maybe not as perfectly made, but it's an industrial machine and almost 1/3 of the price. And the best is that Bed Bath and Beyond sells it online. You know what that means? 20% off and free shipping - SOLD! I opted to get the base model of the Barracuda to see if I even liked it. My wonderful husband built me a table to install it in with some hinges that allow me to tip it to oil it. I didn't have it when I made the shade, but I also eventually purchased the Monster Balance Wheel which helps to sew through very thick layers of fabric.
So what did I actually do?
I determined what my final size was to be for the shade. Let's say for ease that it was 8' wide x 7' long. (96" x 84")
Fabric comes in various widths, the one I chose was 54" wide.
Each hem required an additional 2" for each side. My seam down the middle would require an extra 3", so an additional 7" to the width of the overall shade making the total width of fabric I needed 103".
For the length, I would need 2" on each end for hems making the overall length 88".
Plus additional fabric to reinforce the corners.
Given the width of the fabric I was buying I purchased 3 yards to have extra.
I bought heavy duty webbing that was about 1" wide. I used 2' for each strap, 2 straps in each corner so 8' total.
For thread I've been using V92 Polyester UV Thread which has held up well with size 18 needles.
I cut the fabric to 88" in length and trimmed each piece to 51.5" wide.
I started by sewing the center seam, then worked on the corners and then the side seams.
The last thing I did was to sew the shade on to the awning rope.
But I haven't mentioned the poles
When I was mocking up the fly I used some 6' tall wooden closet rods. You wouldn't believe the amount of flex in those things. I was hoping I could use them, but alas no. I'm very lucky that I happen to be related so someone who welds for a living and does work on boats. He was able to get me two pieces of 1" stainless steel pipe that was 6' long. Notice I said "pipe" not "tubing". Pipe has a thicker wall and won't flex and bend. 1" tubing would be to weak to support a top the size of what I made.
At the top of the pole we attached a pulley to allow the cord to move smoothly and be tightened. Further down the rod we placed a cam cleat to secure the cord. We used stainless steel bolts to attach all of it.
In all honesty, the fabrication of the shade itself was the easy part and the least expensive. Finding a location to purchase the pipe and the parts to make the pole was a bit more difficult. I'm lucky that my husband is pretty handy and he was able to fabricate the poles for me. We bought some 3/8" line and placed a stainless caribiner on the end of each to attach to the shade at the D rings on the corners.
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