Frequently Asked Canvas Questions

[Ocean Girl]

Wow, w marine canvas, I just took a look at your website you do beautiful work. Can you describe the features you think are best in a cruising dodger. I see your dodgers are designed very stout, frankly, havent seen such a good design before, do you work with boats that are out of state?

[WMarineCanvas]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Wow, w marine canvas, I just took a look at your website you do beautiful work. Can you describe the features you think are best in a cruising dodger. I see your dodgers are designed very stout, frankly, havent seen such a good design before, do you work with boats that are out of state?

Well, thank you so much for your flattering comments!

It's difficult to just generally say which features are important for all cruising dodgers as I feel that the ocean-going passage-maker obviously has different needs than the weekend lake sailor. For an offshore dodger I try to keep it as "sleek" or low-profile as possible, but not at the expense of comfort. For a lot of boats the ideal dodger is one that provides nice headroom for working with lines on the cabin-top as well as keeping the rain out of the companionway on a wet day. I try to discuss with customers what their ideal uses for the boat will be and we start from there.

As far as working with boats that are out of state, unfortunately I am not equipped to do this quite yet. As I am able to incorporate a bit more technology into my processes this may yet become a possibility although I think the ultimate goal would be to limit the number of trips to the boat but not eliminate them completely. I would not feel comfortable shipping a frame and completed dodger off to a customer without any follow-up guidance, an incorrectly installed dodger or other piece of canvas can end up not only becoming an eye-sore but at worst can be a safety hazard on-board.

Thanks again for your kind comments!

[Ocean Girl]

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. We don't really have canvas shops that have the more up to date techniques, lots of the traditional, which is fine. East coast and west coast seem to put out some really good dodgers but haven't found someone on the gulf coast yet.
Thanks
Erika

[WMarineCanvas]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. We don't really have canvas shops that have the more up to date techniques, lots of the traditional, which is fine. East coast and west coast seem to put out some really good dodgers but haven't found someone on the gulf coast yet.
Thanks
Erika

Back in my sailing days I spent quite a bit of time around the Lake Pontchartrain area and we had some great canvas work (enclosure) done by West Wind Sails in Mandeville, LA. I don't know how their dodgers are but the enclosure served us well for a couple of Trans-Atlantics and extensive cruising in the Caribbean as well as a Trans-Pacific cruise.

[dw5055]

Sunbrella that is 15 years old and still in good shape...what type of water repellant chould be used after this length of time to keep protecting it?

[WMarineCanvas]

Originally Posted by dw5055

Sunbrella that is 15 years old and still in good shape...what type of water repellant chould be used after this length of time to keep protecting it?

Regardless of the age when Sunbrella needs re-waterproofed the recommended product would be 303 Fabric Guard.

[tamicatana]

The best canvas on the Gulf Coast:
Jean at Mainland Canvas, Biloxi or Schreck Canvas of Pensacola