Mystery canvas

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Miss Pessimist

Honestly, I don't know what "twist fasteners" are.

My guess would be Common Sense or turnbutton fasteners. Also known as "twist lock" fasteners. And also Bourque fasteners. Sometimes Murphy fasteners.

"Common Sense fastener" has been in use since 1893. Turnbutton fastener (or originally turn-button fastening" has been in use since 1898.

George William J Murphy and Edward Cummings formed the G W J Murphy Company in 1905 to mass produce turnbutton fasteners. Murphy patented an improved version of the fastener in 1907. And was challenged successfully in patent court. There followed a series of new patents, including from David Bourque.

[Peregrine1983]

These are what I mean by twist fasteners. You’ll have one or two of these on each side of your masts. They are small... about an inch long.

They sometimes also use small stainless steel hooks to hold the cover to the mast.

[Miss Pessimist]

Peregrine1983 I don't have any of those on my mast, no. I have them on my mainsail cover, but none on the mast itself.

I'll have to scout the mizzen to see if there are any there. I don't recall seeing them however.

[Peregrine1983]

Understood. You’re basically looking for either a set of those or a set of hooks that would hold the forward part of that canvas onto one of your masts (see Stu’s excellent diagram.). If you’ve got nothing there or that canvas isn’t the right length for either of your booms, then I’m not sure. It still looks like a sail cover to me, but maybe it’s from a different boat. Does it match the rest of your canvas in terms of color and style?

I sorted out the last piece of “mystery canvas” on my boat recently and so I understand your quest to find out what it is. Good luck.

[Outlaw7]

Do you have a 43 Motor Sailer? It looks like a foredeck tent the notches are for the forward shrouds.

[Outlaw7]

Also the snap hooks go on the life lines.

[SV Bacchus]

I love a good puzzle. It brings out great guesses and stirs up friendly debate.

I was thinking sun shade myself but the material looks a little heavy although you can't really tell for sure in pics.

Maybe the prior owner brought it aboard from a previous boat intending to do "something" with it one day and never got around to it.

[donradcliffe]

Would it be a rain catching awning??

[Steve Bean]

If the PO is like me, he may have rescued the canvas from a boatyard "surplus donation facility" AKA dumpster. My mainsail cover - 14 feet long - is made from dozens of scraps of Sunbrella from a canvas shop in Ft. Lauderdale. I have a sewing machine and I'm not afraid to use it.

[Miss Pessimist]

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

I love a good puzzle. It brings out great guesses and stirs up friendly debate.

I was thinking sun shade myself but the material looks a little heavy although you can't really tell for sure in pics.

Maybe the prior owner brought it aboard from a previous boat intending to do "something" with it one day and never got around to it.

PO wasn't sure what it was. He inherited it. He did use it as a sunshade though. It's the notches that befuddle me. They don't line up with shrouds. It could very well have come from another boat for sure, although the material does match with existing sail covers, both in weight and colour.

The boat is a 41' Ketch rigged Gulfstar and we've discovered in addition to this canvas a mystery sail, extra sail bags, and assorted odds and ends that were hidden away in various compartments for the last 10 years or so. It's been great fun that way.

I'm considering turning the canvas into a stack pack in the short term, but it will also have use as a deck awning in the long term. Either way, it's going to come in handy.

To answer another question, I don't think it's for rain gathering. No way to funnel water out of it. The seam is the full length of the canvas.

I do appreciate everyone's answers though.