Canvassing a deck, need advice

I am re-canvassing a deckhouse and will then be applying canvas to a bare plank deck. I need some advice on proper techniques for doing this canvas work.

 

Go to www.woodenboat.com and click on "WoodenBoat Forums". Go to the "Boatbuilding & Repair" section and use the search utility to find threads on canvas decks. There is a huge volume of information and experience there.

Don't go to the "Misc. Non-Boat Related" section unless you want to get involved in acrimonious, partisan, political mud-slinging. They are out of control down in what they themselves happily call "the bilge".

 

Thanks

Thanks for the link to Woodenboat. I have spent the last hour and a half reading and digesting.

 

Just be careful - some of that stuff is just plain indigestible..

Steve

 

You'll find a lot of different techniques for doing a canvas job on your deck house. Each person will be in love with the method and will advise against the other methods. Wade through this and get an overview.

The bottom line is what YOU need in the covering. If this is an investment boat, a craft of some value and you're looking for a good return someday then the original methods used during construction will yield the best resale value. If you stray away from the original methods then the value will go down, even if it's a better technique. It's sort of like buying a Mustang with a Chevy motor in it. It may run better, have more power, be more reliable and get better gas mileage, but the folks wanting to buy the pretty little Mustang will want the original motor in spite of any short comings it may have (okay you Ford guys don't need to jump me after work)

If this is a keeper, in that you will die before parting with this boat, then the best method within you budget, skill level and will power should be used. That said, Dynel set in epoxy will give you the look of canvas and much better abrasion resistance and water proofing. Cloth set in same will also, but will not be as abrasion resistant nor as easy to make conform to compound curves. Some will have you think that once it's glued down in epoxy you're married to it and will have to grind it off. This doesn't have to be the case, as there are techniques to let it peal off, just like the canvas did and a new coating and material can be put back on.

I built a hard top for a guy a few years ago on his 1962 Holmes which was a compound curve filled thing from hell and a real pain to bend on the beams. I covered it with Dynel in epoxy and painted it. Last fall a tree limb fell on it and put a reasonable hole in it. The beams were okay, but a 6" x 6" hole needed to be patched and the roof recovered (he didn't want it to looked patched) I pealed the glass off, scabbed in a repair, filled and puttied the seams, recovered and painted it. This took a few days to get done and most of that time was tied up in letting epoxy setup.

For what it's worth, the WoodenBoat site is a dangerous place for the newbe, tread lightly, (they can be a bunch of angry old women sometimes) and can get mean quick . . .