Shade & Style: Channel Surfing’s Marine Makeover

[Submariner]

We had Little House of Canvas in Everett, WA re-do our Bimini on our R27-OB. We went with black, all zippers, and the bimini is as taut as a drum so it no longer pools water in the rain, and it has a pocket to store the USCG required throwable flotation device.

Then we had Blue Seas Fabrication out of Burlington, WA install SeaDek on our boat. We added a fish ruler on the transom and our boat name in the decking, with a diamond pattern in storm grey with black outlines. It's soft on the feet, makes the deck non-slip when the deck is wet while fishing, and is easy to clean.

We're waiting on the cockpit seat covers and the cockpit window and door canvas, all being re-made in black at Little House of Canvas. They should be ready for install this week, in time for the upcoming Rendezvous in Roche Harbor. We don't need any other canvas work done after this. LaZina made us new curtains several years ago. She added a curtain over the stove, and she added bow curtains in the cabin. So the only canvas we put on, is all in the cockpit, and It's all going black to match.

The new Morad VHF antenna I upgraded to earlier this year, I swapped out the 5' white antenna extension for a 4' black extension to better match the bimini.

And we are waiting on the new logo for the transom and sides of the boat... We're keeping the same name, but it's gonna look a lot different. I'm working with Ideation Designs (McKenzie Spoor, out of Bellingham, WA). The transom logo is going to be 3D (dimensional), brushed metal, raised, and back lit with LED lighting.

Little House of Canvas (website)

Little House of Canvas

www.littlehouseofcanvas.com

Blue Seas Fab - SeaDek (website)

West Coast SeaDek Certified Fabricator And Installer

West Coast’s first and only Certified SeaDek Fabricator and Installer, endless possibilities of SeaDek EVA foam non-skid decking material.

blueseasfab.com

Morad Antennas (website)

Morad Antenna

Morad marine antennas are manufactured using stainless steel and anodized aluminum materials, proven by years of field use to be the most durable alloys in harsh marine environments. Our VHF HD antennas are used by the US Coast Guard.

www.morad.com

Ideation Design USA (website)

Welcome

www.ideationdesignusa.com

Throwable flotation cushion storage.


Here's a photoshopped picture of what we're currently thinking for placement of the new logo...

 

[CaptT]

That Bimini looks great Martin!! Is the design something Little House of Canvas came up with?
I love how open the cockpit is with easy access for fishing, crabbing, etc. Our current Bimini is solid but the multiple support rails restrict access to water making it very difficult to fish.
Terry

 

[Submariner]

That Bimini looks great Martin!! Is the design something Little House of Canvas came up with?
I love how open the cockpit is with easy access for fishing, crabbing, etc. Our current Bimini is solid but the multiple support rails restrict access to water making it very difficult to fish.
Terry

Little Hosue of Canvas patterned and designed the bimini. They used the original bars that came with the boat. They just made it taut like a drum, and added some front snaps to direct the water into the gutters on the boat so water sheds as the boat was designed.

These two videos we published illustrate how they pattern/design canvas, the type of thread used, etc... They also talk a lot about full enclosures.

Boat Canvas Upgrade on our Ranger Tug R27

New Canvas/Bimini on our Ranger Tug R27

 

[CaptT]

Excellent information! Thank you.
Terry

 

[Submariner]

Here's another great option for decking. Evercor. It's not foam decking.

 

[gregc]

Looks smart! Nicely done. Do you use any product for UV/waterproofing on the canvas?

 

[Submariner]

Looks smart! Nicely done. Do you use any product for UV/waterproofing on the canvas?

I will clean and then spray down the canvas at least annually with 303 protectant so that it stays waterproofed.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

talking antenna's

mine is looking worse for wear after 12 years the paint is flaking off. deciding whether to paint it or not.

question on install. did you rerun the cable or cut and join the cable with the losses that would include?

is this antenna better than stock?

 

[Cutwater28GG]

also the placement of your two panels makes a great case for 2 smaller vs 1 larger as the slight angle from the roof rack curve really will help with later afternoon solar generation.

 

[Submariner]

talking antenna's

mine is looking worse for wear after 12 years the paint is flaking off. deciding whether to paint it or not.

question on install. did you rerun the cable or cut and join the cable with the losses that would include?

is this antenna better than stock?

Here's an unpublished YouTube video I did on the antenna. It's published over on our Patreon site.

The Morad antenna on a 4' extension is a lot better than the Shakespeare 5101 that came on the boat. I used to only see AIS targets out to about 12nm. I see stuff out past 20nm now. I was heading up Saratoga Passage on our way to the Fluid Motion Rendezvous, and heard the Canadian Coast Guard on VHF around Penn Cove. That was a first. Audio reception is also much clearer.

I believe Morad to be a better antenna, sticking it 4' up off the boat made a huge difference, and having it tuned for 159mhz (AIS and VHF16), all made it a well worthwhile project. A friend of mine put an VSWR meter on the 5101 and on the Morad...

Most antennas are tuned to 156mhz for VHF channel 16. But AIS operates at 162mhz (near VHF channel 71). With VSWR readings, a score of 1.0 is perfect (and not achievable). Anything over 2.0 would be cause for concern.

5101 tuned to 156mhz (VHF 16 tuned)
156mhz = 1.3 (VHF 16)
162mhz = 2.0 (AIS, near VHF 71)

Morad AIS+VHF (159mhz tuned)
156mhz = 1.5 (VHF 16)
159mhz = 1.3
161mhz = 1.5 (AIS, near VHF 71)

Additional info is published on our website:

VHF Antenna | LetsGoChannelSurfing

www.letsgochannelsurfing.com

And here's a link to the video on YouTube (Unlisted video).

 

[Submariner]

also the placement of your two panels makes a great case for 2 smaller vs 1 larger as the slight angle from the roof rack curve really will help with later afternoon solar generation.

It also provides a slight angle for each panel to allow water to run off. I'm a big proponent of a port and starboard panel rather than a single large panel.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

nice. thanks for the details on the antenna. sounds like a good winter project for me. AIS and a new antenna