Mariner Canvas, New Bern, N.C. This project, which won an Award of Excellence in the tops 27 feet and up category of the 2009 MFA Awards, incorporated strong stainless-steel framework, which supports all of the canvas. The free-standing bimini-top framework includes solar-panel supports fabricated for close tolerances with bimini height, twin backstays and mainsail boom. [...]

Mikes Marine Custom Canvas, Virginia Beach, Va. This project, which won an Outstanding Achievement Award in the tops 27 feet and up category of the 2009 MFA Awards, featured an affordable, retractable, sturdy, cockpit sunshade large enough for adequate protection, but easily retracted and out of the way when not needed. The slide track and [...]

Canvas Experts Inc., Ocean City, Md. This project, which won an Award of Excellence in the full covers 27 feet and up category of the 2009 MFA Awards, featured a full complete cover to protect the boat during travel and storage. Sixteen templates were patterned to create this job. It took nine and a half [...]

Not long after she and her husband bought their Florida canvas business, a mystery confronted Rebecca Hillan of T&C Canvas Inc. in Fort Myers, Fla. One of her customers lugged his year-old boat cover into the shop. The fabric layers were delaminating, actually separating from one another. “It was coming apart in our hands,” Hillan [...]

This 1994 Monterey 265 SEL came from the factory with a substantial stock pilot house of traditional clear plastic panels secured to heavy fabric by hefty zippers. After four years of living with the stock version, the second owner of the boat, an avid yachtswoman in Southern California, decided to replace the worn and tired [...]

Tips and techniques from a veteran fabricator for flawless track-to-track enclosures. When using track-to-track installation for enclosures, step-by-step instructions are helpful to achieve a proper fit, which creates a high-quality-looking job. Utilizing a track-to-track technique is necessary for today’s marine fabricator. A standard “snap” enclosure may take away from the look of today’s beautiful, sleek [...]

It didn’t take long for Jeri Perillo to get hooked on working with semi-rigid windows and enclosures. Perillo’s company, Custom Canvas of Charleston in North Charleston, S.C., installed its first semi-rigid enclosure four years ago on a boat at the request of Rainier Windows. Custom Canvas started fabricating the windows for Tiara yachts, and other [...]

Iverson’s Design, Olympia, Wash., United States Extra-large Dodger For this extra-large canvas dodger on a Jeanneau 49 sailboat, the client and his family wanted protection from the elements on their two-year sailing voyage at sea. This dodger is unique in its size—the largest dodger the company has built. It was a challenge to build it [...]

Iverson’s Design, Olympia, Wash., United States Elan 386 Retractable Dodger This convertible dodger for an Elan 386 sailboat was intended to protect the crew and the entryway from rain and waves, as well as to enhance the style of the sailboat. The client wanted the ability to retract the top section of the dodger but [...]

Iverson’s Design, Olympia, Wash., United States Yellow Enclosure on Beneteau 353 The purpose of this dodger and enclosure is to provide more useable space on this Beneteau 35 sailboat throughout the year. The client wanted to be able to enjoy the use of the enclosed cockpit on rainy and windy days while sailing or at [...]