Shade sails on land and sea

September 1st, 2021

A blast of color is a good thing when your fabric is adorning a playground, like these shade sails designed by Wyckam Fabric Creations in Keizer, Ore. But the growth in popularity of shade sails has as much to do with function as it does with form. Photo: Wyckam Fabric Creations. Honing your math skills […]

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Tools, tips and tricks

May 1st, 2020

These are submissions to the 2020 Marine Fabricators Conference Tools, Tips and Tricks contest and Marine Fabricator magazine.  Tip 1  Mini fabric table saw Here’s a slightly dangerous, but effective little tip. Hammer a nice, sharp razor blade at a 45-degree angle into your cutting table. Keep the fabric flat and push or pull it […]

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Automation advantages

September 1st, 2019

Technology solutions offer marine fabricators expanded capabilities, opportunities for greater creativity, and new project and market options. By Pamela Mills-Senn  Ask Thomas Carlson, manager of Tulsa, Okla., Carlson Design Corp., about his number one competitor and he offers up a surprising response.  “It’s a pair of scissors. Most of our customers have been cutting manually […]

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Marine tension shade options

March 1st, 2018

Marine fabricators help boat owners expand shading options with stretched fabric. It could easily be argued that the pleasures of boating are best appreciated on a deck rather than in a cabin. But protection from sun exposure requires more than that provided by a wide-brimmed hat. With that kind of coverage in mind, boat owners […]

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Train, recruit and keep employees

July 1st, 2017

Competition, especially from overseas manufacturing; increasing costs for equipment, materials and labor; the need to keep up with fast-paced technology; and the general state of the economy, which directly affects the consumer pool, rank as challenging issues for most businesses. Yet the owner of a marine fabrication shop in Portland, Ore., has a more pressing […]

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