Canvas Sun Shade Extension Question

[LClifton]

One of the best things I did was to make the camper canvas full length. Here in North GA from the time the camper canvas comes off until it goes back on there are not many days that we don’t need the shade. The top stays on 24/7/365.
View attachment 132462
Bennett

Did you order this from somewhere online or have it made locally?

 

[bbwhitejr]

Did you order this from somewhere online or have it made locally?

Made locally. It zips to the existing rear bimini.

Bennett

 

[hynespa]

Something that’s been in my brain lately….I hate how the sound of running the generator wrecks the peace when I am out on the moorings at Catalina Island for the weekend.

Could a support be designed for the rear area of the boat that I could pop up after arriving to the Island and then be topped with portable solar panels instead of Sunbrella so that I could kill two birds with one stone: 1) be shaded over the rear cockpit table and 2) generate enough watts via the solar panels to a power bank/solar generator to not have to fire up the noisy generator all weekend?

Here are some examples of the portable solar panels I was eyeing:

https://www.jackery.com/products/solarsaga-200w-solar-panel

https://www.bluettipower.com/products/bluetti-pv120-120w-solar-panel

https://www.goalzero.com/collections/portable-solar-panels/products/nomad-100-solar-panel

Has anybody else contemplated this?

 

[LClifton]

Something that’s been in my brain lately….I hate how the sound of running the generator wrecks the peace when I am out on the moorings at Catalina Island for the weekend.

Could a support be designed for the rear area of the boat that I could pop up after arriving to the Island and then be topped with portable solar panels instead of Sunbrella so that I could kill two birds with one stone: 1) be shaded over the rear cockpit table and 2) generate enough watts via the solar panels to a power bank/solar generator to not have to fire up the noisy generator all weekend?

Here are some examples of the portable solar panels I was eyeing:

https://www.jackery.com/products/solarsaga-200w-solar-panel

https://www.bluettipower.com/products/bluetti-pv120-120w-solar-panel

https://www.goalzero.com/collections/portable-solar-panels/products/nomad-100-solar-panel

Has anybody else contemplated this?

I watch a lot of sailing videos on YouTube. There are a couple of pretty good applications in use.
One of them is found on the Channel Expedition Evans. I will re look at the channel and see if I re-locate the episode where they incorporate panels into their bimini. There's are actually very "flexible" panels that were sewn into place.
Essentially they made a perimeter / border around the very lightweight panel then sewed that to the top. (I'm doing this from memory.)

I like your thinking on this.

 

[LClifton]

Found it.
BOAT LIFE: When You're Not Good Enough. | EE 77

 

[hynespa]

@LClifton - i’m all down for figuring out the electrical work and maybe even engineering the aluminum tubing for the bimini … But I draw the line at placing a sewing machine on the boat and figuring out how to sew into Sunbrella… That is way outside of my comfort zone…cute sewer though…

 

[Lou R]

I have been working on a plan for a 100% removable rear cover. The cover would zip the the factory canvas and attach to removable poles in the rear. There was a discussion of something similar a while ago. @saopm posted a picture but I know longer see it in the post. It would require two rod holders and extendable poles. I was planning on using a tensioning system to attach the cover via small pulleys and v-cleats.

This is one of the "products" that we have been tossing around developing.

-Kevin

Hi sounds like you were working on an extended shade, anything ever resulted?

 

[Kris36]

Here is a sun shade from Amazon and a couple of telescoping poles. Since then we’ve upgraded to a zip-in Sunbrella cover that we made ourselves. We haven’t installed that yet though.

 

[KevinC]

Hi sounds like you were working on an extended shade, anything ever resulted?

Yes, right now we have two patterns available one for the 2003.5+ 340SDA and one for the 2002+ 320DA. They will zipper onto the factory sunshade and the expandable supports will use the factory rod holders. If you do not have rod holders a they will need to be installed.

You can find some pictures here:
https://www.covemarine.com/portfolio

-Kevin

 

[Lou R]

Yes, right now we have two patterns available one for the 2003.5+ 340SDA and one for the 2002+ 320DA. They will zipper onto the factory sunshade and the expandable supports will use the factory rod holders. If you do not have rod holders a they will need to be installed.

You can find some pictures here:
https://www.covemarine.com/portfolio

-Kevin

Great pictures, none will fit my older 330, thanks

 

[KevinC]

Great pictures, none will fit my older 330, thanks

Unfortunately not at this time. I would need a local owner with a factory top that would volunteer to allow me to pattern from.

-Kevin

 

[Lou R]

Unfortunately not at this time. I would need a local owner with a factory top that would volunteer to allow me to pattern from.

-Kevin

Ok thanks

 

[Bruce SEA 993]

Here is what we did. The sun comes in at a low angle so we wanted it out over the swim step.

The poles are from Amazon and branded Elephant and the shade cloth is rectangular sunbrella type stuff. This is up in Roche Harbor at the end of July and it kept it quite nice on the cockpit. The rolled up canvas has been replaced so we will reconfigure but much the same. Added an "eyebrow" so the curtains are vertical and do not roll up.

Cheers!