Sailboat Archives | Chicago Marine Canvas

October 25, 2023November 30, 2023

32.5 Dufour Sailboat California Dodger and Bimini Top

The Salty Dog Sailing Company reached out to Chicago Marine Canvas to fabricate a new custom sailboat dodger and bimini top for their 33ft 2005 Dufour 325 sailboat. Using a combination of marine grade quality products and state of the art technology, we were able to not only meet the customer’s expectations but exceed them.

At Chicago Marine Canvas we offer a plethora of styles and colors. This meets everyone’s needs due to a variety of selections ranging from loud and vibrant tones to classic and timeless colors. For this project, we used an elegant Sunbrella canvas in Marine Blue on the dodger along with matching Sunbrella Marine Blue binding.

The dodger features a canvas top and five adjoining windows made out of a super durable Aqua-lite UV polycarbonate material designed for high-impact, made to withstand even the most extreme weather conditions, and offers a clear view while also providing protection from the sun’s UV rays.

Not only does the dodger feature custom stainless steel side grab rails installed on the dodger top. The dodger is also sewn with black Solarfix PTFE Thread. This type of heavy marine grade thread is backed with a limited lifetime guarantee. The leather reinforcement along rigging lines and the fastener less connection to the topside of the sailboat, allow for a user-friendly and hassle-free daily operation. This was achieved with the use of a PVC track and Keder insert.

The bimini frame was bent from 1″ stainless steel and was designed with a small mast window, an essential component of all sailboat biminis. The use of heavy duty, marine grade Lenzip Zippers on both the dodger and bimini top will ensure smooth operation and are a testament that even the smallest components were carefully selected to provide a durable and long-lasting result.

August 17, 2018December 4, 2023

Sailboat: Dodger, Helm Cover, Winch Covers, Sail Cover

For this sailboat we created a custom dodger, helm cover, winch covers and sail cover.

Here at Chicago Marine Canvas, everything we do is custom. We use many cost-effective, labor-saving tools that help us speed up the process, therefore you save some money. This also helps us make sure that your cover will fit perfectly when it comes to install time!

The first thing we do to begin our process is journey out to your boat. Once we get there we use our 3D measuring device to take precise pinpoint measurements. After we gather all of those, we head back to our shop where our designer gets to work. We use CAD (Computer-Aided-Design) Software during our design process. On the computer we can see the thing we can see the design in 3D.

Making sure everything matched in color, we used Sunbrella fabric in the color toast. Sunbrella is one of our favorite marine fabrics to use when it comes to canvas, it comes with 10 year warranty. For all the things we sewed up for this job, we used SolarFix thread in clear, which has a lifetime guarantee. This means, no more restitching after your new canvas has been out in the sun for a few years! This thread will outlast the canvas it self!

We made sure to add leather reinforcement patches on the forward and aft areas of the dodger where there would be high amounts of friction on the sailboat. For the windows of this dodger we used Strataglass. Strataglass is the only vinyl on the market that offers a 2 year warranty if it is properly maintained and cleaned.

For this sailboat we also made matching winch covers out of sunbrella fabric as well as a matching helm cover!

September 18, 2017December 4, 2023

Twin Helm & Bridge Table Cover

Twin Helm And Bridge Table Cover For this sailboat we created twin helm covers and a custom slip cover for their bridge table.

We start of all of our jobs by going onsite to take measurements. We use our special 3d measuring device, which is easy and efficient. This process alone saves us time and you money at the end of the day. After we get our measurements we head back to the shop to begin our design process on the computer. All of our custom covers are designed using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software. This makes things super easy for us, allowing us to see the design before we sew it all up, that way we can ensure that all of your needs are met and there are no design flaws on our end. After we finish up designing everything, we go to our plotter and draw out all the pattern pieces for our seamstress to sew up. Out plotter is another one of our labor-saving, cost-effective tools. It draws out our design perfectly on the fabric so that everything fits just as it should. After everything is drawn out, our seamstress cuts out all the pieces and gets to work!

Twin Helm And Bridge Table Cover

For these covers we used Charcoal Sunbrella fabric. Sunbrella comes with a 10 year warranty and is fade resistant!!! To sew everything together we used GORE tenara thread. GORE tenara thread is a great thread to use on your new canvas, because it has a lifetime guarantee. It is chemical resistant, UV resistant, salt water resistant and extreme weather resistant. and Lenzip zippers. For our zippers we use Lenzip. These also come with a lifetime guarantee!

We did a hidden zipper on these to help make them look nice, clean and modern. It also prevents water leakage making sure that everything stays nice and dry.