Boat Canopy Farbic

[paulg]

Hi all,

I' m in the process of building a boat cover on my 15ft runabout.

the reasons are: to prevent getting wet while fishing

and prevent sun burns for me and the kids.

I have steered away from buying conventional biminis as they impede too much on fishing space.

So i have designed a frame that will have the following characteristics:

1. be out of the way as much as possible while fishing under it.

2. being able to drive while standing and your head not fouling on it.

3. being able to tilt forward to prevent getting wet during storm conditions.

4. being able to tilt forward past the windscreen (while folded up) hence making night time fishing the same without the cover.

Advice is needed below.

1. Now, I have designed the frame, but my next hurdle is trying to find someone to bend 25mm alloy tubing. This is becoming more difficult than i thought and is stopping progress atm.

Does anyone have a tube bender that i can borrow for 25mm alloy pipe, or any info relating to this.

2. Once the frame is built i will need to get the fabric sewn (i can source an industrial machine), has anyone done this before, should i aim for a flat cover or should i curve the edges down 100mm similar to conventional canopies ?

I will post photos once i get past the bending stage !

PS: tilting will occur using telescopic supports coming from handrails adjacent to the anchor well.

MR RB.

[IWANNABROCK]

A car exhaust shop should be able to bend the frame,also a boat cover maker would also bend the frame for you.

[cupster]

looking forward to seeing your design!!... better to curve the edges down the 100mm.[in my opinion].

Edited May 3, 2008 by hooked4life

[zook2001]

I remember tying to bend extruded pipe and while it’s light and strong it can easily snap or collapse on a cheap bender, unless it annealed you might have a tough time getting a good result. The bends are going to look like crap once they’ve been though the formers and you would defiantly want to cover them with cloth.

Probably worth checking out the sailrite site you’ll find a lot of good info on sewing mostly free but for six bucks you can download a fourteen page pdf file on sewing a curved top three bow bimini.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Edited May 3, 2008 by zook2001

[RAYp]

"Someone" once told me that for small bends u can pack it full of river sand and put tube ends on..then bend it gorilla style.

Disclaimer lol...like most tales of wisdom i've never tried it and cant vouch for it. Just take a slab down to the local exhaust shop with your pipe i reckon.

Hi Mr RB, Boomer is on the ball with filling tube with sand it does work, they used to bend Copper Pipe this way in the old days. You can also go to a company who makes and fit roll out covers for Tipper Trucks the only one that I know is at Wetheral Park called Pro Tarpe they just made me covers for my Truck & Dog this week. I hope this helps you . Cheers RAY

[pelican]

"Someone" once told me that for small bends u can pack it full of river sand and put tube ends on..then bend it gorilla style.

Disclaimer lol...like most tales of wisdom i've never tried it and cant vouch for it. Just take a slab down to the local exhaust shop with your pipe i reckon.

Can do it on soft tube with a forming spring over the outside packed with sand as well.. It is tough on the hands with copper and was really hard work 20 years ago on ally.

Most exhaust shops won't carry dies small enough

Edited June 12, 2009 by pelican

[achjimmy]

Can do it on soft tube with a forming spring over the outside packed with sand as well.. It is tough on the hands with copper and was really hard work 20 years ago on ally.

Most exhaust shops won't carry dies small enough

Yep sand will do it, pack it tight and if you are going to use heat make sure the sand is as dry as or your bungs will fire out like a shotgun. You can buy a cheap Chinese made tube bending kit that have round dies to 7/8 and square to 1" for about $150-$180 these look ok for the money but i guess that is sort going to blow your budget a bit (and doesn't do 1" round, although you could use the square die). Go and have a look at the principal of how they work by pulling the tube around the die and then make something with plywood and MDF.

This a bit hard to explain but the concept is dead easy

cut out your required bend radius from 1" MDF and fastened to a ply backing board. Then secure the tube to one side of the makeshift die (we call a "buck") fasten another piece of ply over the top. By now the tube should be secure and can not easily expand sideways (hence cant flatten). Then gently start to pull the tube around the buck. Everything needs to be solid and you can use sand as well.

As mentioned above your sand needs to be dry, it is best dried on trays in an oven, but it stinks to high heaven so find another method to dry it. Even if you are not going to heat the tube the sand still packs better if it is baked dry.

Good Luck

[tuffy]

Mr RB, I have a tube bender that I made myself to do exactly the same thing as you are doing. I can't remember however what the radius is at the mo - will have to check it when I get home tonight. I am happy to lend it to you if it is the correct size for your tube ( 25mm). You will have to heat the tube to bend it though. I will take some pics tonite and post them tomorrow for you to see.

( They don't call me McGyver for nothing !!)

Cheers, Russ.

[tide'n'knots]

if you need dry sand why not wait till the middle of summer and pinch a couple of bucketfulls from the beach - sundried to perfection!

Pete

[paulg]

guys, thanks for the replies..... and long delay in responding !

sand did not work at all for me .... just kinked the pipe.

a guy i know bent them for me with a hydraulic jack type bender, dont ask me how...... i must admit you would think the shop did it...

fabric was done home style, doesn't look thatbad at all.

pictures to follow.

cheers Mr Rb.

if you need dry sand why not wait till the middle of summer and pinch a couple of bucketfulls from the beach - sundried to perfection!

Pete

[REBSS]

HOWS YOU GO WITH THE PICS ?