For the longest time I had a reoccurring leak at the companionway. Part of the problem was a poor design in the companionway drip plate. Water would wick around and through the corner joints leaking into the cabin. Also because of the small drip angle, wind could easily blow water under the companionway board. An easy fix to these problems was to make a companionway canvas cover. While I have learned how to use a sewing machine and have made a few simple items (cover for stern rail BBQ, a flat sheet for extending the mainsail cover), I still consider myself a sewing greenhorn. This project turned out to be quite easy and a good confidence builder. I may someday actually move up to a real sewing machine and retire the old eBay Nicchi 523 special.
A template was made using some Visqueen plastic sheeting. The plastic was placed around the companionway outer cover, folded and taped to form a top box cover. A black marker was used to mark out the pattern and an additional border was added to allow for a folded edge hem. The cover was fabricated in two pieces. The top horizontal cover which included side snaps for securing in place, and the front vertical cover which attached to the top piece via double velcro sandwich. Having a separated front cover allows for easy swapping of the cover from full canvas, to other fabricated front covers made with a screen or even a vinyl window.
The all canvas front cover shown here was made by joining two pieces of material together. This was originally done due to material shortage, but could be easily modified to allow for an access to snapping the cover in place. It turns out that this modification not needed as with only two bottom snaps one can snap the cover in place from inside. My only regret was not making this companionway canvas cover sooner. Update: after nearly 1-1/2 yrs the companionway has remained leak free.
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Simple template made using clear plastic sheet
and a black marker. [Table cloth not part of project] |
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| Sewing material to make front panel. |
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| Adding snaps with the $3 Sailrite installation tool |
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| Completed hatch cover. |
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