Fabric scraps protect delicate displays
Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011
The sailing instruments in our cockpit are not the original units that came on our good old boat. The depth sounder and knot meter have both been replaced within the last six to eight years. I don’t think of them as all that old, so when the little protective covers for these instrument displays disintegrated from UV exposure, I naturally assumed we could order more. Nope. When the instrument is no longer in production, the company apparently stops selling the accompanying covers.
Somewhat miffed, I began considering do-it-yourself alternatives. Make a mold of epoxy? Cover all three displays with one drop-down flap? Create something like a little shower cap for each unit? In the end, I created a little tailored Sunbrella cover for each one.
I measured each instrument box for the top of the cover. I added an extra 3⁄4 inch for the side flaps. Then I cut out the corners, since the extra material at the corners would be cumbersome. Jerry cut out the pieces with a hotknife so there’d be no frayed edges at the hems. I sewed each side flap, then sewed another narrower hem to hold a bungee cord in place at the far edge of the hem.
I chose 1⁄8-inch bungee cord, since it had the amount of elasticity that seemed right for the project, and threaded a piece into the casing sewn for it. A square knot finished the project. I could have cut the knot ends shorter, but I find them helpful as little tabs to hold when covering the instruments.
I feel better keeping our instrument displays covered when they’re not in use. After what the sunlight did to the previous caps, it makes sense to protect the displays from UV. After all, I can always make another set of covers from some scrap Sunbrella and bit of bungee cord in a few hours and at little expense.
Karen Larson is the editor of Good Old Boat.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
