Cockpit Awning

 The previous owner had provided a cockpit awning that was fashioned from common, blue, tarp material. This awning did provide protection from the sun.  However, it was beginning to fail, required multiple attachment cords and knots, was rather heavy, difficult to fold and store,

We designed an awning that addressed most of the faults that we found with the original version. This is a picture of the awning that we made.

  The awning material is a light weight, reinforced, water proof, tent floor that we purchased at an outfitter. The floor was a pre-sewn rectangle, with grommets along the outer hems. We modified the port and starboard hems to match the contours along the life lines.The awning is sized to fit from just behind the mast to the back stay. We sewed a slit along the center line of the tarp that runs from the topping lift to the back stay.

This picture shows the attachment points of the tarp. 

The forward, top attachment is a length of 1/8 inch line that passes around the mast and is tied back to a loop in the same line. 

The back stay attachment is a short, 1/4  inch line that is tied to a grommet in the aft seam on the port side of the tarp and has an open, plastic hook that attaches to the back stay. The tail of this line passes through a grommet in the seam of the starboard side of the tarp and is then tied around the back stay. Installing this line is much quicker than the explanation. 

 The attachments to the  lifelines are symmetrical and simple. Three, short lengths of bungee cord are attached to grommets in the hem of the awning. Each bungee cord is looped through the eyelet a secured with a stainless hog ring. The other end of the bungee is fitted with an open, plastic hook. The length of each bungee is set to apply moderate force to the lifeline.

The fore and aft corners of the awning are tied to the nearest stanchion, with a short length of 1/8 inch braided line. These lines are tied to the corner grommets permanently.

All told, only six (6) knots are needed to set up the awning.

The aft sections of the awning are triangular sections that are sewn to the aft hem of the awning. These sections really help to provide additional shade for the cockpit. A corner of each triangle is hooked to a loop at  the center of the stern rail with bungee-hook combination. These panels add much shade and do not impede air flow. These panels are made from light weight, nylon material.

This final picture shows the interior of the awning and how effective it is in providing shade for the cockpit area.

We have been pleased with the results of this project.

Lessons learned include:

1. You don't need to spend big bucks to have a canvas shop make you an awning.

2. Search for light weight materials that are easy to handle and store.

3. Take lots of measurements, make a plan and with luck you will find an available finished product that can be adapted to your needs.