New skills and tools earning their keep.

Three weeks ago we had 52knots tear through the marina. The only damage I sustained was the loss of the cover from the Westerbeke Admirals engine panel. This cover was nothing more than a rectangular section of plastic bucket, sprung into the opening of the panel. It did work, keeping the sun from fading the panel.

With its disappearance I was forced to develop a long term solution. 

With my 'new' industrial sewing machine I was able to easily create a Sunbrella cover, double-stitched with 6 layers of fabric at the corners (don't try this with a domestic machine). 

I applied stainless steel snaps (riveted) and fitted it to the cockpit over the panel. I am well-pleased with the result. 

I made sure to use sealant on the studs screwed into the fibreglass, and counter-sunk the holes to avoid future cracking.

It took about 6 hours from start to finish, a lot of which was spent fiddling with the riveted snaps.