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The Main Dock => TSBB General Talk => Topic started by: Charles Brennan on May 03, 2023, 09:37 PM

Title: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Charles Brennan on May 03, 2023, 09:37 PM
Feverishly getting ready for the Cedar Key Small Boat Meet, this coming weekend.
This might be the least unprepared, I've ever been Not Ready! ;D 
There is so much stuff I have fixed and in good shape, I'm starting to worry/wait for the other shoe to drop.
I might even have a full set of curtains!

Located the fabric I bought about 18 months ago for replacement curtains and started hacking on it.
I'm absolutely hopeless with fabric shears, or any kind of scissors.
In 3rd Grade, when everybody folded up a paper lace doily, made a few strategic cuts and then ended up with a beautiful lace snowflake, I always ended up with three triangles.
Could never figure out how that happened.
But I'm a Holy Terror, with a snap blade and an L-square!  ;D
20230503_114205 1024X768.jpg

Having decent tools (like a Sailrite LS-1) helps a WHOLE lot.
Even my wife (my biggest critic), was impressed with the stitches.
20230503_114208 1024X768.jpg
The laptop at left, is because I can never remember how to wind bobbins, or thread the thing properly, without a YouTube video to turn me back into an Instant Expert.  ;)

Port Before:
20230417_173901 1024X768.jpg
Port After:
20230503_114358 1024X768.jpg
(Check those stitches at upper left.)

Starboard:
20230503_144600 1024X768.jpg

And a view from outside:
20230503_114503 1024X768.jpg 

I've got two days to do the forward ports curtains which are more difficult, being trapezoids and all, plus I want to make up a new companionway fabric cover, to improve night time ventilation while over-nighting.
If I don't get the fabric cover done in time for the Cedar Key Small Boat Meet, I still have some time to sew that up plus, maybe some new curtains for Porta-Potti Privacy in the forward cabin, before the FL 120.
That way, all the fabric in the cabin will match, like the CDO (It's like OCD, only alphabetized, like it SHOULD be!) personality, that I truly am.

So many of my tales/posts are of varying degrees of disaster, I felt a need to celebrate the small Victories, that occur from time to time, however infrequently.

Charles Brennan
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Captain Kidd on May 03, 2023, 11:04 PM
Busy but interesting pattern. Nice job.
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Zig Zag on May 04, 2023, 08:46 AM
   
Enjoy your Cedar Key weekend and see ya at the 120.
       
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Travis Chapman on May 04, 2023, 09:20 PM
Charles, I had a hard time telling this: did you countersink the screws holding the knobs in place? Overall it's a great idea! Better than getting track lined up and fixed in place.
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Charles Brennan on May 04, 2023, 10:20 PM
Travis, Thanks for your kind words.  The idea was stolen wholesale from a Captain Pauley DIY article in Small Craft Advisor.
I would refer you to the first half of a previous post where I described the installation in more detail:
https://trailersailor.com/forum/index.php?topic=121.0
You can see pics that show all the hardware used.
(Reproduced here, for clarity.)
20230417_164826 1024X768.jpg

These were off the shelf (OK, off the internet) wooden drawer pulls from China.  They had threaded inserts, but they were metric and I didn't want to fool with non-standard hardware sizes, so I drilled out the inserts slightly to accommodate 6-32 machine screws.   
I'm not completely sure about your question regarding countersinking the screws.
On the hull side (6th or last pic down, this post) those are ordinary oval head Phillips 6-32 machine screws that were placed into a stainless steel finishing washer.
On the cabin side (inside, 3rd pic down, this post) those are truss-head 6-32 barrel bolts (in the plastic bag in the pic above) and although they might appear to be countersunk in the photos, they are merely very low profile and closely match the overall curvature of the knobs, but they DO stick out just a little.

Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Zig Zag on May 05, 2023, 09:10 AM
reminder --> Charles know you're watching tides --- almost 2 ft between hi/lo.  Enjoy your weekend.
 
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Norm L. on May 05, 2023, 04:07 PM
Charles, have a great time. I'll wave as we go by Monday although there will only be the die-hards left.
We will be on our way to Palm Harbor to visit a friend for a few days.
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Noemi - Ensenada 20 on May 05, 2023, 07:54 PM
Charles, nice sewing!

You know how you understand how to wire things up, just because you KNOW from all those years of doing it?  Threading sewing machines is like that for me.  They're all about the same.
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Tom G P 21 on May 09, 2023, 08:18 PM
If you wanted to get real fancy, you could've made them double sided so they look as nice inside as outside. Maybe the "next" time you make curtains.   ;)

Tom G
Title: Re: It's "Curtains" for Urchin!! . . . .
Post by: Charles Brennan on May 10, 2023, 07:46 PM
Tom, I looked into double-siding the fabric for the curtains. (It was on sale and we bought plenty of fabric.)  But when I mocked it up, they acted almost like blackout curtains and I wanted the same general amount of light inside, as the old curtains admitted into the cabin. The old curtains were over 35 years old, possibly pushing 40 years, so the next time I need to make curtains, I'll be too old, or senile to know how to do it!! ;D

Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan