2021 Archive : Blackout

Project Details

Fabric 1

sunbrella supreme
Producer/Manufacturer: Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC
Primary Use: Main Fabric

Fabric 2

solar fix
Producer/Manufacturer: OTHER
Primary Use: OTHER

Fabric 3

ykk zippers
Producer/Manufacturer: OTHER
Primary Use: Hardware/Findings

Fabric 4

2" webbing
Producer/Manufacturer: Trivantage LLC
Primary Use: Webbing/Narrow Fabric

Fabric 5

2" buckles
Producer/Manufacturer: Trivantage LLC
Primary Use: Webbing/Narrow Fabric

Design Name
Michael Varga & Ed Kime

Design Company
Canvas Experts Inc

Fabrication Name
Michael Varga

Fabrication Company
Canvas Experts Inc

Installation Name
Michael Varga & Victor Albino

Installation Company
Canvas Experts Inc

Please describe the project specifications

The fabric used in this project was Sunbrella Supreme because of the soft back and its ability to repel water. The Kryptonite's hull was recently repainted
and the cover could bring no harm to the paint surface. plus this boat travels up and down the east coast during the racing circuit. The fabric chosen was Sunbrella Supreme because of the soft back for the ultimate protection against chafing the gel coat. The thread used was 3300 denier Solar Fix black by AY Tech. The cover was made in two sections. The forward section covers the topside and bottom of the haul for sixteen feet going aft.
The bottom was covered so that road debris would not damage the haul during traveling. The aft section covers the cockpit area and the sides of the haul all the way to the transom. The two sections are connected by YKK #10 Vislon Zippers. The zippers start center and zip center to port side and center to starboard side. The zipper travels topside outbound and down the freeboard to the chine line. The two inch webbing straps where place about every 30" and was a 4 ply heavy duty webbing. The buckles where ITW Nexus fastex sr-2 heavy duty buckles. In the cockpit area we used two adjustable support poles so that no water ponding can occur.

What is unique or complex about the project?

The difficulty with this cover was the amount of templates that had to come together for the finished product. Each curve and radius for example the engine air intakes
where very difficult to pattern. There were eighteen templates in all from forward to aft and top to bottom. The bottom of the boat was the hardest to pattern because of the limited amount of space between boat and trailer. The cover had to be made in two parts (forward & aft) because of its weight and the client's ability to handle putting it on and off. The skin tight appearance with no marring is our motto making a cover. Each seam was super seam taped together and than stitched. Dry fitting is done several times to make sure each pattern matches the temporary marks on the haul and top cap to assure accuracy. It took about one hundred hours to complete the sewing and the fitting of Blackout. The fastening of the cover also is very important because of the speeds today that people will travel on a highway.
The triangle, grommet, buckle pull tab's on the bottom of the cover address highway speeds of 70 plus mph. The two inch four ply webbing used on Blackout is the same webbing used for seatbelts and it does a wonderful job for highway travel. In closing a lot of heart and effort went into the design and manufacturing of this cover and I'm very for fortunate to work with a team so commented to excellence. This entry is dedicated to Ed Kime, Dale Tingle Wise, Victor Albino, Cruz Albino, & Michael Hutchens. Thank You

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