We already had lots of boat canvas to shade the Fox in sunny climes – an arrowhead-shaped foredeck cover, a mid-deck ShadeTree arched cover, and a cockpit cover; but it was not until we arrived in Mexico that we heard tell of necessaries heretofore unknown to us. Such as chaps to cover our dinghy’s pontoons…
Boy, howdy. All it takes is one Ensenada Santa Ana wind with 3 days of wildfires, ashes, and ochre dust as finely-ground as Dutch cocoa, to make GB want to protect the Fox’s precious ropes ‘n’ strings from further onslaught. That, and 3 days of washing everything on the boat – including all the Fox’s…
Sometimes a boat does not need a full-on locking companionway cover. Just a little fabric flap for those warmer-weather, casual days when one needs only a bit of canvas and windowpane to block the breeze yet still let light down below. Here’s how I did it: with the horizontal sliding portion of the companionway hatch…
March, 2007. A no-see-um screen for the companionway hatch is more complicated than deck hatch screens. No easy shower-cap solutions exist for the Fox’s companionway, oh no. Our companionway has a sliding overhead cover that is at a roughly 90-degree angle to the hatch proper, which in turn fits into a very nicely-manufactured stainless steel…
Sidney, BC, Canada, March, 2007. Having heard there were places in the world where biting insects invaded boats, I decided to make some bug screens for the Fox’s two deck hatches and companionway while we were in insect-free BC, Canada. Details: the deck hatches’ bases are 22-1/2" wide x 25-1/4" long, with a rolled aluminum…
In 2005, when we were still living in Seattle at Shilshole Marina, we bought two 85-watt Photowatt solar panels (manufactured in France, 20" wide, x 48" long, x 1" thick) for the Fox, hoping they would give us free battery recharging while at anchor. We installed them on either side of the stern pulpit and…
The Propane Chef owns and uses many knives. Underway, they can lose their edge rumbling around assorted drawers and are unacceptably dangerous if left out in the open as the Fox rocks to and fro. Therefore, one of my earliest sewing projects was one of the smallest: fabricating two knife bags out of scrap Cordura…
I sew. And I don’t just sew occasionally; I sew poorly. Vodka has little to do with it, I swear. I’m in charge of most of the fabric repair and construction projects on this here boat, but do not be deceived: GB is very good at both needle-and-thread work and sewing machine work, especially if…