How to Install a Shade Cloth on a Boat
- 1). Choose a proper shade cloth. Many types and styles are available, but you'll want one that blocks at least 50 percent of the sun's rays and is durable enough to withstand that ocean air.
- 2). Measure to your forward through to your aft lines on your boat. This will represent the width of the shade cloth. You'll need approximately double this for the length. Order a shade cloth in this width and length from retailers like FarmTek.
- 3). Roll a 1-inch hem and sew around the entire perimeter of the shade cloth. Add gussets, about 3-inch by 3-inch, at each corner and in the center of each side to reinforce it. Grommet each gusseted corner and the center of each side with 1-inch grommets.
- 4). Tie a 4-foot length of line at each grommet hole. You will use these to anchor the shade cloth to your stretchers.
- 5). Install stretchers, one just forward of the boom-vang, and the other aft of the mainsheet. You can purchase these from a boat dealer or make them from 3/4-inch aluminum tubing.
- 6). Anchor the shade cloth to the forward and aft boom, then set your stretchers and tie the center anchors to the boom-vang.
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