FAQs & Videos

The cover should be soaked in lukewarm water (not exceeding 40 degrees). It should then be scrubbed lightly with a mild soap (no detergents), use Fairy, Lux or a Simple soap. Flakes are preferable, but you can rub the bar of soap over the canvas. This can be done on board in situ, on the pontoon, at home on your patio, or in the bath!. Rinse the cover with warm water and leave to dry naturally. Any windows in the cover may be washed in the same way, using lukewarm water and a mild soap, but do not use abrasives or bleaches. DO NOT PRESSURE WASH. After washing, you may wish to consider re-proofing the canvas. i.e. adding the protective waterproof coating to the top side

DO NOT RE-PROOF A COVER THAT HAS NOT BEEN CLEANED FIRST. Once your cover has been cleaned and dried to a satisfactory standard, it may need to be re-proofed using Ultramar®, Holmenkol®, or Fabsil®. A re-proofer can be painted on with a paintbrush (decant into a glass jar first) or can be sprayed on with an aerosol. Concentrate on the seams and let the proofer spread into the canvas. You can then go in with the brush to work it into the canvas. Try to apply a nice even coating. Leave to dry. Depending on when this was last done, you may have to apply a second thin coating. Keep the re-proofer away from the windows, clean off any spills with a clean, dry cloth. (Our recommendation is that products manufactured from acrylic canvas should be laundered and re-proofed annually.  This process reduces the buildup of salt and dirt abrasives, mildew and “green algae growth”.  We cannot guarantee the removal of mildew and algae from covers that have been neglected over a long period of time). We can offer a laundering service, see here for more details.

Here at C&J Marine the standard thread we generally use, is an anti-wick, U.V. stable, bonded polyester; designed specifically for marine use and colour matched to the marine acrylic canvas. When used with our unique seam binding method, a water resistant seam is achieved. On average the expected thread life in normal use in the UK is approximately 4 to 5 seasons. Lack of improper care and regular maintenance of your covers and canopies will result in a shorter thread life expectancy. As an option, we also offer Tenara® PTFE thread with a 15-year thread warranty. It maintains the strength of the seam even under the harshest outdoor conditions. It does not deteriorate, burst or break, despite years of exposure to weather, extreme temperature or chemicals.

This all depends on a few things. 1, The type of material used. 2, The amount of time the windows are exposed to U.V. light. 3, The strength of the U.V. light. 4, How the windows are maintained during use. Typically, Sprayhood and Cockpit Enclosure windows are lasting approximately 5 seasons in normal UK use. The life expectancy can be less if the windows are not looked after properly, are of inferior quality and/or the vessel is kept in warmer climates. However, the expected life can be increased by upgrading to a different window material, the windows are maintained well during use and/or the windows are protected from U.V. light with canvas covers. In our experience, we find that windows will need replacing at least once in the life of a canopy. It is a relatively straightforward process and relatively inexpensive, but the original windows must be left in place otherwise, the stability of the canopy will be compromised.

Since 1989 we have been using our preferred choice of Sauleda marine acrylic canvas as we consider it offers our customers exceptional value and quality. We have a unique business relationship with Sauleda and their UK distributor. Our feedback, experiences and ideas are encouraged, and listened to, resulting in a range of acrylic canvas which we believe is ‘Best in Class’. A lot of our customers’ use the term ‘Sunbrella®’ when generally describing acrylic canvas (think vacuum cleaner and hoover), this can sometimes be a bit confusing. However, should the branded Sunbrella® marine canvas interest you for your C&J Marine Bimini, Sprayhood, Cockpit Enclosure, Awning or Upholstery; no problem, please ask when you are talking to one of our team, or visit https://www.cjmarine.co.uk/blog/6/cj-marine-and-sunbrella for more information.

When we are making replacement Sprayhoods fit onto the original framework (we know these as recovers), we generally do not install the female Lift-the-Dot fittings into the new Sprayhood as there is a slight risk they may not line up correctly with the stud that is fitted into the GRP. To achieve a really nice ‘fit’, it is better to install the female LTD fittings into the canvas when your new Sprayhood has been put back onto the frame and tensioned correctly. We supply one of our own designed cutting tools, with all of the relevant fittings and easy to follow instructions with every recover Sprayhood that is going to be self-fitted.

Click here for a video tutorial on how to use our LTD Cutting Tool!

This is the glue you need…. General Purpose Contact Adhesive is to be used on all hard surfaces and the Marine Tack Aerosol Adhesive is to be used on all fabrics. A 1 litre tin of General Purpose adhesive covers roughly 5 square metres and 1 can of the spray adhesive covers roughly half, 2.5 square metres. (This depends on the thickness of application).

We use 316 marine grade, mirror polished stainless-steel tube in the construction of our framework.

This tube is globally sourced by our UK suppliers; and depending on the availability of core components it is almost impossible to control the subtle differences from batch to batch.

Many people believe that stainless steel cannot get rusty and that stainless steel is completely rust-proof.  In fact, although stainless steel is an alloy that contains chromium and other elements offering a certain amount of resistance to corrosion the base material is virtually as active as ordinary carbon steel.

The noble nature of stainless is due to an ultra-thin passive Chromium Oxide layer on the surface, but in the absence of this layer the material is rapidly corroded.  So good care should be taken of this oxide layer to ensure stainless steel will last a lifetime.  In other words, stainless steel is not at all maintenance-free.  It can, however, be said to be low maintenance.

A component made from stainless steel can be compared to a healthy apple that keeps for a long time thanks to its peel, which is less than a tenth of a millimetre thick, but no substances are able to escape or enter – until  a worm eats its way through the peel, triggering the rotting process.  The flesh of the apple will also oxidize quickly when the apple is cut in half.

The ‘skin’ on stainless steel is much thinner than apple peel yet also provides complete enclosure, which is why, normally speaking, no metal ions can escape, and no foreign substances can enter.  However, if this skin is exposed to an excessive chemical load, it will break down, leading to corrosion.  The biggest difference from the apple is the ability of stainless steel to repair its oxide layer by itself.  This is particularly applicable when the layer is damaged mechanically, and the chromium oxide layer disappears in local areas.  Thanks to the oxygen in the air, passivation of the material will occur spontaneously in those areas through the formation of a new layer of chromium oxide.  This is known as the ‘self-healing effect’ although this mechanism can be badly disrupted in the presence of chlorides

The Solution

It is vital that stainless steel products and fabrications are clean when they go into service and kept clean whilst in service.  Weld areas must be free from dis-colourisation and contamination plus any mild steel contamination that may have occurred during fabrication must be completely removed.

As the name suggests, it is ‘stain less’ not ‘stain free’. For optimum performance, hardware should be cleaned after fitting and at least every 6 months once in use. If the product is in a highly corrosive environment, such as on or near the coast of the UK, more regular maintenance is required–we suggest a bi-monthly clean.

A stainless-steel cleaning kit is one way to clean and protect stainless steel, especially outdoors and in marine environments.

The kit comprises two liquids and an application sponge.

Please follow the usage instructions on the product and wear waterproof gloves – full usage instructions are available from our Innosoft data sheet.

CLEAN with Innosoft B570. This is a special deep cleaner that removes contamination such as oxides/rust from stainless steel surfaces in a single operation. It is a white viscous liquid lased on organic acids and surface-activeagents and does not contain abrasives. It is suitable for the intensive cleaning of contaminated surfaces like flashrust and rusty areas, also known as ‘tea-stains’. It is not a pickling agent because it does not attack the metal.  It is therefore non-aggressive for metals but very effective on oxides and dirt.

PROTECT with Innoprotect B580. The natural mild, cleaning fluid can be used very effectively in combination with Innosoft B570. In addition to removing surface oxides and contaminants it leaves a protective surface layer on the ‘nano-scale’ which gives additional corrosion and staining protection.

In heavy downpours of rain, it is inevitable that some water would ingress through the stitching holes, especially if your product is brand new. To reassure you – this is completely normal to hear.

We use an antiwick polyester thread as standard when manufacturing our products, alongside the correct needle for the thickness of the thread. When our covers are brand new, the needle holes are at their largest diameter, due to having just been sewn. The polyester thread is made up of three single filaments of thread wound together, which during periods of rain, will absorb some of the water and swell to settle into the holes. The fabric will also settle back to tighten up around the thread which creates a water-resistant seal.

It is important to note however, that we do not advertise our covers to be waterproof. We use the most appropriate fabrics and threads on the market, suitable for the Marine environment, which should provide protection from a multitude of weathers, but we cannot guarantee the covers will be 100% watertight.

If we can discuss your requirements initially over the phone or via email, we will endeavour to come up with a solution to be able to work with you. It may be that we have a standard pattern on file for the cover that you require. Alternatively, if it is bespoke then there are other potential options, for example bringing the boat to our premise, a local marina or find an identical vessel in our area to work from. There might also be the opportunity for us to travel further afield in our quieter season if there is enough interest from other enquiries.*

* A geographical limit will still apply and does not include overseas enquiries.