How to make a boat enclosure for $500 DIY using a normal sewing machine - Sailing Bluefin: Ep 25

[@tamarabremner4756]

Boat Tour 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Boat Tour 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 would love a look into the way you guys manage your daily lives living on the water so much, and what your boat looks like 😱 Blessed life

[@keithwiggins6891]

Hey Tamara, yes we will definitely do one sometime soon! 😁

[@sailorsam6243]

Yes, I'd also love to see a tour of the Leopard 44!

[@keithwiggins6891]

@@sailorsam6243 looks like we'll need to get that one organised! 😁

[@svyellowfin7756]

Fantastic video guys! This is a really inventive way to make a boat enclosure!!

[@keithwiggins6891]

Thanks!😁

[@alexandrawiggins1283]

Thank you ♥️

[@SailingBluefin]

Thanks! 😁

[@ctndiaye1]

I love money and time saving ideas!

[@keithwiggins6891]

Hi, yes. Originally we actually did it because it was so difficult to get a Marine Upholsterer to do it. But really happy now that its done, and for fraction of the price! 😁

[@alexandrawiggins1283]

Thank you ☺️

[@PeterGrimes59]

Well done guys :)

[@keithwiggins6891]

Thanks Peter, it's worth having a go if you need to do some clears on your boat. 😁

[@SailingBluefin]

Thanks Peter! 😁

[@angelamacisaac1895]

Wow thank you for sharing this! It was a peaceful video to watch with the sun shining and music. I appreciated all the details you included as well and I’m excited to try one now.

[@SailingBluefin]

Thank you so much for watching :D Glad you enjoyed it! We try to give you as many details as possible :D let us know what we can do to improve if anything!

[@muzznbee]

Brilliant idea, thanks so much for taking the time to make the video :))

[@WindwardToEden]

THIS IS GREAT! Love it, and may make some mods but do this for our SV Yemoja. Great work!

[@keithwiggins6891]

Hey guys, yes, on my to do list is to get a heavy duty sewing machine and make some mods to these. Cut a couple of angles & put in some extra zippers.

[@WindwardToEden]

@@keithwiggins6891 Yea, we want an industrial machine as well....saving up. First, new headsail. Then, bottom paint. After, hopefully a sewing machine...

[@keithwiggins6891]

@@WindwardToEden we're looking out for a second hand heavy duty machine. Sometimes when you find them they're not too expensive.

[@SailingBluefin]

Thanks! 😁

[@keithwiggins6891]

@@WindwardToEden hey, we ended up getting a Singer heavy duty 4423 sewing machine, and it is working well!

[@spymaine89]

VERY GOOD, thats how i do things, ''close your purse, sit and think'' i was so pleased when i learned how Iraq , people made gas for their trucks. .

[@keithwiggins6891]

Yeah, just amazing what you can do when you look for alternatives!

[@sailorsam6243]

Hey spymaine89, how do the people in Iraq make the gas for their trucks? Sounds interesting!

[@spymaine89]

@@sailorsam6243 Facing a shortage of fuel to run generators and machinery due to the siege, former construction worker Abu Kassem set up a makeshift refinery to extract fuel from plastic waste through a process of burning them and condensing the released gas....

[@keithwiggins6891]

@@spymaine89 wow, that's impressive.

[@SailingBluefin]

@@spymaine89 thanks! 😁

[@sailorsam6243]

I just love to see some innovations and it's great to see that jobs don't have to = expensive!

[@keithwiggins6891]

Thanks Sam, we're always trying to innovate and save some money. This one was a winner! 😁

[@sailorsam6243]

@@keithwiggins6891 Looks like a winner to me!

[@keithwiggins6891]

@@sailorsam6243 thanks!

[@deborahjarecki6194]

Thank you for this, you've saved us a fortune. We're off to Bunnings now. The bistro blinds we want are on clearance so even better! Deb SV Foxy Kitty

[@trentspencer7991]

What concerns me about this 10/10 piece of creativity is the UV resistance of the plastic and material. Being a avid lover of chopping up Bunnings products myself and re purposing them, the plastics they use from China usually degrade the day after the warranty wears out. I don't want to sound pessimistic but I would be so worried that I would do all of the work and then have them fall apart in an area where I couldn't replace them. I would 100% do this if I was just local cruising though.

[@keithwiggins6891]

Hey Trent, good point. The back clears have now been up for around 6 months and are weathering well. They probably won't last for 10 years, but a lot of the clears we've had in the past don't really last well past 3 - 4 years. One slight issue with these is that the zippers are not as good as marine zippers, but are also going fine - just not quite as smooth.

[@keithwiggins6891]

We actually had problems finding anyone who could actually do them in a reasonable time, except for the guy that quoted us $11,000! 😂

[@sailorsam6243]

Hey Trent, I thought about this too, but I guess that at less than 10% of the cost, you could probably afford to replace the weather beaten ones every couple of years.

[@trentspencer7991]

@@sailorsam6243 As I said, if they fall apart when I'm out the back of the Philippines or remote area cruising they may not be so easily replaced. Otherwise the fantastic idea. Cost isn't an issue if you are not near a supplier.

[@trentspencer7991]

@@keithwiggins6891 I'm going to check back next year and if they are still weathering well, I'll do they same thing, picking up my cat June next year in Cape Town then sailing to Darwin. Can install the clears in Darwin from Bunnings :) .

[@chrisjt7346]

Awesome video looking at doing something like this

[@SailingBluefin]

Thanks, let us know if you need any advice. It's a bit of fiddly work and time, but worth doing! Thanks for watching!

[@sergemeunier6454]

Great ideas well done. 👏👏👏Is that a French accent I can hear😃

[@keithwiggins6891]

Thanks for watching Serge. If you're talking about Alex's accent, it's actually Spanish. But she does also speak French very well. My accent is Canadian. 😁⛵⚓

[@paulcollins9197]

What is the company you bought that from

[@bobbylineberry146]

I was wondering if your having overheating issue. I realise you can open them. I assume your only using them when it rains. Do you know if they come in tinted and any UV filter built in?

[@SailingBluefin]

Hi Bobby, thanks for watching our video! As you said we only tend to put them down if we know it's going to rain or for more privacy. We are currently in around 36 degrees Celsius heat at the moment, and even in that heat it's not so bad with the clears down. Although we do tend to put them up to get more airflow through the boat. The great thing about these is that we have made them really easy to clip into place, so putting them up and down isn't that much of a job. These particular blinds don't have a UV filter, but you can get the charcoal tinted ones, which are available at Bunnings. Alternatively you can also put seperate mesh to provide UV protection.

[@bobbylineberry146]

@@SailingBluefin Thank you !

[@toby621]

do they flap much in the wind i building a pontoon boat and thinking these for my windows

[@SailingBluefin]

Actually, if you ensure that they fit well and have adequate straps to secure them, then they don't really flap at all. The only time they need to be removed is in very high winds. Thanks for watching!

[@patchadams4me]

You haven't got anywhere near the same product as a custom enclosure, but it's a very creative solution to decreasing wind. Thanks for sharing.

[@keithwiggins6891]

Hey, yes that's true, it doesn't have zippers to join panels and certainly not perfect. But now that we've mostly finished, it keeps out heavy tropical rain as well as wind.