Where to buy dodger clears in Auckland anyone please?

[Ex SanFran 15]

Not really a hardware item is it? Or upholstery...

[Island Time 1,294]

Did you want to buy the roll clear, or have someone do it?

[Ex SanFran 15]

Do it myself. I have the power.

[Island Time 1,294]

http://www.shann.co.nz/

[Ex SanFran 15]

Cheers for that

[Luigi Vercotti 7]

I don't have the power. Can someone recommend someone who has please?

[Island Time 1,294]

Most marine canvas makers will replace clears for you. Depends where you are who may be recommended  

 

[Vivaldi 56]

I’ve had good service from this guy

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LLKd7pM7YZXgv7rr5?g_st=ic

[Luigi Vercotti 7]

47 minutes ago, Island Time said:

Most marine canvas makers will replace clears for you. Depends where you are who may be recommended  

 

I'm in Christchurch and I know of no one, so if I'm paying for a courier it can be anywhere in NZ.

[Luigi Vercotti 7]

39 minutes ago, Vivaldi said:

I’ve had good service from this guy

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LLKd7pM7YZXgv7rr5?g_st=ic

Thanks.

[kiwi_jon 27]

Try your local sailmakers. If they can't replace the clears then they should know who can.

[Luigi Vercotti 7]

We don't have a local sailmaker that I know of, but we have Oborn Marine that does sail repairs. I'll give them a try. I'm just concerned about the 3D to flat nature of a Dodger window, but Oborn's won't say they can do it if they can't.

[Ex Machina 390]

6 hours ago, Luigi Vercotti said:

We don't have a local sailmaker that I know of, but we have Oborn Marine that does sail repairs. I'll give them a try. I'm just concerned about the 3D to flat nature of a Dodger window, but Oborn's won't say they can do it if they can't.

Uk sails Whangarei was in Christchurch doing clears last week for that cat that came out of Davie Norris shed recently . Shame you hadn’t tee’d up with them being in town .

[aardvarkash10 1,105]

Anyone who does caravan awnings or similar will have the equipment and expertise to do this.  

[Luigi Vercotti 7]

Thanks for your replies. Seems like it's not as hard as they make it appear on the 'net.

[Island Time 1,294]

Replacing a clear is not too hard. Normal practice is to sew it in over the old one, then cut out the old.

Hard is making a dodger from scratch.

[K4309 403]

On 27/08/2023 at 7:38 PM, Luigi Vercotti said:

Thanks for your replies. Seems like it's not as hard as they make it appear on the 'net.

If you just want the PVC clear material, the Canvas Company supply it.  Shop For Quality Outdoor Fabrics NZ - The Canvas Company Would need to be couriered from Auckland.

If you have lots of time and patients, you could hand sew it on. Same gear as a sail repair kit. Or you could get an 'easy awl' that the Canvas Company supply, it has a bobbin in it to speed up the hand sewing loopy bit.

 I'm mid way though replacing my clears and will try that. I've also been sewing the clears and sunbrella successfully. Rather than drop $1,500 on a pro sewing machine, I'm using a $200 plastic sewing machine and a $65 walking foot attachment. Sews fine. The machine might not last that long but I only have a sail cover to make and a few touch ups to the dodger.

The Canvas Co also supply the appropriate grade of thread you need (forget the name of it now) and in small quantities like 100m, not 3,000m like the professional stuff.

If you've not already found it, Sailrite: Sewing Supply Store, is a US based sewing supply outfit. They have extensive tutorial video's on how to sew any boat related stuff, including bimini's and dodger's. Their sewing machines are the gold standard for this work, but also come at the associated price. But Sailrite is an excellent source of info, such as the correct needle and thread to use (the needle needs to match the thread and the weight material you are sewing).

If you are interested in the cheapy sewing machine option, I can go and find the supplier link for the walking foot I got, and the list of compatible sewing machines. We already had our machine in the house, but the likes of Spotlight have plenty of $200 machines that will take a $65 walking foot. That will enable you to do a lot of boat sewing jobs, and will be substantially cheaper than paying someone to do anything more than minor alterations. Oh, and you can get a $600 heavy duty machine if you want something more robust than a $200 plastic jobby.