Marine Fabricator September/October 2020 - 14

"WHEN CHOOSING THE
RIGHT TYPE OF SHADE,
I MAKE MY DECISION
BASED ON THREE THINGS:
SHADE COVERAGE,
FUNCTIONALITY AND
AESTHETICS."
-MIKE CHARLTON,
CHARLTON'S MARINE CANVAS

Curve appeal
The first step in marine canvas design
always involves unearthing the clients'
needs, and designing shade is no
different. "When choosing the right
type of shade, I communicate with my
customer on how much shade they
are looking for," says Mike Charlton,
owner of Charlton's Marine Canvas,
Yorktown, Va. "I then make my decision
based on three things: shade coverage,
functionality and aesthetics."
Charlton steers his customers toward
temporary shade when they explain to
him that they don't want shade all the
time. "Even collapsible shade options
will still leave some sort of structure in
the way for fishing and other activities,"
he says. "One of the trickiest parts about
creating a sunfly is knowing how much
scallop or curve to put in the sides. If
you have too much scallop, then you are
taking away from potential shade; and if
you don't have enough scallop, then the
shade will be floppy and will not be flat
and tight."

Curves in the fabric aren't the only
potential obstacle. Curves in the boats
themselves also present a challenge
when designing shade. "Today's boats
have more curves and softer edges,"
Pfromm says. "We have developed a
system to crown or bend the poles to
give a less rigid feel to the overall look.
Understanding where the finished
product will end up and shade the boat
is a challenging use of the mind's eye."
Points of attachment
Among the greatest challenges is
choosing attachment points that secure the sunfly but don't interfere with
users' activities and views. "Most of my
shade systems don't require additional
hardware. I work with existing points
of attachment, like fishing rod holders and other creative leverage," says
Whitney Carman, owner of Even Keel
Canvas LLC, Lomita, Calif. "I prefer
to start with no attachments and if
I decide it needs something, we'll add
it later."

ADVICE ON SHADE SOLUTIONS
Four experienced fabricators comment on marine shade options.
* "We have evolved our edge hem to concave slightly to promote positive
tensioning as the fabric acclimates to the application."
-Allan Pfromm, Bayport Marina Association (BMA) Canvas.
* "Sunﬂys are the most common temporary shade option in my area of
the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. These sunﬂys are mostly used once the
boat has arrived at its destination location, then easily and quickly set
up and broken down as needed."
-Mike Charlton, Charlton's Marine Canvas
* "The trickiest, most difﬁcult thing about fabricating temporary shade
The sleek sunﬂy for this 21' Clearwater
center console, made of WeatherMAX® 3D,
provides stylish shade when the
clients need some overhead protection.
Photo: Charlton's Marine Canvas.

solutions is making sure you have the proper engineering to structurally
support the shade fabric."
-Mike Erickson, Canvas Designers® Inc.
* "My main considerations for designing shade solutions are deciding the
best attachments, how often the client plans on using/removing it, and
who will be using it. Clients never want extra holes in their boat, and they
won't be happy if it's too cumbersome. You have to think in 3D."
-Whitney Carman, Even Keel Canvas LLC.

14 Marine Fabricator | Sept/Oct 2020

0920MF_p12-27.indd 14

8/24/20 8:34 AM
Marine Fabricator September/October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator September/October 2020
