Hood material

[Ken]

Recent discussion on the forum on the topic of hoods produced several responses all reporting very low service life of replacement hoods. No matter which manufacturer was mentioned all respondents had the same poor quality.
It got me thinking over the issue. I was at the Exmoor trim open day and was surprised at how thin the hood material was ( I believe they're not alone in this ). My partner grew up with land rovers on an Exmoor Farm and commented that it was more like clothing quality. She recalls the thickness, weight and smell of the original.
We're told this modern canvas lacks durability because the appropriate chemicals can no longer be used to preserve it but that doesn't explain the thinness.
So what if you're running a big sailing brixham trawler where do you get your canvas sails. They are exposed to sun and salt and strong enough to pull along many tons of boat. The canvas used on our hoods would just burst.
Perhaps we should be talking to sailmakers ?
Another thought, I recently made up a tonneau for a car from duck, heavy as hell, totally bomb proof so there's another option.
Regarding ' saving the planet ' and  loss of suitable chemicals, I'm not so sure that doing it right once for a hood that may last 20 years is worse than doing it 10 times for the hood that disintegrates in 2 but the authorities have form on this.

[stevesharpe]

Just for info
I just fitted my full cover from Undercover Covers
Looks like its quite heavy and is an excellent fit
They say its proper canvas and it has to be wet a couple of times to make it waterproof
I left it out in the rain
It tensioned beautifully, looks great and no leaks
Steve

[Uffddd]

Can't speak for the chemicals that are now banned but your average sail cloth would only last a couple of years out in the elements before the UV got the better of it. There's a reason most boat owners are fanatical about getting the covers on as soon as they've stopped. It's also not that thick for the most part, it's surprising how little effort is required to get many tons moving through the water.

[nathanglasgow]

If the canvas used to make spayhoods and sail covers only lasted a couple of years I'd expect mass lawsuits. Our sail cover and sprayhood is at least 15years old and are only now getting to the end of their life. I believe the material is called Sunbrella.

[RobS]

My hood was mohair, no issues with shrinkage or quality but it's not cheap. Never consider canvas as just not good enough these days.

[Clifford Pope]

Sails were traditionally preserved with a concoction of red ochre, fish oil, urine, linseed oil, etc.
The sails on sailing barges stayed aloft all season.

[Peter Holden]

I have hood in the roof of my garage that has been on various land rovers for over 30 years, it is very thin in places and is no longer waterproof but it has not torn and it is not rotten.  When new and several times during its life it was treated with boiled linseed oil by my brother in law who swore by these old type remedies

Peter

[Ken]

My comment on sail boats referenced a big brixham sailing trawler, many tons and very large canvas sails.
The sails on a recreation yacht would be very different. The red colour of the older canvas was I believe tannin from oak.
I don't know what they use now on canvas sails but it would be interesting to talk to a sailmaker who makes up canvas sails for big classic boats, or tall ships come to that.

[diffwhine]

You've got me thinking now... Quite fancy making a tilt out of the same sailcloth as a Galway Hooker.

No - not that kind of hooker...

Google "Bád Mór"

[Uffddd]

If the canvas used to make spayhoods and sail covers only lasted a couple of years I'd expect mass lawsuits. Our sail cover and sprayhood is at least 15years old and are only now getting to the end of their life. I believe the material is called Sunbrella.

Covers and dodgers are a bit of a different bag since they are intended to be permanently exposed to the elements. There's a reason the majority are dark blue because it's the most resistant colour to UV light.  Sunbrella is great for covers and things, you're stuck with different less resistant materials for sails such as Dacron.