November 16, 2014
I just want to take a moment to rave about our new favorite piece of equipment! Well, I don’t know if you’d call it equipment exactly. It’s a canvas curtain that goes over our companionway. It was Rich’s idea, and I have to admit when he first talked about having it made I didn’t quite get it. Now I wouldn’t be without it!
The curtain stays snapped to our cabin top, under the dodger, and folds back out of the way when it’s not needed. When it is needed, it can be adjusted to cover as much as the companionway as we wish.
The main time we need it is when we’re underway. When it’s rainy or rough, we’d have to put in our hatch boards to keep water from coming in the boat. It’s a pain to keep those boards handy and maneuver them into place while the boat’s pitching around. We’d then have remove them to go outside, which is not a good thing if we’re in a hurry.
Now we just pull the curtain down and getting in and out is fast and easy. There is a gap between the bottom of the curtain and the companionway step for air flow, but if it’s very wet or cold, we simply fill that gap with the bottom hatch board.
Over the months to come we found many uses for the curtain. It actually helps keep the boat cooler in sunny weather, yet warmer in cold weather. That’s why I call it the Magic Curtain. It’s also very nice for privacy or to pull over the companionway if we’re leaving the boat but don’t want to lock it up. This curtain will definitely go down in our history as one of Rich’s greatest ideas. –Cyndi
Wendy from the Canvas Locker in Tauranga NZ made the curtain for us and did a wonderful job. Thanks Wendy.
