Does anyone have any suggestions for a lightweight sun awning for the aft deck of my 62ft 1961 vintage Feadship Tiky?. Ideally I would use a lightweight material that will allow rainwater to pass through. Someone has suggested a mesh called Soltis has anyone got any experience of this product?
The fabric you speak of is made by Serge Ferrari and is used for the purpose you describe by a few canvas companies here in Ft Lauderdale.
Phifertex is another brand to look at. Most commonly used on boats as sun screens for windshields/windows, porous, so you can see out. Any particular reason you want it porous? You can scan the Sailrite catalogue: Search As to looks, that's pretty subjective based on color, etc. I have it for my windshields and personally think it would be very nice for your application and boat.
awnings thanks - I don't want it to be porous per se, but the awning will be a flat rectangle that is to be held up under tension between 4 poles at the corners (that are extensions of the stanchions) so I don't want rain water to pool on the awning and make the awing sag. An alternative might be to use a canvass type acrylic awning with a few eyelet holes down the centreline to let water drain
Or perhaps simply have the aft set of poles slightly shorter than the forward set. Then an acrylic like Sunbrella would work fine, or something like Stamoid. I have seen sport fisherman with a set up like this, using poles set in rod holders for shade at the dock. Some will "tent" the center with a taller pole or running a line from the center top up to a rail on the flying bridge.
