Michael, your boat is the only other one that I've seen (out here east, anyway) with a teak rub rail like mine! It looks to be in great shape. Mine is a bit worn...
Loren - Yeah, that was it, intheshd.com. Considering the straight retail price of Sunbrella (around $19 a yard!), the prices there are not all that bad. I don't know what the shipping would have cost. Mine is 10 ft. long, and 11 feet wide - but with 4 wands. I think it would have cost about $600 plus shipping.
I agree with you about the labor - that's what would prohibit me from making a few more. I do need my day job!
It did take me a while to do the job in cramped quarters at our (small!) home, and having done it once, I would be much more efficient. If you have the machine and the room to lay it out, it's really not too long a job! It's all straight cut and stitching. I've always done a lot of sewing, and I do intend to make my own dodger, using the Carpe Diem's (picture earlier) dodger as a model - so I bought extra Sunbrella, and away I went, basically practicing for the dodger effort!
On the Shadetree web site, click on "Setup" instuctions, and they show a picture/diagram of what the straps/attachments look like, and how they work. From there, it was a simple matter. Mine is not lined, like the commercial one, but the Sunbrella fabric is way adequate for the amount of time the canopy will be set up.
I kind of like the idea of the narrow dodger... but Elayne would not go for it! She's funny - loves sailing, but a little salt spray, and I've got to drag out the portable shower!
Take care. We're off to Woods Hole and the Vineyard this weekend...probably the last overnights for the season. Sad. However, even sadder are the pictures of the piles of boats and other things down on the Gulf Coast.
John B.