The Ultimate Yacht Awning and Rain Catcher

On the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia we have a special section on staying healthy while cruising in the tropics. One of the important things you need while cruising anywhere is a reliable source of fresh water. Of course the best answer to fresh water is a good water maker and you can read about the best cruising desalinator, the Echo Tech watermaker here.

But for many years before we had a desalinator we relied on our super water-catching awning. These days we use the awning mostly for keeping cool during the hot summer days in New Caledonia but it still does a super job of catching rain. Two gutters run along the entire bottom edge of the awning and drain with nylon through hull fittings - normally into a 25-mm hose leading to the water deck filling fittings (the blue circle on deck in the photo).

 

The gutters have a line along the free edge connecting to separate tie-eyes fore and aft to hold the gutters open. You can see the separate tie-eyes in the photos above (aft view) and below (front view)

 

The awning is cut so the rain runs down into the gutters and then forward to the drains. We use the main halyard and the topping lift to hold the center of the awning straight and off the boom. There are ties forward to the shrouds and one tie aft to the backstay. A PVC pipe is used to spread the back of the awning with tie-downs on either end of the pole.

One of the more interesting things about this rain catcher is that we had it made in Sydney in 2000 - 11 years ago - and it is still in perfect condition. There are two reasons for it's longevity. First, it is made of a special plastic fabric used for making those huge banners that are stretched across streets to advertise upcoming events. It is called "Banner" and is a sandwich with a black layer between two white layers. The white layers reflect light but the black layer absolutely blocks all light, including UV, from penetrating. The awning maker in Sydney used it for commercial shop and open area awnings.

This means that on roasting hot tropical summer days there is no UV and very little heat in the shade of the awning. The black layer also greatly increases the longevity of the plastic in the tropical sun.

Banner is also designed to stay up in very strong winds - which means it's tough stuff. The stainless eyes pressed onto the edges for the ties show no signs of wear and tear and we leave the awning up in winds up to 40 knots.

The material is also designed to be "welded". The first thing to fail on most awnings is the stitching. So we had this awning entirely made by welding the seams. 11 years of use later the welds are as good as the day they were done.

 

The full cover

We also have a small cover that floats over the main cabin hatch. It has a zippered insert that enables us to have a nice breeze through the main cabin even when it is pouring rain.

This little cover is also very welcome because it shades the main hatch on sunny days keeping the dinette (where I normally work on the computer) cool and shady.

Questions:

Did you find this page interesting and understandable?
How can it be improved?

Your response is anonymous.
If you would like a reply please include your email address.
When done typing, click anywhere outside the box.

Type your comment here. Thank you.

Send Comment

 

Staying Healthy While Cruising

The Cruising Guide to New Caledonia has a special section on how to stay healthy while cruising the the tropics. This could literally save your life and if you download the cruising guide and read the section on staying healthy while cruising you will most assuridly make your cruising safer and happier. This one feature of the Cruising Guide will earn back what you spent for it if you can avoid a visit to a hospital or a doctor.

Order your cruising guides on DVD
Order a DVD with the Windows Installation Programs for the Nautical Rocket Guide to New Caledonia and the Tourism Rocket Guide to New Caledonia. This is an excellent gift for someone who plans on cruising, chartering, surfing, kayaking or diving in New Caledonia. AUD$165.00 includes air mail to your billing address or paypal address. AUD$185.00 air mailed to a transient address (eg. a marina or postal address in a country other than your billing address). Allow 1 to 4 weeks delivery depending on your address.	DVD Version AUD$165 air mailed to your billing or paypal mailing address   AUD$185 air mailed to a transient address Click Here
If you are also planning to cruise Vanuatu, we have a special offer for all 4 guides that includes the New Caledonia cruising and tourism guides plus the latest Nautical Rocket Guide to Vanuatu and it's companion Tourism Guide to Vanuatu. This option covers all the islands of Vanutu and New Caledonia, so you can plan your cruise in both these south Pacific destinations. AUD$260.00 includes air mail to your billing address or paypal address. AUD$280.00 air mailed to a transient address (eg. a marina or postal address in a country other than your billing address). Allow 1 to 4 weeks delivery depending on your address.	DVD Version 4 Vanuatu + New Caledonia Guides AUD$260 air mailed to your billing or paypal mailing address   AUD$280 air mailed to a transient address Click Here
Download Your Cruising Guides Right Now If you want the guides without delay and have a good fast Internet connection you can download the guides. After payment you will be transferred to a page with installation instructions and download links. At the same time you will also be sent a receipt for your purchase and a separate email with the links and more detailed installation and activation instructions. The links are only valid 48 hours so be ready to do the big downloads within 48 hours. You MUST use a download manager like www.freedownloadmanager.org to assure the download will be uncorrupted. Many people who do not use a download manager have problems and waste their time and mine with download issues. In the end they use a download manager program and have no problem. So do it right the first time, please, the download manager program does not cost anything and will greatly speed up the download for you. You'll be happy to have it in the future whenever you want to download a file from the Internet. Before you can use the cruising guide you will need to activate it on the computer you will use while cruising (it will only work on the computer you activate it on). If you use another computer to download the files (for example your office or home computer), transfer the downloaded files to your cruising computer via a USB key and then install and activate it. (The companion tourism guide does not need activation). For details on downloading and installing the guides click here. For details on activation of the cruising guide click here.
Download the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia - Windows Installation Program 589MB and the companion Activity and Travel Guide 747MB. AUD $155.00. The download links are valid for 48hrs.	Download
Download the 4 guides to Vanuatu and New Caledonia (300MB + 589MB +747MB + 567MB) for AUD $240.00 The download links are valid for 48hrs.	Download Vanuatu + New Caledonia