Date: 17 March 2016. Screen Update.
© janice142
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Edwin on
Concord→
For those that wonder where
I've been this week, it's like this. My friend Edwin is in
town. He has done a wonderful thing with my big alternator
that I will tell you about soon. And he is worked on my fuel
system. There have been a lot of exciting improvements and I
will be writing more in the upcoming days.
Feel free to celebrate NOW.
Life is wonderful afloat.
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Plus
Edwin is performing a miracle on a boat near me.
When
mechanic after mechanic says "new engine" and a fellow comes
up from Miami with the skills to figure out what is wrong and
fix it without engine replacement, well, suffice it to say there are a lot of joyful
folks around these parts.
We
are truly blessed.
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On to today's article... In a couple of previously published pieces
I have written about screening Seaweed. It is getting to be "that time
of the year" again so I will show you what worked. Also today I
explain what I had to do to make my $2 solution function a bit better.
I do like a bargain and this time I believe I have a hit.
First you
might wish to peruse the initial article titled
Screening Seaweed.
In it I talk about turning a $4 used army tent into screens for my
boat. Then I covered a $2 screen kit I bought on eBay from China in
the
Screening My Hatch (eBay advice)
article. Both performed well initially. This is the latest tweak
endeavoring to
making it all perfect.
The bargain screen kit I purchased
from an Asian seller on eBay:
The instructions call for attaching the Velcro to the edge of the
window you want screened. The netting sticks to the Velcro, and
voila: instant screen. I like that it is easy to adhere to a
relatively clean surface.
My hatch
edges are teak and quite old. After a year in the sun and winds the
Velcro started to detach. I could have installed more. There is
plenty in the kit. Still, the thrifty boater in me wanted to use
what I had.
That's when I dug into my
arsenal of small brads. Brads are thin nails. Mine are brass
so they will not rust. Some are less than 1/2" long.
I keep them in an old pill
bottle. With one glued to the top I have an easy way of
identifying what is inside the container.
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Sorting your hardware is a Good Idea. Most of my nails, screws and
bolts are in old pill
bottles or spice jars. If I had more room I would have organized them
into spice
jars, stored in one or two spice racks. Easy, accessible and sorted
is always best.
Knowing where
my items are helps me avoid purchasing duplicates.
Back to the
problem at hand. The Velcro was starting to pull away from the
chipping varnish. Because I was dealing with wood the easiest
solution I could come up with was to nail down the corners.
There are brads at each corner and at the midpoint of
each side. Hatch size is 22".
Enlarge the photo (click on it) to see the brads. They are not yet
pounded all the way in.
It took me longer to get out the brads and hammer than to do the
job. Later I cut the edges a little closer so that it will not look
messy. I did add fresh fabric netting as I had so much of it
leftover in the package from the eBay seller.
For me this
is a Good Enough solution. It is not perfect. For $2 I am satisfied.
If I was attaching to fiberglass I would probably add a drop of adhesive
to each corner. When it pulls loose I would add more. Simple and
uncomplicated works well for me.
Not every
job must be perfect. Screening is one of those times when as long as
the bugs stay out, I am pleased.
Have you started putting up your summertime screens yet?
What tricks do you have for keeping out mosquitoes?
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