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See our collection “Caravan Awnings and repairs” of article we have found on the internet.
This collection is designed as a reference point of good information from many sources in regards to awning repairs, maintenance and servicing.
I use this as my one stop point for good helpfull information I have used in the past.
OSS on Twitter
A load of rubbish I come up with from time to time
The second weekend of coaching for the RS Tera North squad was held on 28 and 29 November and was hosted by Leigh and Lowton SC. The forecast was for high winds throughout the weekend so the Coaches were a bit stumped when they arrived early on Saturday morning to find little or no wind at all.
By the time the 25 strong squad had arrived, rigged, been briefed and got changed the wind had picked up and the fleet went afloat to practice using their tell tales. The more experienced helms sailed in the stronger wind coached by Bernard and Georgie, with the less experienced group sailing in a quieter area with coaches Brett and Julie. A long session saw lots of smiling faces come ashore – happy sailors ready for lunch and keen to get back out on the water!
The afternoon session gave more focus to upwind sailing and by the end of the day it was clear that the fleet were now much sharper and that despite the driving rain occasionally sticking the tell tales to the sail, everyone was able to read and interpret them and make appropriate decisions on sail setting. Fleet racing gave everyone a chance to show how much they had progressed.
Sunday saw a very early start with the sailors sent out just after Coach Graeme’s fitness session and before the wind really picked up. It was fantastic to watch the fleet reveling in the windy conditions, with even the smallest helms coping well with reefed sails. A quick lunch was had then it was back on the water for the final sailing session, the fleet coming ashore just as the wind really picked up. Masts were quickly taken down and sails furled whilst we watched the tops being blown off the waves!
After a great debriefing session the fleet set off on their way home, all smiling after a wonderful weekend.
This article appeared in Yachts and Yachting – 2015
Organising Authority – UK RS Feva Class Association in conjunction with host yacht and sailing clubs has organized the following Northern open meeting during 2016:-
26, 27 & 28 March – Ullswater yacht club
11 June – Yorkshire Dales sailing club
9 & 10 July – Isle of Man yacht club
16 & 17 July – Filey sailing club
The events are open to all RS Feva sailors and there will be prizes at each event depending on the numbers attending. The overall race series will comprise of all 4 events with 3 to count towards an overall winner.
Further details about the events and their locations will be published on the UK RS Feva Class Association website, www.rsfeva.org.uk in due course.
20 Sailors battled snow, ice, 40 knot winds and freezing temperatures at Yorkshire Dales sailing club at Grimwith Reservoir for the 1st Northern feva training weekend.
The weekend started with great excitement and a briefing on teamwork and fitness from the coach Dave Hivey. The sailors, including 7 youth sailors from Ripon, were then put through the paces with a 5 mile run around the reservoir to warm up.
After a hearty lunch, extra layers were put on and the hardy sailors went out for a blast in the Arctic conditions with gusts hitting over 30 – 35 knots. Lots of short races targeted at upwind and downwind techniques kept the sailors warm and gave Dave a good insight into the sailor’s boat handling skills and areas to focus on.
After breaking the ice on the rigging the sailors put the boats away for the night and the full debrief took place back in the warmth of the class room.
Sunday, despite still being cold, saw a calmer morning with a lovely breeze and the sailors were straight on the water after the morning briefing. Short races and communication was the order of the day, along with a bit of swimming as a further 35 knots squall came through just before lunch. After lunch, the wind conditions were ideal and further racing and instruction took place, focussing on starting, mark rounding and downwind technique.
A great weekend of sailing was had by all and everyone appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed it, even if a little cold! Looking forward to the next training weekend on 30 & 31 January at Leigh & Lowton sailing club.
If you are interested in sailing Feva’s (The RYA pathway double hander), training or want any advice please do hesitate to contact Cathy or Dave Rastrick – RS Feva Association Representatives North cathyrastrick@talktalk.net or speak to Mike Saul or Martin Miller at the club.
Additional information regarding other training and open meetings that are going on round the country can be found on the UK RS Feva association website www.rsfeva.org.uk
When starting my new venture I knew that being a sailmaking in landlocked North of England was not a great business plan.
With a little market research it came apparent although there is a little cover manufacturing in the North of England, there was no service support for many outdoor sewn products. Bell tents to swimming pool cover repairs were amongst the first project I found along with structural design constancy and prototyping services were required for small to Multinational companies.
Solutions were required for new products and servicing of existing products.
Outdoor Sewing Solutions are currently undertaking work for companies from a wide spectrum of industry sectors mostly involved in the leisure activity sectors such as Caravan accessories, Caravan awning manufactures, Climbing walls manufactures, Marine servicing, Boat building and more including The Institute for Outdoor Learning.
OSS will be attending The Caravan & Motorhome Show from 21 – 24 January 2016, at Manchester’s EventCity. We will be visiting some of our clients that will be exhibiting in Manchester.
Each time we visit The Caravan and Motorhome show we meet people from our caravanning trips away or clients either commercial or private.
Hope to meet up with more of them this year, great day out for me!
Welcome to The Caravan & Motorhome Show
Start the season inspired at The Caravan & Motorhome Show, 21 – 24 January 2016, at Manchester’s EventCity.
With a huge choice of the latest model caravans, motorhomes and holiday homes on display from over 200 exhibitors, The Caravan & Motorhome Show is the perfect place to kick-start your UK caravanning adventures. Compare layouts, interiors and specifications of the latest models and take advantage of some superb show-only discounts from the region’s leading dealerships. Pick up great ideas for exploring the best of the British countryside with fascinating talks and presentations from expert speakers and celebrities in our new show attraction, Get Back to Nature.
Autumn is the time to check your tent & awning is ready for next season.
Check for any small repairs and that it is clean and dry before packing it away.
For others it is time to buy new caravans only to find that their awning requires alteration or replacement.
This is the time to look at Tent & Caravan awning repairs that need to be done.
OSS offers cost effective solutions for these challenges.
Awning extension and reductions
We can alter your awning up to 75cm. Anti wicking threads keeps seams from leaking.
Tent and Awning repairs
Repairs from £30 or talk to us and we can supply options for you to do the repair at home yourself saving even more money.
Pre season servicing
Service you awning before you put it away and before the pre-season rush. prices start at £60.00 plus materials.
Awning and tent cleaning
With return customers for 3 years! OSS can send and receive your clean awning back so you do not need to wait at home for courier services. We charge a small handling fee for this of £15.00. Charge does not apply if you require us to service or repair your awning.
Standard Awning Clean (Up to and including 1050cm and of standard 2.5m width)
Tent and awning door, window mesh and zip replacement.
Maybe you want more windows or larger windows, all this is possible so give us a call and lets discuss what is possible.
Accessories
OSS is adding more accessories to our on-line shop to suit the requirements of our clients. If you are not able to find what you want, call us as we have a data base of 1000’s of product available to us.
Tent poles
We are able to order in poles to match your current sizes, lead time required to buy in the sizes you want.
Sailmaking
New sail and repairs as well as cover services.
We also repair and service Bell Tents, Glamping products and more…..
This document shows what is allowed in the current rules.
The kicker system which is shown is available, complete and ready to fit, from Mike Saul. It is a vast improvement on the basic V cleat and allows the helm to easily adjust the kicker whilst sailing.
This article was first produced in 2013 and has been updated to take account of the wider range of products which are available now.
As we head towards the winter and thoughts turn to squad coaching, it’s perhaps a good time to look at some of the developments in sailing clothing, particularly for winter sailing.
In North squad we insist on ‘no bare legs’ (ie no hikers or shortie wetsuits) and the use of drysuits or winter grade ‘steamer’ wetsuits for all sessions. This is to ensure that helms are able to maintain core body heat if they capsize and also to meet club requirements at our coaching centres. These basic rules are just as valid for non-squad sailors who are going to be on the water during the winter months.
It’s important to understand that a drysuit is only as good as the thermal insulation you wear underneath it and a wetsuit only keeps you warm when you get a layer of water between you and the neoprene. So what can you do to help keep warm and avoid the very real danger of hypothermia?
Just as in any outdoor sport, the secret is to layer. Layers trap air between them and this helps to keep you warm. Drysuits offer no warmth at all, they just keep you dry. A good pair of thermals, worn underneath a fleece suit inside a drysuit will help you keep warm. There are some great suppliers of such gear, from the standard chandlery suppliers to your local outdoor clothing outlet. If you are buying a drysuit look out for offers on ‘woolly bear’ suits to go underneath – they are often available at reduced prices or come free with the suit. Last year we repeatedly had children coming off the water complaining that they were cold. In all cases checks revealed a failure to use good insulating under garments resulting in loss of heat from the core. In many cases sailors were wearing rash vests – these are designed to keep you cool and are no use for winter sailing in the UK.
Suggestions for layering with a drysuit are close fitting thermal leggings and vest (eg Helly Hansen, Crewsaver Tokko, Rooster Brushed Polypro) underneath a fleece ‘woolly bear’ (Gul and Crewsaver both make good ones), with either wool walking socks or purpose made sailing socks such as those made by Gill and Rooster. Make sure that the sailor is comfortable wearing these layers underneath the drysuit and if need be buy a bigger pair of boots (always put popsocks or drysuit socks over the latex feet of the suit to protect it from wear) so that toes aren’t crushed due to all the extra layers. Thermal gloves and a hat on top.
If you are wearing a steamer wetsuit, or one of the two piece combinations such as Rooster’s Supertherm long john and top, consider topping this off with one of the widely available thermally insulating dinghy sailing tops and make sure you have thermal layers underneath. The tops keep you dry but also have a thermal layer inside which gives more warmth than a standard spray top. There are a number of suppliers of these including Gill and Rooster. These also have the advantage that
they are specifically designed to be quick drying. It’s also worth considering wearing waterproof ‘high trousers’ over your wetsuit to help keep you dry. If you want to wear hikers put them on over your steamer or drysuit, we won’t let you sail in them on their own. Don’t be tempted into buying a wetsuit ‘to grow into’ for winter sailing. Wetsuits have to fit really closely to work.
So that’s the body bit, but what about hands, feet and heads? You lose 30% of your body heat through your head so it’s easy to reduce that loss with a hat. Pick something that fits well and won’t get knocked off by the boom. It needs to have some thermal insulating properties. The ones made by Neil Pryde get rave reviews from some of our fleet – fleece lined and really warm.
Feet soon get cold if they are wet. A number of people make insulating socks, some of which are thin enough to go inside your normal sailing boot. Fitting extra thick socks into tight sailing boots can be a very uncomfortable experience and tight boots make for cold feet. It is worth considering having a ‘drysuit’ pair of boots which are bigger and allow you to move your toes around when wearing the drysuit and thick socks. As stated earlier, if you wear a drysuit protect the feet in it by putting popsocks or specially made ‘drysuit socks’ over the top of the rubber feet – your feet will slide into your boots much more easily.
Winter gloves are readily available too – look for the ones which are designed to keep your hands dry as this prevents heat loss. If you can afford it try and have a pair for each race, putting on wet gloves is a horrid experience! If you can’t, and/or if your hands get really cold try wearing a thin pair of rubbery gloves under your sailing gloves – they won’t provide any warmth but they will keep your hands dry which makes it all much more comfortable. You can buy a box of 100 pairs from places like eBay, Amazon and the local Pound Shop for less than £5.
Of course how cold you get is dependent on the weather. We’ve had winter sailing when it’s sub- zero but equally we’ve had it when it’s not too cold at all. The wind strength can make a huge difference – if there is little or no wind it’s easy to get cold quickly, whereas if you are working hard you will keep warm but windy conditions often mean capsizes . . . Make sure you have a range of options which suit the conditions but always remember that it’s better not to go afloat than to go afloat when you can’t cope or havn’t got the right gear.
The developments made in sailing gear over the last few years means that no-one needs to be cold when afloat – and most of the kit is available to suit adults and children alike. Make sure your winter coaching is comfortable and warm and let’s hope weather stays fine for some great winter sailing
With some amazing developments in high performance sailboats in the last 5 years – what has the clothing industry done to keep up?
Sailing high performance sailboats requires a different approach to clothing than other related sports. The physical demands on the body are high yet the time waiting around between races either on or off the water can make us feel cold quickly. Added to that, we must consider that water takes heat from the body 27 times faster than air; at best we spend most of our time in the spray line. Getting cold can be at best uncomfortable – and sometimes even dangerous. Long periods can be spent on the water, where conditions can change from warm and gentle breezes – to strong sea breezes that result in high wind chill factors.
Getting too hot dehydrates us quickly, and can leave us feeling faint.
Too cold – and our bodies start to shut down with an increased risk to joint and muscle injuries.
The never ending question is “what shall we wear on the water today?”
Because if I am comfortable – I’ll be able to concentrate better and sail faster!
“Until recently the developments did not seem to be directed at dinghy sailing – I must have cut the neck out of every steamer I ever owned! I used to use the Combi steamer to improve my upper body mobility, but then I got tennis elbow from unprotected wrist and elbow joints. My kit bag was massive – I had a Shortie Wetsuit, a long john, a 3/2 Combi, a Steamer and a Dry Suit. I used to travel to events in a van so that I could take it all! Leave one behind and the weather would change and I would wish it was there” – Steve Cockerill
You can see where my drive for designing a multi layered approach
to sailing equipment came from.
Recently neoprene hiking shorts have revolutionised the protection and comfort aspect for hiking boats, covering the legs and lower organs with neoprene, leaving the way open to find warm flexible fabrics to cover the top half of the body.
But there is more to sailing fabrics than just neoprene. In the last three years we developed a top/mid layer garment from a really thin polyester fleece with a 0.3mm coating of Urethane. It is an amazingly durable and waterproof² fabric and yet can be washed and tumble dried repeatedly¹. It acts as a fantastic wind chill protection layer when worn as an outer layer on its own and offers plenty of warmth when worn as a mid layer in extreme conditions. It is a vapour permeable fabric which we have called ‘aquafleece’.
Lighter thinner neoprene fabrics have been developed that allow more stretch and more warmth for their weight. Very thin neoprene (0.5mm) has been successfully laminated onto a Lycra or nylon covering which we have made into a long sleeved top called a ‘hot-top’. It is an ideal warming mid/base layer, and can even work well as a top layer in very warm climates. This range has also allowed the trapeze sailor to go back to his old favourite – the long john. However with lycra or nylon outer layers, water can collect in the coatings which is ideal for evaporation but bad for wind chill protection.
The three models above show what to wear in a hiking dinghy in a range of conditions from very hot, tropical conditions to warm conditions here in the UK.
The first model is wearing Rooster Polyamide Lycra Leggings with a Rooster Polyamide Lycra Long Sleeved Top, which is UV resistant and cooling to the skin. Being white it also reflects the suns heat better.
All three of the models are wearing stretchy Rooster ¾ length Neoprene Hiking Shorts, and Rooster Hiking Boots, which are made with supporting straps locking the heel into position when hiking, and giving your knees support.
The third model is wearing a Rooster Hot Top which is a technical base layer made from 0.5mm neoprene with titanium lining reflecting all your upper body heat right back to you – for a warmer sail in summer.
The first model above is dressed for moderate winds in warm summer conditions, where wind chill can still have a big effect on your overall temperature. He is wearing a Rooster Aquafleece which acts as a thermal layer and a windproof and waterproof² outer layer.
The second model above has stepped into Autumn and has added a set of Rooster Polyamide Leggings and a Rooster Polyamide Lycra Top, to his Hikers and Aquafleece, keeping him warm as the seasons and weather are changing for the worse.
The third Model is now at the end of Autumn and entering the coldest sailing season – winter.
He has added a Rooster Hot Top which is available in both Male and Female sizes, and a Rooster Raceskin – a unisex Long John style product which fits very comfortably underneath a pair of Rooster ¾ Length Hiking Shorts.
The Raceskin is made from very thin neoprene with a terry lining to give it softness against the skin with added warmth and shape. It is a fantastic way of making your winter sailing feel like summer!
Finally the model has added a set of Winter Pro Gloves to his layering system, these gloves are made using neoprene and have excellent thermal qualities and shape.
The final two models…..
We are now fully into the Winter Sailing Season and heading for the coldest part which tends to be January and February in the UK. For this cold weather sailing you need your base layers of Rooster Polyamide Top, and Rooster Polyamide Leggings, your Hot Top and Raceskin, before you put on your Rooster Aquafleece (available in ladies cut and colours) and then your Rooster ¾ length Hiking Shorts add to that your Winter Pro Gloves and you’ll be warm on the water whilst still retaining the flexibility of movement you need to race.
The final model pictured above on the right is dressed for cold winter weather – the kind of extremes that put most people off sailing in the winter altogether. We think its such a shame because if you dress for the conditions you will stay warm and enjoy your sailing all year round.
You may have noticed that the final model is wearing a Rooster Beanie Hat which is made from the Aquafleece fabric which is windproof – meaning you need never have a cold wet head again! The Rooster Beanies clever design means it won’t fall off even if you get it wet!
The final part of the Rooster DS Layering system is the Rooster Dry Top which is made from a heavy duty breathable fabric that is flexible, comfortable and totally waterproof.
The total DS Layering system can be purchased on our website www.roostersailing.com for a price not dissimilar to the cost of a Drysuit which you might only wear for 2-3 months of the year – here we are offering a year round solution to your sailing kit needs, and at a good price too!
You need not worry again about what you need to wear to go sailing next, or find when you are out that you are cold, miserable and not enjoying your sailing.
Make sure you follow the size charts online closely when ordering online and read the washing instructions!
Happy Sailing
1.
Wash the Rooster Aquafleece inside out at 40ºC and tumble dry on a low heat.
2.
Although the Aquafleece is made from a waterproof fabric, the garment should not be worn as a Dry-Top
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