Selden E40i electric winch & spiffy jerry-can covers-4/24/22

The covers for the jerry cans were undoubtedly a labor of love. We took our time when coming up with a design. One of the reasons why I wanted to make covers was, although admittedly a bit materialistic, was for the looks. The bright red jerry cans were harshing Athena's esthetic buzz (queue Mads making un of me for saying esthetic buzz ;) However, even though something looks nice doesn't mean it can't be equally functional. That was my mission with these covers; beauty and function. We needed the jerry cans to be easy to handle with the covers still on, and we also needed a way to lash them to the deck. Tons of internet searchers were fruitless, and we couldn't find what we wanted. Our final design is a mash-up of a few designs we saw. The covers fit snug over the cans; the flap allows easy access to the handle, and the strap holes make lashing the can down effortless and attractive. I'm not going to lie; I'm pretty pleased with how the covers turned out. Now, whenever I look out on the deck, I see spiffy jerry cans, and I also get what I've deemed the "DIYer's high," the satisfaction of knowing that I made those for Athena ;)

I have been working hard on creating a template for the jerry can cover, and it should be available soon. I'll post it here when it's ready :)

In the Video:

Selden e40I Electric Winch:

Find it here: https://support.seldenmast.com/en/products/winches/e40i.html

Jerry Can Covers:

Sewing Machine:

Find it here: https://www.saillifechannel.com/sewing-1/sewing-machine-

Sunbrella Alternative: This is a 100% acrylic and 100% waterproof material. We don't have much experience with Sunbrealla but in many forums, we read this was the most comparable. We went with an alternative to Sunbrella for a few reasons. One, Sunbrella is really hard to find right now because of supply chain delays. And two, because of costs. Sunbrella is expensive and we are canvas sewing noobs. It felt like less of a financial risk going with the less expensive canvas until we're more comfortable sewing canvas. However, so far we really like this choice. The color is rich and the fabric is thick and sturdy which is exactly what we wanted for the jerry can covers.

Find it here: https://www.esvocampingshop.com/en/boat-canvas-blue-dark-navy-docril/

Mesh for Sunshade: Similar to the Sunbrella we found a less expensive mesh for the sunshade. The reasons for this are a bit different though. Mainly, this sunshade is more of a prototype. We are not 100% sure of the design or function that's going to best suit our needs. For us, it made sense to go with a less expensive material to work out all the kinks and find out exactly what we need.