The boat has been operative and in quite a lot of use for many years now. She is a year 2000 model. Some equipment is showing signs of wear. The trampoline nets were in a condition after last summer that required something to be done. Preferably new nets. But the original ones are of a high quality type, and expensive. A Privilege uses two nets. Also, they would have to be ordered from abroad, meaning that additional shipping and import fees would apply.
So a repair had to be considered. Several of the grommets were corroded to disintegration, all were showing some sign of corrosion. Around many of the grommets the fabric was stretched and torn so much that I feared new eyelets would not grip properly.
Some kind of reinforcement was necessary. And some high quality grommets. The original grommets were brass with some kind of coating, probably chrome. I wanted large stainless steel ones.
And again, as Norway is a small country with a limited marked for everything that is not quite common merchandise, I had to look abroad. As often before, the US had the solutions. For Norwegians, at a price. The largest grommets I found available in stainless steel were slightly more than an inch in diameter, US #5, from Fasnet. They were willing to ship to Norway, which is not always the case.
I wanted to use strips of heavy duty fabric along the rows of grommets to reinforce that area. The most promising I found was heavy duty vinyl coated polyester from Tarpsnow. Had to go through a reship service to get it home.
With the parts and materials available, a repair could be attempted. Luckily I discovered that the nets could be used with the reverse side up, if changing sides. They look fresher on the less exposed underside.
I cut the strips, and a sailmaker sewed them on. The grommets came on nicely, and the end result looked good and promising. I hope the nets will now last for many more years.
