Mosquito Net at Companionway and Hatches

Mosquito Net at Companionway and Hatches –

OK guys, it’s time to learn a new word. “Tulle”, it pronounced like tool. This is a light weight mesh material that women use in sewing things like veils. Have you ever looked at a wedding bride and though, “gee, that would make a great mosquito netting.” Well it does. There are a dozen colors available, and a dozen weights or meshes. Some of it is even dense enough to keep the no-see-ems out. And the icing on the wedding cake is the cost. I recently bough 2 yards of this for about $1.50. Two yards is 54” wide and six feet long. That’s enough to cover your companionway.

You can tie each of the top two corners into a big knot, and then tie a small line around this. Then use the line to secure the top in place allowing the screen to drape over the companionway. I sewed a small piece of canvas in the top corners, and then put a grommet in the canvas to tie mine on. Either way works.

To secure the sides and bottom, I just use clothes pins. You could sew weights into the bottom, similar to what I describe in the companionway drop cloth. I don’t like Velcro for several reasons. One, it’s noisy. If I need to “check the anchor” (read pee) in the middle of the night, there would be a ripppppppp-rippppppp-ripppppp, etc. I have had problems in the tropics with the adhesive holding the Velcro in place. It eventually seems to get pulled off.

This material can be used on hatches too. To secure it, use weights around the edges, a bungee cord, or clothes pins. I had hatches with a small vertical lip to them, and so a small diameter bungee cord running around the rim held it very well. It was like a big rubber band. Again, simple, inexpensive, and effective.

One time I went into a fabric store and asked where the tulle was. The lady asked, “do you know what tulle is?” I thought, “if I know the name of it I probably know what it is”. I guess I was the first male to ever ask her for tulle, either that, or I was crossing some sort of female esoteric line.