The Big Book of Boat Canvas: A Complete Guide to Fabric Work on Boats

Karen Lipe was born in Michigan and began racing Sailfish at age five. At Michigan State University she raced dinghies and met Bob Lipe as they stood in line hoping for berths on a 'round-the-world voyage. For eleven of their fifteen years of marriage, they lived aboard a 40-foot Atkin ketch in which they cruised the Eastern seaboard, Great Lakes, Caribbean, and Bahamas. Karen began writing articles for marine publications and making "canvas" items for other cruising boats from the deck of her yacht, and when the demand for her work got bigger than the boat, she started a commercial loft in Fort Lauderdale, which she operated seasonally for two years. She sold that loft to make a transatlantic voyage, and later started the Coverloft in Annapolis. There she worked with individuals, manufacturers, and marketing companies for nine years, designing and building canvas and yacht interiors for all types of floating craft. Her daughter Annie was born in 1981, and in 1982 she sold her loft and worked as a consultant and yacht broker for five years. She is presently back in the "canvas business" with partner Bob McWilliams, designing and manufacturing at McWilliams and Lipe, Ltd. She also consults with people interested in starting their own canvas businesses, helping with financial projections, procurement of materials and machinery, and plant layout.