When you get going with your radio sailing, just occasionally you are going to need to replace your deck patches. The trick to make positioning them easy is the use a washing up liquid solution just strong enough to leave a film across the surface before you apply. Then you just need five hands to get them on – ha ha ha !!

Have you thought about how cut a stock of new patches? Rolls of sticky back sailcloth in all sorts of colours are available from the likes of Sailsetc

https://www.sailsetc2.com/index.php/deck-patch.html

Then you need some templates. I found that to cut templates in thin ply is insanely challenging to get precisely right, symmetrical, even corners etc. So in an attempt to find a way forward, I asked my expert seamstress wife how a dressmaker would approach the problem. The answer is that you go through an intermediate paper pattern stage.

(See photo) To get the symmetry and corners to match, fold the paper in the bow to stern axis down the middle. Then make your marks, cut it out and test it on the boat hatches. Re-do this as many times as you need to get the angles, sides and corners just perfect.

We decided then to transfer that shape to sheets of plastic off the back of an old A4 notebook (see the item on “Rig Trimming Tool”….used the same plastic sheet for this) Something thin enough to cut accurately with a scissors, but last a jolly long time in wet conditions and lumpy toolboxes. …Trace the paper pattern on to the plastic sheet, cut with the scissors and you have your template. Easy!! Should last longer than the boat!