I discovered John on you tube years ago, before the university started. I am a skilled problem solver and seamstress, so I love his fast paced, focused on the key issues approach to teaching. He is 2nd generation in this trade, where apprenticeship is paramount to learning. With his online courses, you get that. I consider John my mentor, and when I am on a job, I rewatch his courses and I know I am watching my highly experienced teacher approach a similar project. I am over 3000 miles away so I haven’t taken his workshop, but I feel like he knows me, because when I am stumped with a design, I have called him, and he knows I am part of his student members, and gives me the applicable advice & tips he can for my issue. What is the value of a resource with his credentials worth to you? In my opinion, knowing he is there for me is invaluable. I don’t think I could have my business if it weren’t for John’s videos and being available with his expert knowledge. Trust me, if you want to start a canvas shop, this membership is as important as your sewing machine, your shop and your reputation. I encourage you to learn the right methods, learn from the best!

John is by far the best resource for people starting out in this business. He is responsive to emails, takes calls anytime and stops what he’s doing to help his students. If you are looking for marine canvas training, look no further. John is the man. His videos go at just the right pace! If you’ve watched others they can progress painfully slow. John is quick and informative without boring you to death. I highly recommend Boat Canvas University for your training. I will be signing up for the workshop training soon!

John is 100% legit. I was skeptical about this course to begin with after seeing his ad on Facebook and reading the comments. The amount of information and knowledge that he shares is stuff you couldn’t gain from 20 years doing it on your own. I had absolutely no sewing or canvas fabrication experience prior to making the trek to Maryland this week. Not only has John managed to teach me to sew, but fabricate quality products. I still have a lot of work and learning to do on my own, however whether you are a novice wanting to gain a skill or a fabricator looking to hone their craft, this is the course for you. Not only is John a knowledgeable, skilled craftsman, he is a no BS teacher. I figured there was no possible way he could teach me to sew in four days. Not only did he teach me to sew, he taught me to sew, maintain my equipment, set me up with the contacts I needed, pattern, fabricate, finish and maintain my work, run my business, all while making a quality product. I suggest anyone who is hesitant, take the plunge. Do it, be ready to have information overload, be ready to learn and ask lots of questions. John will go above and beyond to teach you this craft.

We own a 52 foot Hatteras which needed new canvas and strataglass. Not too many people provide this service and the estimate was about $20,000! We decided to do it ourselves. We bought the courses from Boat Canvas University, a industrial strength sewing machine and all the materials and went to work. The total cost to do it ourselves was about $7,000. We couldn’t have done it without BCU! The courses are easy to follow. We had some questions so we called John. We were very surprised that he answered the phone and was happy to answer all our questions, he was extremely helpful. We have received a lot of compliments on our canvas. Many people have asked us to do it for them but we are retired and don’t want to start a new business.

I bought the yearly video subscription. John has been responsive to any question that I have had. Watchung the videos has been very enlightening to me . There are many nuggets of information portrayed in these videos that have been invaluable.

John is a true professional. It was a perfect match for his teaching style and my learning methods.

John Cavender makes learning to do canvas easy! He’s professional and a master at his talent! Would highly recommend to any boater or craftsman!

Really enjoyed attending his week along class. very nice work shop and John is great person , along with his father I learned a lot from his class. Started watching his videos on his old web site, Then when he changed to his new web site, I could never get back in to finish watching them. However the ones I have watched made it easy to keep up with what I learned in his class. plus it great as a refresher because I don’t do canvass every day.

John Cavender is the best fabricator I’ve had the experience to meet and learn from. His canvas course gave me the tools I needed to take my canvas business to the next level. I can now build a bimini that fits like a glove in less than a day. He covers the basics and finer points of enclosure fabrication thoroughly. And his entire video series which are included with the course are available as refreshers when needed. And if you have any questions John is almost always available to help you with your problem.