Winter Cover - What Do You Use ?

[Mata'irea]

For the first time in many years our boat is going to be spending the winter ashore. The last time she did so was the winter before we left on our cruise. Since we didn't want to store a cover while we were gone, we shrinkwrapped her. Now, since we are planning to spend the next few years in the land of snow and ice we are looking at a more permanent solution.

We have considered duck canvas, but now we are looking at the tyvek marine fabric. Any experience with either? If not, what do you use to protect your boat in the winter?

Best,
Danika

[gettinthere]

DYI shrinkwrap.

Under $125 for materials. 6 to 8 hours of work. 42' boat. Marina recycles the plastic in the spring.

[GordMay]

I used to use cheap Home Depot type plastic tarpaulins over a home made PVC conduit frame.

Tyvec sounds interesting.

DuPont™ Tyvek® Protective Covers
➥ DuPont? Tyvek® Protective Covers
➥ http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek/en_US/a...k_handbook.pdf

[Mata'irea]

getinthere - that's significantly less than we paid to have the yard do it. Did you rent the propane shrinker, and was that part of your material fee?

[Sandero]

You can fashion the frame from very inexpensive pvc pipe available from Home Despot. It's easy to cut with a hack saw, and bends without heat application. The number of bents can match the stanchion spacing and you can use the Ts and Xs etc to join it all without glue. When you bend it the tension prevents it from coming undone.

The pipes and fittings will cost about $25 and take a few hours to assemble. You can lash the pipes to the stanchions and or tape them.

Then you can get a commercial operation to place the shrink wrap with vents and a zippered door for 3 or $400. Mine withstood a very nasty Nor'easter which I was certain would have blown it all off.

Unless you are planning on covered winter storage a custom canvas top and pipe frame is not economical... and you have to store it all in season.

The plastic is recycled and reasonably inexpensive and you can cover just the cockpit area and not the entire boat as another savings. You don't want ice in your cockpit scuppers!

[Cotemar]

Mata'irea,

We had this made by www.thecanvasstore.com on Long Island, NY.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f136/haul-out-on-the-hard-antifoul-and-winter-storage-38765-3.html#post552227

We also had one for our previous Catalina 380 that worked well for the five years we owned her.

Mark

[gettinthere]

35' X 70' roll of white shrinkwrap $118, door $15, roll of 4" shrink tape about $15.

I use the boom & a whisker pole for ridgeline to tent over. Then a spool of white strapping material I bought last year and will last at least 5 years of wrapping.

Friend owns the torch to do the shrinking so I do get that for free.