Winter Tarp Questions

[bjanakos]

That's very nice work! It does look great! but IMO; overkill.

I do a main beam going 3' over the hard top, then another beam to the bow and another to the stern. I use nylon strapping from the main beam over to the rails. It's light weight and relatively easy to store and transport.

[captainmaniac]

Keep in mind - ventilation and holes in the top of the cover are not the same thing. Things that let moisture in are not so good, while ventilation is. Holes let moisture/rain/melted snow in, which can run wherever it wants to go, and can turn to ice when temperatures dip (and if it makes its way into any cracks in the deck or woodwork, that's bad). That's a problem. Ventilation can come in through vertical surfaces, vents, or if the cover is not tight to the hull (tent it a bit, or cut up some 4" flotation weenies and use them as spacers between the cover and the hull) you will get ventilation.

The shed I store in is a very old shipping storage shed - the roof is crap, and drips still come through it, and given that the roof is steel, after 50 years the water that drips down is pretty rusty... if that makes it to my deck and dries there, I have a heck of a stain to deal with in the spring... If you get 'dirty' water through the holes in your cover, you are not getting the true value of the cover!

Try to seal your spots with parafin wax, or use something like 303 Fabric Guard to try to waterproof those holes. Add some 'waterproof' vents or tent the cover if you want to ensure ventilation.

[El L Sea]

I too have been searching for a solution for us Southern boaters. I believe I have found something cost effective, and have included a picture of my proposal.

tarp.jpg (12.16 KiB) Viewed 6203 times

[prowlersfish]

I too have been searching for a solution for us Southern boaters. I believe I have found something cost effective, and have included a picture of my proposal.

tarp.jpg

I would tell you that's not being very nice , But since I send a photo every time I am out on the boat in the winter to my friends in New England with their "land locked" boats . I can't say a word .

[Paul]

I too have been searching for a solution for us Southern boaters. I believe I have found something cost effective, and have included a picture of my proposal.

tarp.jpg

Love it!!!

[WayWeGo]

Keep in mind - ventilation and holes in the top of the cover are not the same thing. Things that let moisture in are not so good, while ventilation is. Holes let moisture/rain/melted snow in, which can run wherever it wants to go, and can turn to ice when temperatures dip (and if it makes its way into any cracks in the deck or woodwork, that's bad).
...
Try to seal your spots with parafin wax, or use something like 303 Fabric Guard to try to waterproof those holes. Add some 'waterproof' vents or tent the cover if you want to ensure ventilation.

In general, you are right, but I do not think I have a problem in my case. The holes are small enough to not let water through on their own and the only time rain would get through would be in very high winds. Also, there are very limited small areas that have holes, maybe 0.1% of the total area. Still, I would like to see for myself sometime I can get to the boat in a storm.

I have plenty of material that I planned on using to make vents, but there is plenty of air flow under the cover due to the air coming through the slats in the swim platform and the bow pulpit. I still want to monitor the higher parts of the cover for condensation, but I think this is going to work fine.

If I have to make any changes, I will update this thread.

[WayWeGo]

Now that the winter is over, I thought I would update with what I learned. Overall, the system worked out great. It held up through a windy winter season and kept the boat dry. The only concern I have at this point is how well the nylon tarp is going to hold up. It looks a bit like rip-stop nylon, but with film on both sides of the grid instead of fabric. In areas that are under stress, it looks like the film is starting to delaminate, so I am not sure I will get all four-five years out of the tarp like I was hoping. I think next year will give me a better idea about its durability, and I do have plenty of extra material and HH-66 adhesive for repairs.

[WayWeGo]

Another year has gone by and it is time for an update.

A few weeks ago, we had a major wind storm with gusts up to 70mph. It was one of the worst storms I have ever been in because of the length of the storm, the high sustained winds coupled with even higher gusts. Our house was without electricity for five days and it took a full day after the storm before we could get out to the main roads due to many large trees down across roads. If you are interested, there is some good info about the storm at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/cap ... b4036a9c8a.

Anyway, due to the storm and a family vacation, I was unable to get to see the boat until this past weekend. The frame held up very well, but the tarp was off the boat with enough damage to it that I decided to trash it. There was only one significant rip, but many sections where the plastic sheeting was missing with only the nylon grid remaining. Many of the shrink wrapped boats appeared to have patches added to them, so it looked like the damage was widespread at the marina. There was no damage to the boat at all that I could see, which was great news!

I am pretty sure that the wind fully managed to get under the tarp at some point because a couple of the tie down ropes were broken even though the minimum breaking limit was over 1,200 pounds. It was quite impressive that the frame remained almost entirely intact and in place. There were two broken conduit connectors at the stern, but that probably happened as the tarp was torn off the boat.

I am not sure what we are going to do the next winter we are on the hard. The limited time to setup and take down shrink wrap is looking better now, especially since we are at a marina that does not prohibit doing it yourself.

In any case, I am quite happy this happened at the end of the winter just before the tarp needed to come off anyway!

[P-Dogg]

Another year has gone by and it is time for an update.

A few weeks ago, we had a major wind storm with gusts up to 70mph. It was one of the worst storms I have ever been in because of the length of the storm, the high sustained winds coupled with even higher gusts. Our house was without electricity for five days and it took a full day after the storm before we could get out to the main roads due to many large trees down across roads. If you are interested, there is some good info about the storm at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/cap ... b4036a9c8a.

Anyway, due to the storm and a family vacation, I was unable to get to see the boat until this past weekend. The frame held up very well, but the tarp was off the boat with enough damage to it that I decided to trash it. There was only one significant rip, but many sections where the plastic sheeting was missing with only the nylon grid remaining. Many of the shrink wrapped boats appeared to have patches added to them, so it looked like the damage was widespread at the marina. There was no damage to the boat at all that I could see, which was great news!

I am pretty sure that the wind fully managed to get under the tarp at some point because a couple of the tie down ropes were broken even though the minimum breaking limit was over 1,200 pounds. It was quite impressive that the frame remained almost entirely intact and in place. There were two broken conduit connectors at the stern, but that probably happened as the tarp was torn off the boat.

I am not sure what we are going to do the next winter we are on the hard. The limited time to setup and take down shrink wrap is looking better now, especially since we are at a marina that does not prohibit doing it yourself.

In any case, I am quite happy this happened at the end of the winter just before the tarp needed to come off anyway!

If you plan carefully, shrink wrap can last multiple years. Defender sells pre-cut lengths of wrap, plus everything else.