Do you cover your sailboat for the winter?

[PrincessoftheLake]

Two years ago my husband bought what is called a "Truckers Tarp". It is very heavy and has a line of d-rings around the perimeter of it. The tarp fits over the boom and goes around the mast (we support the aft end of the boom with a 2x4 between it and the cockpit sole). We tie it off at the toe rail and we can enclose the whole cockpit securely which allows us to store our bikes in there too and still have easy access during the winter when we need it. It cost a little over $200 but our marina is impressed with how well it has performed. They hate the blue tarps because they fail frequently. It's not a custom cover but at $3k for one of those I'll take our semi custom happily!

POTL

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

I just responded to this in the Hunter forums under 'Smaller boats'. In short my answer is yes and I made my own cover/frame system. It costs about $40/year on average.

 

[Johan S.]

Imagine spending $1400 for a boom tent? WOW.... Thats like buying a 1" stainless steel D-Ring from Shaeffer Hardware for $165 dollars...

I use a high quality rubberized tarp that I trash picked out of a signage company's dumpster. I set it over the cockpit with a 2" x 3" and create a tent effect that sheds the water / snow nicely.