To Cover or not to Cover

[chelsabella]

My H22 will be hauled and stored on boat stands at the marina this year. Should I cover the boat or not what are some pro's and con's for each. I am in New England so it should be a cold snowy season. When growing up we always covered. This being my first winter with my own looking for some advise,

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Cover it

Use Too-Tuff poly out of Philly, lasts all year. I cover my boat year-round, in the slip. Protects from sun, rain, birds, yard dust, etc.

 

[Rich]

Cover! But for your size it can be done cheaply!

Ron, I had a Catalina 25 for a couple of seasons and after last winter I will never go uncovered again in our neck of the woods. The constant contact with frozen water really wears out the deck hardware and brightwork quickly, and the heavy snow accumulation this spring took forever to melt off when I wanted to be out there getting things ready for launch.Fortunately for you, your 22-foot boat would be easy to cover cheaply with tarps or covers made for similar size powerboats. Just remember to put up a frame over the cockpit or you'll end up with a 300-pound icecube in a bathtub when the tarp collapses...

 

[HukilauMike]

Got to cover her up

Go with the cover. After having the yard shrink wrap my boat to the tune of several hundred bucks a few times, I tried to make my own cover last year. A disaster. I made the frame from PVC pipe. Covered all with a blue poly tarp. It didn't last a month before a normal winter storm broke several parts of the frame. I rerigged it, reenforcing it with scrap lumber, and that didn't last more than a couple of months. My conclusion: anything less than a well-made and engineered wood or metal frame and a quality tarp is a waste.

 

[Kevin B]

Use electrical conduit, Mike

Mike, I have seen a lot of DIYs use plastic pipes of one form or another; its weak and bulky. My DIY frame uses metal electrical conduit; 3/4 inch for the ridge poll and 1/2 inch for the ribs; with the ridge poll supported by a couple of pieces of 4X4s at mid ship and the pulpits at either end. The stuff is stronger, has all kinds of connectors and fasteners, and is meant to be bent into curves.After 3 winters up here in the great white north no problems.Kevin

 

[Lee C, Hunter 240]

I cover my H240 during the winter

We don't have the harsh winter weather here that you have to deal with, but I keep my boat covered when on the hard. I can get one (very large) tarp that actually covers the length of the boat. The way the H240 is stored the mast runs horizontally along the centerline of the boat from just past the stern to just past the bow. I run a zig-zag pattern with clothes line from one life line, across the mast, to the other life line, and back and forth. This keeps the tarp from sinking and ponding as Rich referred to. This would probably not be satisfactory with much accumulation of snow however.

 

[Tom2909]

Cover it in Boston...

I keep my h260 covered to keep snow, ice, rain and leaves off. I just use the cheap blue tarps from the HW store and get 2 or 3 years out of them. I use a 30 by 20 ft.The mast is laid bow to stern in trailering position, and the tarp lies over that. I let the lifelines down and cut small holes for the stantions to go up through so the tarp can retain its tent shape from boom to shear and not form pockets to trap snow and water.The sides are tied to the trailer at the gromet points, but not too tight, or winds will rip it. I've tried wood and PVC frames, but for all the time and effort, they only add complexity and nothing else.Fair winds,Tom

 

[Gregg]

Cover it

Cover it but keep it so the dnow will slide off. I am not in snow country, but rain puddles, and I have had a little issue from time to time. I just coverd mine for the winter with a cheap blue tarp, and the neighbors are getting me a green one.......They hate the blue. I do it to keep the redwood needles and other leaves out, they stain the fiberglass bad, and I hate the smell of bleah in spring.

 

[Bill18593]

Why not cover it?

Why would an owner want to expose the deck and all the attachments to additional moisture and even more freeze-thaw cycles? Better to keep the moisture off of the boat as much as possible. A couple of 8x10 tarps "modified" to work around the mast would do nicely with some overlap over the forward part of the cabin. Don't need to worry too much about covering the cockpit, but check to make sure the cockpit drains are clear.

 

[Paul]

Maybe I was just lucky but ...

I never covered my Northern 25 for the past 5 years in Toronto and never had any trouble. The only things I did were put a cover over the tiller and duct taped around the cockpit hatch to keep rain from blowing inside the cabin. I had to sand and re-varnish the woodwork every spring but probably would have done that anyway. The first couple of years I covered the furling with plastic bags but found that this just accumulated moisture inside them so after that I just left the furling exposed. Being up on the cradle the wind blows the snow off the boat and drys it up. Personally I think covers are a waste of money.