Winter cover for Catalina 30 MkIII?

[PDA1]

I want to make or buy a cover for our Catalina 30.

From your own experience can you recommend a boat cover maker?

How about making your own cover? Have you done it?

 

[pogo2]

custom cover

I had a custom cover made in 2008 best move I ever made, yeah it was a little pricey but well worth it. just for the convenience, and ease of putting it on and taking it off. put a ceramic heater in the cabin and your nice and toasty to work on things during the winter

 

[PDA1]

Very nice. It does look expensive- especially for the frame.

Yet, once purchased it'll give you and your boat years of protection.

Who did you buy your cover from?

 

[DougM]

Had a winter cover made in 2006, and it's still in good shape. This will be season seven in Northern Michigan. No special frame needed, just uses the boom and a piece of 2x6 from the mast to the bow. I had to have some repair done after some 70 Mph wind a couple of years ago. This still beats the cost of having to shrink wrap it every year.

 

[PDA1]

Who made it?

 

[DougM]

The custom canvas was made by White Lake Canvas, Whitehall Mi.
You really need to find a local canvas shop with experience in boat covers as the boat measurements, stanchion locations, etc. dictate how well the cover will fit. That usually requires initial measurements and one or two more visits to the boat for final fitting.

 

[pogo2]

cusom canvas

Very nice. It does look expensive- especially for the frame.

Yet, once purchased it'll give you and your boat years of protection.

Who did you buy your cover from?

Where are you located? I had custom canvas from Niagara come out measure the boat and make up the frame and sew the material, took about a week to ten days. There should be a local canvas shop near you just call and see what they say as far as cost etc. you might be surprised. I have a loft in my garage that I store the cover and framing when I take it off, it should last at least 15 yrs

 

[PDA1]

I'm on the upper Chesapeake.

There are a lot of canvas sewers in that area. A lot ($$$$) of them.

I wanted to experiment in making my own cover. The frame would be very easy. But I'll probably do what you folks did. Life is short.

Thanks for the advice and ideas.

 

[dscribner]

I made my own cover from a blue 'tahp' that I bought from Mahd'ns (tarp that I bought from Marden's). Yeah, I know, poor cousin but hear me out. It's all about the layout. My boat is 25'-0 X 8'-0 with a life line stantion height of about 20". I needed to cover the baby for winter and a blue tarp thrown over looks so . . . you know. So an afternoon of measuring, cutting and laying out, followed by an evening with the Admiral's Singer and I have a smart looking, tailored cover that fits quite nicely. It goes over a PVC ladder-like frame. It'll take 22" of snow (ask me how I know). I figure when this once wears out, about $300 of Sunbrella from Ebay will make a fine replacement using the existing one as a pattern. I'll be sure to wrap the seams and back up the grommets. So, If you have more money than time and dropping $1200 on a cover is OK, then have somebody else do it, for sure. But, if you need to squeeze your quarters, making your own is certainly doable. You just need a little patience.

Don

 

[berner73]

Happy with ours, going into our 5th season of New England Winters. Already paid for itself.

http://www.thecanvasstore.com/

 

[PDA1]

Good ideas

I find it enjoyable to make or repair my own stuff.

As you'd guess I'd like to make the cover to save money. From a function point of view my guess is you can cover a boat with the cheap blue tarp stuff sewn very roughly while making sure it looks like a tent and is secured. That's the primative approach.

The other problem is the actual sewing of the cover and what material to use. For a machine I'll need something much stronger than a light weight home machine. So what do I do? Easy- go up into my attic and find an old Singer 306k machine that my mother owned. I've been able to sew 6 layers of canvas with no trouble.

So, I'll see whether I can make the cover myself, in contrast to what I said previously. I can assure you 100% that "looking" at my boat from 50 miles away it'll be perfect.