Winter Cover

[shank]

I had a winter cover made for my Catalina 27 by Ship Shape Canvas out of Duluth, MN and it really came out great. They were easy to work with, the quality is high and several hundred $ less expensive than other quotes I received. I recommend them if anyone is looking for next year.

 

[Steve L22188]

You made a wise choice. I had them do a winter cover for my O'Day 302 about 4-5 years ago. It still looks nearly new after 4-5 Kansas winters. Hope you got the sandbags from them and are using them - makes a world of difference.

The guy that owns Ship Shape is terrific to work with. Quality work, quality materials, quality service - amazing how that still works.

 

[DougM]

Out of curiosity, since you guys are some distance away from Duluth, how did the cover supplier manage to get accurate measurements for the cover before it was fabricated?

 

[shank]

Hi Doug, They gave me a measurement form to complete and a YouTube video with instructions. They also asked for photos. It came out perfect in my case because Catalina 27 are such common boats and they had measurements from many others they have done in the past, but maybe if someone has some odd rigging or complicated set up it might be better to have someone to come out and measure it. That's just a guess though. My impression from them is that they could deal with pretty much any scenario by email and photos.

 

[Parsons]

I'm not certain we're allowed to speak about specific vendors, but ShipShape did my cover and it came out wonderful. Custom covers are a pricey investment ($3 grand), but it pays off in about 4-5 years compared to shrink-wrap. There is no comparison between a custom cover out of quality material and do-it-yourself tarps, which do not shed snow, tear apart within a season, and require constant maintenance during the winter. If you look around Michigan yards during the winter, I'd say about a quarter of the boats had ShipShape covers, which is a ringing endorsement.

The owner (!) of ShipShape actually drives around the upper Midwest and North-east on measuring visits during the summer, in case you have custom boat, but he's probably already seen your boat and does a pretty good job with his measurement sheet and some photos. I'm guessing that he has patterns for most production boats, and can crank one out based on that alone.

 

[shank]

Mine was $1,400 for a smaller boat and came with storage bag, free shipping and tie down rope. Shrink is $650/yr here for the same boat so it was an easy decision. The tarps and frames are a hassle and northern VT has real winters (although that is changing fast).

 

[jssailem]

The tarps and frames are a hassle and northern VT has real winters (although that is changing fast).

I'm interested.. Does that mean as 60 is the new 30 that N. VT winter will be the new Bahamas?

It is difficult to keep up with all this change...

 

[shank]

It's true. This was taken in Vermont this morning.

 

[TomY]

I recognize Valcour Island above.

Having lived and sailed in Vermont, I don't miss the winters when it comes to my memories of boat storage. We (everybody I knew) couldn't keep a tarp on mostly because it wouldn't shed snow/water/ice that inevitably came early.

One fall, I lost the transmission reduction gear because raw water channel froze and cracked the casing just a few days after haul out. As I recall, we used to haul by the end of September to early October. Now I usually stay in the water until November.

I finally have figured out how to make a tarp work, at least here. I miss the extra snow VT used to deliver though, when it comes to snowboarding.

 

[jssailem]

Shank is that Vermont’s junior senator enjoying the warming beach setting.

 

[shank]

That's a beautiful boat, Tom. Good job on the tarp frame too. I'm from Portland, ME originally and ended up in VT through a bad job decision..Lol. I miss Maine a great deal but go back often, fortunately. The mid-coast area is really special.

We haul out our boat the first of October and launch in May. The short season makes it seem hardly seems worth the expense and effort some years.

John, Yes, that's the Bern with his inauguration mittens. Coincidentally, I have the same pair made by the same woman.

 

[TomY]

Checking on the green cover over CHRISTMAS usually means a glance as I walk by. All's well. This winter we've seen little snow (so far) but plenty of wind topping 70 knots here on the shore.

More the worry for me is the deep draft 40'er, to the right, with the mast in. I pay more attention to adjusting this boat's jack stands than I do my own.

A new neighbor has shown up in our boatyard. Noahs Ark me thinks.

These houseboats are a bit of a thing these days around here (rare). A few have cropped up on our coast.

Like the rest of us, my daughter is paying attention to the ice as we walk the dogs around the inner harbor. I've seen this houseboat before. The barge beneath looks new to me. Then I remember,....

Over 10 years ago, I spotted it on an island out in the bay. At that point, it had apparently been previously hauled above the HW line and blocked, permanently (or so I thought). Someone long ago watched TV in the ark.

The barge beneath must have been shot as you can see. Someone cut an entrance door in the side of the barge and house. It looked like the final chapter to me. It had become a storage shed by looks.

Never count a boat out.