winter cover

[David11038]

As a new owner of a 170, I wasn't sure how to cover it for the Michigan winter. I had read that I should avoid a dark tarp, which I did. I drapped the tarps over the mast which was horizontal on the crutches provided with the trailer, then loosely tied the tarp along the bottom of the boat (as I had heard one should not tie it up tightly), thus covering the whole boat. Unfortunately, we had a heavy snow followed by a thaw then a hard freeze. The people where I store the boat called me to say that a large mass of ice had formed on the tarp. When I got there, I found a LARGE piece of ice (I am guessing in the 400-500 lb range)weighing down the tarp on one half, such that it caused a bow in the mast, two of us were unable to budge it. Last week we had a thaw which melted about half the ice and I was able to break it up to remove it - fortunately, the mast now appears to be back to straight. I rearranged the tarp to allow better runoff and will keep checking it over the winter. The dealer thought that someone made a proper boat cover for the 170 but was not sure where to get it. Any ideas? Should I make some sort of rib structure to support the snow load? What have other people done?

 

[Patrick Lombard]

Try Here

http://www.fairclough.com/http://www.thecanvasstore.com/

 

[Dick in MI]

snow cover

Well David, a couple of things:First off a "proper cover" isn't going to keep the snow and ice off. Second, you committed a major no-no by leaving the mast on with a tarp over it, although I have seen it suggested that you should prop if up with a board in the middle.Not sure if that would support the mast through our Michigan winters without denting or cracking the floor or not. I've purposely chosen to avoid this route.I had a light colored canvas tarp made for my 170 several years ago from a local awning shop. It's not fitted but it does the job in the summer with the mast in place. Previously, I left the tarp on in the winter after removing the mast. Snow accumulated in the tarp but it covered the boat. The worst that happened was I had to get rid of the water in the tarp in the spring.This year, I bought two lengths of pipe, joined them in the middle and used that in lieu of the mast for support under the tarp during the winter. This worked better although the joint in the middle has bent. Not a lot of accumulation and I try and get to the boat after a major storm and brush off any accumulation.So I'm getting there, but the design isn't yet perfect. Still, I'd avoid leaving the mast on at all costs during the winter unless a method of support can be found that won't damage the boat. I think my pipe contraption needs some tweaking but will eventually be all I need.

 

[David11038]

Thanks

Thanks for the info guys!