Winter Storage on a Cradle With Mast Up

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Bob - boom tent

Bob
My boom tent is made of the newer Sunbrella II fabric which is smoother than the old stuff (snow slides off easier) and fastened around the mast, topping lift and chainplates with the standard zipper arrangement and also fastened to the slotted toe rail with shock cord and hooks such that it is tight enough to allow snow to slide. Nothing much different than a standard winter cover except my boom tent includes a flap fwd of the mast to which the front piece can be attached or simply connected together. It is still going strong after 8 winters and just this summer had the stitching redone at a cost of $150.

If you choose to leave the mast up, I'd suggest not loosening the stays as they will contract much less than the mast in the cold thereby inherently loosing tension. Manually loosening them may allow the mast to vibrate or worse. There are those who choose to do it regardless without problem but be cautious if you do.

 

[s sauer]

Mast UP

We leave the mast up and the boom off and inside along with any removable items such as backstay adjuster, cunningham, boom vang, bimini, plus captains seat and wheel.
I run a tarp tight to the deck from just aft of the mast, over top of all winches and the binnacle then tight to the stern, laced to the toe rail to keep snow out of the cockpit. With it down that low as opposed to a boom tent, there is much less windage; of course you need to un do some lacings to get IN.