Winter tarp question

[Esk II]

Hi, I lost my inside storeage this year and am going to store outdoors for the first time. I Have a 260 Hunter and plan on building a cruch to raise the front of the mast and use the length for a main support for the tarp.

Any better ideas on tarp placement and size of tarp would be appreciated. I guess the tires will be ok? Please offer suggestions, thank you. I llive in western Pa. and the weather can get testy at times.

Earl Keim II

 

[Ron Roman]

That sounds like a good idea. I would use a 20x30 heavy duty tarp (sliver). They sell for about 100.00.

 

[Charlie13958]

Be sure to support the mast near center, or it may bend with a snow load.

 

[sesmith]

Besides what's already been said I also loosen up the lifelines so the tarp spills the melting snow and doesn't dam up huge ice dams (that happened the only year I didn't pull the lifelines loose on my 23.5).

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

I like the idea of using the mast as a ridgepole but agree with the notion of supporting it in the middle. If the 'roof' made out of the tarp is steep enough you should not get much snow load. But be sure the tarp is INSIDE the lifelines-- the stanchions will rip any tarp.

My mast is down pending paint, so I don't have the same situation.

For my H25 I made a frame out of 1-1/2" PVC, using glue welds for the T fittings and otherwise bolting segments together to make it easy to take down. The bottoms of the legs are drilled and tie-wrapped to the toerail; but if I were to make it over I would put T fittings at the ends like feet. It has 6 legs. PVC comes in 10-ft lengths; I cut each piece in half so thus the legs are 5 ft long and can be covered (nearly) with a 10-ft-wide tarp. The ridge pole sort of goes up and down because the width of the boat changes and the legs stay at 5 ft; but this is only a little ugly and hurts nothing; and the tarp therefore is lashed more or less evenly to the toerail. This allows for air circulation and all water runs down the side deck and out the scuppers or aft end.

The front and the back were originally line. I used the vang tackle to pull it tightly down to the bow. The back now has a PVC leg because I had to remove the rope 'stays' there to do work.

I used the heavy-duty silver-and-brown tarps from Lowe's last but they are expensive (10 x 12 is like 19.99) and only last 2 seasons max (one ripped before the first winter started). The blue ones are utter trash, fit only for dropcloths when painting the bottom (and thus disposable). I 'shingle' against the prevailing weather, lapping the weatherward one over the leeward one about one hole's worth. I will replace the tarps this season with cheaper, green ones from Camp-Mor in Mahwah NJ (they are on the web). They have a 10 x 20 for like 19.99 and I will buy two and lap them longitudinally (one lashed close to starboard lapped over the other one that is lashed close to port).

DO NOT, EVER, tie the tarp to the jackstands or props under the boat. EVER.

On my H25 part of the bow sticks out but it is more important to 'sew' up the after end because the yard parked my boat butt-end to the weather. If at all possible always have them park you nose-to the weather!

When I take off the tarps I have now I will wrap the ridgepole with pipe insulation as all sharp corners, even the tight radius of the pipe, will cause fatigue of the tarps. When screwing pipe together I drill one hole oversize and recess the heads of the bolts INSIDE the pipe so that the bolt heads will not tear the tarp. This is vital. Wet snow weighs enough to tension the tarp enough to cause fibers to just give up.

Next year I will have the boat stored with the mast up and will invest in a nice canvas boom tent with zippers for the front of the spar and access at the lifeline gate. The rest of the boat will remain uncovered but aside from covering the varnished foredeck hatch this should be all right.

 

[Ian McGain]

If your toe rail has openings- go to the archives and look at the Hunter 30 section. Very economical way of covering your boat. I am using the same system again this season when we go up on the hard.

Just make sure whatever way you go...do not cover your stantions with a tarp. I did this and lost three of them to a snow load.

Ian
s/v Meant to Be

 

[isaksp00]

DianaofBurlington,

Very useful post, thanks. I have to do the same for an H23 in upstate Eastern PA - lot of snow.

How do you connect the 6 triangular legs to the ridge pole so they are removable?
Not sure what you mean by the way you recess the bolts - is the oversized hole on the outer piece of pipe, and if it is as large as the bolt head, how does the bolt hold?

I don't have toerails with holes, so fixing the leg ends down will be a bit of a challenge. You caution against using the jackstands as tiepoints - I assume this is because you don't want winds to pull out the stands, which would not be an issue if tying to points on a trailer - or is it another reason?

I may use larger than 1.5 inch for the ridge pole, which would be above the mast.

 

[Alan]

If you're storing on the trailer I would jack up and block the axle on each side taking all load off the tires.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

I also use the heavy weight silver tarps. I get a 30' one that goes the full length of the mast and allows me to lace up the bow and stern.
Key Points:
~ Put something on top the the lifeline stanchions to prevent them from poking through. I use a 6" square pieces of carpet.
~ Tie it down as tight as a drum. Any flapping can cause damage to the hull. This also limits the pockets that can catch water, snow, or ice.

 

[WallyQ2]

Most Noodles (used by little pool rats) , have a 1" hole in the centre. Take a cheap noodle & cut it into 8" lengths with a little side slit and slip them over the top of the stanchion. I've never had one wear thru a cover.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

isaksp00-- two things to your two questions.

I tried to keep the PVC legs to about 5 ft so I could use one 10-ft piece for 2 legs. So the ridgepole goes up and down a little. Each end up there has a T fitting. The legs do NOT mate exactly port-to-starboard as there is no PVC fitting to allow that. So the ridgepole is in sections, 3 ft, 4 ft, 6 ft (that one bent or melted like a swayback mule) between the T fittings of the legs.

At each T fitting I either glued in a short bit of ridgepole (to the next leg) or fitted it dry and then drilled straight through both pieces of pipe, the ridgepole and the T fitting. In some places I just made sure the hole was horizontal so that the heads of the bolts (I used 10-24's) and wing nuts on the other side were NOT interfering with the tarp, because they will rip it.

In other places I had to drill straight down into the 1-1/2" pipe (like for a 2x4 vertical leg in back). I drilled the #10 hole through and then enlarged it to take the whole head of the screw and the screwdriver, then bolted it with the screw head and washer INSIDE the pipe (you reach down through the larger top hole with the screwdriver). This keeps a bolt head from ripping the tarp.

Using PVC is CHEAP. I think this whole thing cost me about nine dollars. The bolts at Lowe's were more expensive than all the pipe pieces. (I used a lot of PVC for plumbing inside the boat too-- so long as it does not freeze with water in it, it's ideal. But don't use it for seawater or engine water.)

When I get my new tarps I will wrap the ridgepole with pipe insulation as the bits of carpet and engine-box insulation I used as some points were of little help. ANY bend will stress the tarp. At the front end I have to use a 22-degree elbow to add a forward leg because the tarp bending over the end of the ridgepole gets cut there. The forward leg gets lashed to the stem fitting. Over the cockpit I have two rope 'stays'-- one of these will have to be the vang this year because the forward leg isn't adjustable. I generally tension it like it's a piece of the rigging!

Without a toerail I would locate the legs at key places-- the genny-track car, the stanchions, etc, and lash or tie-wrap them securely so they won't kick out. Use a T-fitting as a 'foot' (it's easier to lash to something). So long as you keep the tarp tight (and visit your poor lonely boat a few times a month for the winter) you'll be surprised how little snow-load problems actually matter.

As a rule try to negotiate with the yard crew to locate your boat nose-in to the prevailing weather in winter-- it makes most of this much easier.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

If you're storing on the trailer you can tie to it, so long as it is not blocked up high enough to catch air.

And I would not only block it, but I would take the tires home and store them in the garage... or some other enterprising would-be boater might instead.

 

[isaksp00]

Good thread, thanks.

I think I will build seven "A frames" from 1.5 inch PVC. My toerail is a "ridge" molded in the deck, about 1 " wide by about 1 " high. I think I'll put a PVC tee (inverted) on the bottom of each "leg" of the frame, and cut a 1 " slot in the bottom of the tee, to slide over the ridge. I may use 2 " PVC if the tee seems too narrow for the ridge. Each frame will have a vertical 1.5 " riser about 20 " high, to be above the lifelines and stanchion tops. My stanchions angle inwards about 15 or 20 degrees, so a vertical leg will be outside the lines and stanchions. I want to make sure snow won't crush the stanchions. A 45 degree connector at the top of each leg will support the two "roof" parts of the frame (one per side). Not yet sure how I'll connect the two 45 deg angled pipes at the centerline ridge - maybe a block of wood cut with 45 deg angles, a pair of screws with wide heads in the edge of the wood, and keyhole slots cut into the PVC to slide the screws heads in (which'll let me disassemble it easily). The top ends of these pipes would not touch, allowing the centerline ridge pole to sit in a kind of trough. Not sure If I need 2 " or can do with 1.5 inch for the ridge pole.

The tarp (a pretty robust canvas like thing that originally came from West Marine, around 13 feet wide) will be tied down to the trailer frame. Good point about not letting wind under - think I'll tie each tarp side to the opposite trailer frame, passing the lines under the boat, to keep the tarp closer to the hull, using trucker's hitches.

The seven frames make for about 3 to 3 1/2 feet between each frame. I may need lengthwise pipes somewhere on the 45 degree angled pipe segments (front to back) to help support the tarp.

Peter