Covering Adventure with Tarp

[Jonah]

Hi All,

This will be my first winter with a (new to me) '96 Adventure, which will be sitting on a trailer out back. I have a snap-on cockpit cover, but otherwise my only cover for the winter will be a 30'x40' heavy duty tarp. What's the best way to do this?

I had thought about tightening down the edges to the ground quite firmly (with bricks, etc), but then I suppose that would trap moisture in there all winter. Should I use the tarp to cover the boat in a way that allows air flow, so that the tarp is basically acting like a carport roof over the boat? Should I use the snap-on cockpit cover in addition to the tarp?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[DennisG01]

Hardtop? Is snow load an issue? Plastic tarp or breathable tarp?

You'd probably never get the tarp secure enough with bricks - a good wind will whip it right up. Securing with tie-downs/ropes to the trailer is much better.

 

[gw204]

This is what I did for my 227...

You have to be careful with venting a tarp to allow moisture to escape. Letting moisture out also lets wind in...and that's what kills a tarp.

 

[VeroWing]

Agree with gw204. best to build a frame to support cover and repel snow and rain, when using a tarp for winter storage.

 

[tboylan]

Get the bungy cords with the orange balls at home depot. The balls are designed to put equal pressure on the tarp grommets. Build a frame, use carpet remnants on all the sharp edges and wrap the cover under the boat.

 

[grady33]

I'm a shrink wrap kind of guy. The tarp moving back and forth during heavy winds could damage the gell coat.

 

[seasick]

Hi All,

This will be my first winter with a (new to me) '96 Adventure, which will be sitting on a trailer out back. I have a snap-on cockpit cover, but otherwise my only cover for the winter will be a 30'x40' heavy duty tarp. What's the best way to do this?

I had thought about tightening down the edges to the ground quite firmly (with bricks, etc), but then I suppose that would trap moisture in there all winter. Should I use the tarp to cover the boat in a way that allows air flow, so that the tarp is basically acting like a carport roof over the boat? Should I use the snap-on cockpit cover in addition to the tarp?

Thanks for any advice!

A tarp will not be airtight since it is not really snug to the hull. I have a custom cover that I made (never again) that has a fairly complicated frame that gets erected first. The picture posted by GW204 with the straight beam above the boat and a tarp laid over it is the simplest.
Here is what I have learned over many years covering my 208:
No mater what you do, snow will pile up somewhere and when the sun comes out, the snow melts, puddles and then freezes into blocks of ice. Since your boat is in the back yard, you will be able to sweep/brush the snow off before it freezes. When snow melts and freezes, it becomes extremely heavy and can tear or collapse a cover. If the frame is not really rigid, winds will beat it to death. Cheap cargo straps ( like the ratchet type at harbor freight ) can be used to make webbing to add rigidity to the frame.The hooks generally fit around the railings
Do not use the helm cover. Keep it at home in a warm place after cleaning it and drying it. It will last a lot longer. In the spring, treat it with repellent and lube the snaps.
If you have a Bimini, fold it onto the bow deck but place something soft under it to raise it off the fiberglass to allow some air to circulate. The more acute the angle of the tarp sides, the more likely snow. will slide off
If you have the boat on a trailer, tie the tarp to the trailer,. If on stands, wrap the lines around the hull. Do not tie the lines to the stands.

It is not advisable to use bricks as weights. If there is a severe storm, they will fly like projectiles.
Assume that no mater what you do, animals will be able to enter the boat. They love to sleep and nest in the folds of the Bimini. You can't stop them with a tarp. Shrink wrap has a better chance.
Small animals can get into the cabin by climbing under the gunnels. There are spaces that go all the way into the cabin. The entry paths can and should be blocked using wire mesh cut and jammed into those paths.
There is apath bewteen the cockpit area and the helm AND a path from the helm into the cabin so you have to install wire mesh in four places.

Remove all cushions from the cabin and anything edible. Racoons will chew anything. remember that some baits smell just like food to rodents so remove all those Gulps

My cover has a zipper in the middle that allows me to unzip either side to gain entry. My frame is tall enough that I can stand in the deck area and work if needed.
A while back I saw a kit available from Costco for a boat cover( if I remember it was $400). It all fit in a bag about 4 foot long and included struts and angled ribs that got rigged with straps. A tarp was included and created a nice angled cover. I don't know how well made it was or how good it worked but the nice thing was that it broke down into 4 foot sections for storage.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Jonah]

As always, you all have been very helpful.

Seasick, thanks for the detailed advice.

GW204 and tboylan, thanks for the pictures and examples. I'm afraid that building a frame might be beyond my abilities, but I will still keep these examples in mind as I try to rig something.

DennisG01, I should have clarified that it is a breathable, heavy-duty tarp, and that I do not have a hard-top, but I do expect a bit of snow this year.

Even though Seasick has already given good advice on what to do with the bimini, what do folks think of using the bimini has a 'frame' for the tarp? If I left the bimini up, wouldn't it hold the tarp in place a bit like the frames that GW204 and tboylan have made? (Again, I just can't make one of those myself.)

Thanks!

 

[DennisG01]

OK, first thing - it's best to NOT use both covers. As mentioned, there's a couple reasons. One, you decrease the breathability. In the wind, the two tarps flap against each other and will prematurely wear each other out. And also the flapping against the hull can cause marks.

Now, since snow loading is an issue, strength of the underlying support is important, as is "tenting" the higher you can tent it the less snow will pile up and the easier it will slide off - as well as decreasing the "puddling" effect. Generally, the two easiest materials to work with are 2x lumber and PVC. But it's best to use the SChedule 80 (grey) PVC, not the Schedule 40 (white) since the Sch 40 gets brittle in cold weather.

There's more than way to build a support system. Noted above (with a hard spine) is a great way. Since you already have a bimini (yes, you can use it to support the snow - just wedge a 2x4 or two underneath it between it and the cockpit floor to support the weight), you can use that to help define the tent. You can certainly built a full spine (the higher the better, and be careful to not use the windshield as a support) out of wood. Another simple way is to use vertical pieces of 2x along the length of the boat. For your boat - have another 2x approx between the seats/just behind the dash, and then another 2x maybe 4' aft of the bow. You get nylon strapping (like what was wrapped around your newspapers pack that you got as a newspaper boy) and use that to tie the bimini and the two 2x's together... down the bow and back to the stern... and then some going over the sides, too.

Still another option... pay to get it shrink wrapped and then reuse it for a couple years. In my area, shrinking runs about $12/foot. Not too bad, at all. Divide that into three years and it's pretty darn cheap.

 

[DennisG01]

Oh, I forgot to mention... If you use your existing tarp, it probably has grommets already in it. But you can add more anywhere you want to with an inexpensive grommet tool and grommets. Another option is to use those make-shift grommets that are not permanent - you put them where you want them, but they can be moved (no holes in the tarp).

Lot's of options and no one way is really the best. It's what works best for you.

 

[Another Distraction]

The best way is to return the tarp and shrink wrap your boat.

 

[seasick]

The best way is to return the tarp and shrink wrap your boat.

This may be true but to an extent, the way the wrap is installed makes a difference. The Bimini idea is in my opinion not a good one since the Bimini canvas can not easily be removed from the frame. Therefore you will have the canvas up against the tarp and that can lead to wear as mentioned and mold growth. The really big issue is that the covering will be flat and snow will accumulate. It is difficult to sweep the snow off of a flat top. You cant see it or get to it from the ground. As mentioned if the snow piles up and starts to melt and then refreeze, there can be an extraordinary amount of weigh and the top could be crushed or torn. Steep sloping sides are the trick. Shrink wrap if applied over the window frame might also be relatively flat depending on how the wrapper applies the binding tapes. I will see if I can find the tarp kit with the struts that I mentioned.

 

[seasick]

This looks like the kit I mentioned. I am not sure if it is the one that Costco used to carry.

http://www.navigloo.com/en/Boats/Winter ... 59c61.html

 

[DennisG01]

Regarding the bimini top, I think I was envisioning a different way than you, Seasick. I wasn't explicit, but I was referring to using the bimini in it's stored position (collapsed) with the 2x's supporting the top. However, it COULD be used opened up, but then a few more 2x's would be needed. My own boats have been wrapped this way for years. I also have worked in the marine industry for over 25 years and we shrink wrap boats this way all the time. Never any issues. But we also don't rely on ONLY the bimini top - we use extra 2x "posts" like what I mentioned above.

However, your point about mold/mildew/wear is a valid one and I wasn't thinking of that when I responded above as even though I mentioned a tarp, I had "shrink wrap" on my mind. With a breathable top, I think there's a good chance that some moisture will get through the tarp and onto the bimini since they're in DIRECT contact with each other. BUT, a piece of plastic placed over the bimini and under the tarp should negate the issue of mold. Making sure the tarp is VERY tight will eliminate the wear issue (but shrink wrap will do a better job here since it's so tight).

Now, one of the keys to using bimini tops (with the 2x's) is that the cover should be snugged down quite tight. When the cover is tight, it firms up everything and actually makes everything even stronger. To better explain this, we sometimes shrink wrap cruiser-style boats (that are for sale) on our lot with their biminis (often have two biminis to completely cover the cockpit) fully open and usually only use (2) or (3) 2x's for the entire span (about 10'). But again, this is with shrink wrapping, and I wouldn't recommend having the bimini completely open with minimal 2x support when using a tarp.

 

[journeyman]

I'm afraid that building a frame might be beyond my abilities, but I will still keep these examples in mind as I try to rig something.

I'm sure there is a local handyman that you could hire one time to build a frame that could be broken down and stored to be used every year. I can't imagine that it would be expensive or complicated. Worth it to have "piece of mind" when the snow blows.

my 2 cents

 

[DennisG01]

I'm afraid that building a frame might be beyond my abilities,

Jonah, you obviously know your strengths and weaknesses in life much better than any of us. But building a support system really is pretty basic. Journey mentioned a good option. If you googled for some pictures (use the ones here in this post, along with Seasick's link) of how people build various structures, and provide that to the handyman, he should have no problems building a system for you. It shouldn't take more than a couple hours - and that's if he takes his time. In reality, if all the materials are there, it's barely an hour job for something with experience.

 

[DennisG01]

Also, let me better explain what I meant by "tenting" with vertical 2x's. See, there's just so many ways to do this - and maybe this is partly why it's sounding like a daunting task to you? Anyways, you know those old-style tents (Army tents, for lack of a better word) with two poles at opposite ends of the tent? That's what you're after. Use a number of 2x's along the center line of the boat to start to create the spine. If you get that nylon strapping, you can staple the strapping between the 2x's to finish the spine and then tie the ends down to the bow and stern. Then run strapping left and right off each 2x down to the trailer or completely under the boat ("belly strap"). Finish with a scrap of carpet over the top of each 2x. Once you have all the strapping nice and tight, this is a very stable structure. Securing the tarp very tight makes the whole thing even tighter.

Anyways, again, this is only way that can work. There really is no one "best" way.

 

[seasick]

Regarding the bimini top, I think I was envisioning a different way than you, Seasick. I wasn't explicit, but I was referring to using the bimini in it's stored position (collapsed) with the 2x's supporting the top. However, it COULD be used opened up, but then a few more 2x's would be needed. My own boats have been wrapped this way for years. I also have worked in the marine industry for over 25 years and we shrink wrap boats this way all the time. Never any issues. But we also don't rely on ONLY the bimini top - we use extra 2x "posts" like what I mentioned above.

However, your point about mold/mildew/wear is a valid one and I wasn't thinking of that when I responded above as even though I mentioned a tarp, I had "shrink wrap" on my mind. With a breathable top, I think there's a good chance that some moisture will get through the tarp and onto the bimini since they're in DIRECT contact with each other. BUT, a piece of plastic placed over the bimini and under the tarp should negate the issue of mold. Making sure the tarp is VERY tight will eliminate the wear issue (but shrink wrap will do a better job here since it's so tight).

Now, one of the keys to using bimini tops (with the 2x's) is that the cover should be snugged down quite tight. When the cover is tight, it firms up everything and actually makes everything even stronger. To better explain this, we sometimes shrink wrap cruiser-style boats (that are for sale) on our lot with their biminis (often have two biminis to completely cover the cockpit) fully open and usually only use (2) or (3) 2x's for the entire span (about 10'). But again, this is with shrink wrapping, and I wouldn't recommend having the bimini completely open with minimal 2x support when using a tarp.

Thanks for the info Dennis. All sounds logical especially the point about the structure being snug. In my experience, as soon as a makeshift frame starts to move or wiggle, the next wind storm will beat it to death especially id made from PVC.
On my second comment about the Navagloo system, I read some more and see that it is theoretically carried by BJs, Costco, IBoats, ProBass and a few others. The video makes it look appealing and one of the biggest appeals is that it breaks down into short pieces than can be stored more easily than the 2x4 frames we often see.
I wonder id anyone on the board has some experience with the product.

 

[tboylan]

I'm a shrink wrap kind of guy. The tarp moving back and forth during heavy winds could damage the gell coat.

Yea I fretted about the possibility of the tarp damaging the gelcoat but I have not had a single issue with that. You just need to keep it tight and have a good frame in place. What's critical is having the boat close by so you can check on it. I would not tarp the boat if it were an hour away. Cheaper than shrink wrap and less work.

 

[Jonah]

Thanks again everyone; this forum is so helpful.

I think you've convinced me. I have some lumber in the yard, and after looking at some of the pictures above, I realize that it isn't too complicated. I'll upload some photos of whatever I manage to do!

And yes, I see grady33's and Another Distraction's point that shrink-wrapping might be the best approach, but I'd like to avoid it if I can. For one, I don't like the idea of putting so much material to waste each year. But also, since I live on the water and have an E-Tec outboard (which makes winterization a breeze), I'd like to be able to just yank the tarp off if we have a warm spell one week in December, for example. Shrink-wrapping would require more time and money to do that, especially since I'd have to haul the boat at least 30 minutes away from where I live.

Thanks again!