I’ve mentioned this several times without generating much response but just in case any of the newer owners are interested… I’ve been reusing shrink wrap covers on our 30U. I got three years out of the first cover I reused and this next winter I’ll be reusing the current cover for the fourth time and may very well get a fifth out of it. It’s pretty easy to do. You just cut the perimeter band after clamping the band on each side of the cut so it doesn’t retract into the cover, tie a length of similar material onto each end of the cut perimeter band, then you can expand the bottom of the cover and remove it. It takes some coaxing to get it off and back on but it’s very doable. If you have to you can cut the cover vertically in one or more places to help ease it off and/or back on and repair the cuts with shrink wrap tape. I had to do that with the first cover but not the second. Other than that, all you need to do is make a note of where the cover support poles are located so you can put them in the same places the next year. There are a number of Youtube videos online for how to go about it. Reusing the covers drastically reduces the both the cost and the material waste of shrink wrapping. A shrink wrap cover is basically a custom cover for your boat. It is light and strong and very capable of multi-year use.
I have seen someone re-use his shrink wrap year after year to cover his Grampion 30 at our club. It does look a touch ratty but it works. He just uses the same sticks and pieces of wood and that cover holds.
I use 2 Canadian Tire medium weight plastic tarps to do my NS22 (without the mast). I run a beam (2 x 8’ long metal wall studs taped together) to cover the cockpit , from the stern to just over the companionway. Then, I finish the job with a bigger tarp from the companionway right over the Samson post at the bow. The wishbone is down on a support at the bow and the stern. The beam sits on the rear wishbone support. I change the tarps every few years and they handle Toronto snows (and winter winds) perfectly.
Covering the boat allows me to barely crack windows open, allowing air through and preventing any mould or dampness. I figure my “covering costs” every year average around $30.00 CAD.
Cheap and ugly but the system works perfectly. And, the tarp that covers the cockpit is clear/white and, in the dead of winter, on a sunny day, allows the space to heat up nicely.
Ernie,
I’m thinking plastic milk jugs filled with water to put a constant gravity pull on the tarp.
Bungee cords to insure against the higher winds.
Brian
Boat-less in New England
Sure, water filled plastic jugs are great but don’t fill them more than 3/4 full - they expand when frozen. It was simply convenient to tie things down directly to the cradle but, yup, I’ve used jugs. The cut-up pool noodles keep the strings off the hull where (for almost 6 months) they’d leave dirt marks on the hull. As you can see, it ain’t an exact science and it looks a bit different every year but it all works. There are large willows around our club and the leaves really stain the deck so it’s nice to cover the boat up. And, as i mentioned, it permits windows to be cracked open (just a hair and tied in that position so visiting critters can’t open them enough to “bed down for the winter”).
I would never use bungees. That tarp has stayed on just fine in 60 mph (100 kph) winds. You don’t need the “elasticity” or “shock absorber” effect to keep things together.
