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Talk me out of a boat cover

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
I'm probably going to start pulling stuff off the boat for the winter this weekend. Which means it's time to face the fact that the cold/gray/rainy season is upon us. and then the grunge will start growing.

Each of the three years I've owned the boat, I've been shocked at how grungy the boat gets over the winter. I mean, not the normal "it needs a nice bath" stuff, but thick green grunge, in all the many nooks and crevices of the deck. It takes days - literally, days - to scrub all the grunge out from around handrails, hatch frames, genoa tracks, stanchion bases, etc. Not to mention the gross black lines that stain the deck where any lines sat over the winter. Ugh.

Last winter I pulled all the halyards and un-rove everything from the deck organizers. No lines sat on the deck over the winter, so no black lines. But still plenty of green grunge.

I also asked at the local chandlery if there was anything i could spray on the boat to keep the problem at bay. The guy sorta winked and said "not here.... but if you go to Home Depot, you can get some anti-moss stuff that works great. Just don't let the marina know you're using it." So, that didn't sound like a great idea...

So this winter I'm wondering what I can do to cut down on the amount of bio-waste that grows on the boat over the winter. One option, I suppose, is to go give her a nice bath every couple of weeks, rain or shine, sunshine or snow. OK, that's an option. Or I could just deal with it next spring, like I have each year so far.

But I can't help noticing the number of boat-covers that go up around the marina this time of year, and it has me wondering... do they do any good? are they worth the hassle?

It would be relatively easy to make a cover that went across the boom and tied down to the stanchion bases on either side. The "plus" of that kind of cover is that the deck would probably stay drier and maybe that means less stuff growing on the deck. The "minus" includes the cost, plus the hassle, plus... there'll be a tent over the boat, meaning it'll be dark and gloomy inside. Plus I would have to consider the potential wear-and-tear from having a big sheet of sunbrella flapping around in winter wind-storms.

And it occurs to me that a boat-cover might actually make things worse. I mean, would more mildew happen in shade than in what passes for sunlight this time of year?

Dunno.

I guess my question is... does anyone here in the PNW cover their boat in the winter? And does it "work" to cut down on mold and mildew and algae, or ...?

Bruce
 
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Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
I sprung for an $1,800 custom Fairclough when I first got the boat. It was part of my general paranoia about being a new boat owner: What if the port lights leak? What if the deck fittings leak?

It has advantages and drawbacks. It takes half a day to put it on and half a day to take it off. Once it's up, you won't go sailing all season because of the hassle. It does keep it dark inside the boat, but it has fine ventilation, so I didn't notice any extra moisture.

It does keep the boat cleaner and dryer, and somewhat protected. I haven't had much to clean up in the spring. But you still have to remove, dry and fold the cover, which takes about half a day.

DSCN2443.jpg

I did have a few small leaks: one each under a deck organizer, a winch, and a rope clutch. So maybe the cover did its part to help keep things dry till I could repair them. I'm thinking about leaving the cover off this winter in hopes that there are a few warm, dry windy days for sailing. They say it's going to be a La-Nina winter.
 
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bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
It has advantages and drawbacks.

Thanks.

I'm not thinking of anything as near a robust as a Fairclough. I'm thinking of something that
-- goes over the boom
-- clips to stanchion bases along the sides
-- covers the mid-deck, companionway and (part of) the cockpit)

...something like the below, except extending downward to the stanchion-bases, and all the way forward to the gooseneck.

It seems nice, but... I'm having a hard time convincing myself that it would actually be "better than nothing".

20170524_134009s.jpg
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
I generally don't like to cover up because when a sailing opportunity arises on those short winter days, I want to be able to "just go."
However: Snow. Letting the cockpit fill up with snow, which quickly turns to ice, even once is very instructive in the merits of covering the boat.
The last couple of years, I've just tarped up when snow is in the forecast. Or when there's an annoying leak. Or a portlight has to be removed, etc.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
I use two large tarps from Costco. They last about 3 years and cost about $25.00 for The two. Some modification of the front tarp is necessary to fit it around the shrouds. I find less humidity inside and some grungearound The Toe rail where the tarp does not quite cover. Overall, the tarp solution has been quite satisfactory.

Port Angeles has a unique wind pattern based on the Olympics jutting up right behind The City. We Tend to get strong Westerlies in the Summer (nothing between us and the ocean). In the Winter, the Olympics block most of the Southerlies. So, on the whole, the winters tend to be fairly calm. I know Seattle and south tends to be the opposite. Boring in the summer and wild in the winter. The tarps would have to be tested to see if they could be kept from flapping. I made up a little cage from Schedule 40 and connectors that could be disassembled easily. It worked great but I decided I didn't need it here. The spinnaker pole acts as the forward support.

Overall, I am quite happy with the improvement the tarps made. I flush a lot less bleach into the marina each spring.P1000655.jpg
 
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toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Ah yes, rigging the spinnaker pole out for the front tarp. Seems obvious, but one of those things that everyone else in the marina started doing about three weeks after I did it. Almost like starting a trend in high school. :rolleyes:
 

Filkee

Sustaining Member
Shipshape Canvass

I sleep better in winter knowing that I’m covered but I’m dealing with -20 and blowing snow. Got mine from Shipshape Canvas and they were very easy to work with. They even send me an email in the fall reminding me how to put it on.
175C1F10-FFB7-4E32-A486-CAAC17AB41DC.jpg74998005-7608-40B3-A9D9-56B7210F984A.jpg
It sits on the boom and spinnaker pole, has zippered access to the cockpit, and breathes enough so that your boat doesn’t become a mold farm over the winter. There is crawling involved when you’re trying to get to the foredeck but that would be my only complaint.

http://www.shipshapecanvas.com/
 

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I use an electric powered pressure washer in the spring to deal with the winter's dirt and growth. I usually rinse the deck with a hose once or twice in the winter months. I have an oscillating tip that lowers the 1700 psi max pressure way down. It takes about 3 hours on the 38 deck and rub rail (I have a steel rail insert). Pressure has the advantage of getting to most of the crevices easier than a scrubbing. You do have to watch out for lines as even lower pressures can damage the cover of braided line.

On the dodger, which is Sunbrella, I have tried to remove the grime and growth with the pressure washer and found that it does work well once you find the right distance for the spray. I also use the oscillating tip for this. But it is tedious and then you have to be prepared to treat the Sunbrella with water repellent. Now that the rains have returned, I have to get out and finish the dodger before any additional growth occurs. Our canvas guy says he uses a pressure washer all the time to clean Sunbrella.
 

paul's project

Junior Member
Boat cover is a must for me

I have a partial sunbrella cover on my E-27. Easy on and off in minutes. Zippers up to the mast. I use dehumidifiers inside both boats. Always stays dry and mildew free. Just need to focus on the bright work once in a while. Boat covers were the best investment for me but need to do a little modification for a new dodger project now.E -27 cover.jpgE-27 Stern.jpg
 

csoule13

Member III
Bruce, my Dad and I both have full winter covers for the boat for about the costs quoted elsewhere on the thread. Part of it is to protect the deck from freeze/thaw cycles here in the mid-Atlantic. Part of it also gives us utility of the boat for projects during the winter. A small space heater and small fan to circulate the air, maybe a modestly sunny day, and it's quite comfortable working in the cockpit or below deck. Also allows me to take things like drop boards home for some TLC.
 

Kevin A Wright

Member III
Ok, here's my horror story about covers.
About 30 years ago I was looking for my first sailboat and had narrowed it down to the E27. So I was checking out the ones for sale within a reasonable area. There was one for sale up on Shaw Island, owned by a guy in the Midwest. He hauled it for the winter and kept it on the hard. Evidently there was a leak in one of the top hatches so he put blue tarps over it covering not just the tops but the portlights as well. He gave me the combination and I ran up on the ferries on my motorcycle (so you don't have to wait in line on the WA ferries). When I got there I found the tarps and luckily had a small flashlight in my saddle bags since it was pitch dark inside.

When I went down below everything I looked at seemed "out of focus". Thought my eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the dark and the flashlight wasn't very bright. Then I touched something and found that every surface was "fuzzy", covered with about an inch of mold. I located some small green doughnuts in one of the cubbies that must have been a sack of bagels that had gone bad. With no light and the whole winter to work that bread mold had covered every surface of the interior. Even the teak was thick with it (mold must be able to eat teak oil).

Needless to say I didn't buy that one. But I try to make sure some light is getting into my boat during the long winters we have here as well as keeping the desiccant topped up (used to keep a small heater going until PT went to metered power at ridiculous rates). So if you want a cover in the PNW, I'd go with one that doesn't totally shut out the light.

Kevin Wright
E35 Hydro Therapy
 

Filkee

Sustaining Member
Furry Boats

Aylwin had been wrapped in plastic for five years (maybe three but five is a better story) when I found her. Every exterior surface was greenish and everything inside was furry. Quint will put on a life jacket before she sees shrink wrap again. My cover breathes and I usually leave the cockpit port and hatch boards open to make sure there's plenty of airflow.
 
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