winter storage

[Brian Hickson]

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks



briancd25d@aol.com

[Don S.]

Brian,
I've done it both ways, mast up and mast down. With the mast up I used a light frame made from 5/4" pine or 1"x2"s, the "X'braces were pinned with 1/2" dowels. You'll need two tarps The aft one should wrap around the mast a much as possible and secured with duct tape. The forward one, then, overlaps the aft one by a foot or two. Assuming the boat is pointing into the prevailing wind, you'll be all set. But dropping the mast makes the whole process a lot easier. The mast becomes the support. The bow and stern pulpits are plenty strong enough to support the mast. I add a plastic milk case fwd of the sliding hatch to support it in the middle. Take off the lifeline stanchions and add a couple of pieces of rope from the mast to the toerail and to the winches to keep the tarp from sagging.Whatever you decide, keep the excess tarp to a minimum. Flogging loosens the ropes, rips the grommets and destroys the material pretty quickly. Make sure you pad any sharp edges with carpet. In our area we need to stuff a little bird netting into the hole at the peak and stern to keep the Spring Finch nests out.

Have fun...
Don Sargeant
~~COQUINA~~
CD25D #189
Greenwich Cove

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

don@cliggott.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame.<<

You don't mean a frame over the boat including the mast, right? I've never seen that and would think the wind would have a joyride with it.

I left the mast up last year and otherwise put shrink wrap over the boat. You have to work around the mast, shrouds, etc., but the boom replaces a need for a lot of framework. Water will work its way down the shrouds and stays, so it's not perfect.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Chris Reinke (CD330 Innis]

Brian - I have stored my boat in a variety of ways. I have removed the mast and stored it in a dedicated storage rack (yard required to reduce overhang in yard). That season I fabricated a frame system out of PVC pipe and joints which was covered with a single large tarp. After removing the lifeline cable I was able to slide the pipe over the stanchions. I then used several 45 degree joints to construct the frame. The following season I was in a different yard and secured the mast on top of the boat. I used the same PVC framing system and tarp. The past two seasons I remained in the water in a marina which supplied an anti-freezing bubble system. The only disadvantage was that the annual inspection of the rigging required a bit more time in the bosons chair.

This season I have the option of staying in or coming out. If I come out I have the option of leaving the mast up or taking it down. I will be watching the other responses you receive and would appreciate any other comments or advise our fellow CD owners may have.

Chris Reinke

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Chris.reinke@transamerica.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>I will be watching the other responses ...<<

The issue of mast up or down has gotten considerable discussion on Compuserve's Sailing Forum. The short version of the conclusions is as follows:

1 - It's virtually impossible to fit a cover around the mast and stays. Virtually every night, water will condense on the stays. Then the sun melts the frost and it runs down inside the cover to the deck. There, it spends the winter freezing/thawing/freezing/thawing, etc.

2 - Winter wind will stress the rig, chainplates and hull, since the boat can't react to the forces while on stands.

That said, lots of masts stay up for the winter and don't fall down the following summer. <g>

This year, LIQUIDITY's mast will come down. Last year, it stayed up.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Matt Cawthorne]

Brian,
Most of the boats in my area (Maryland) leave the mast up over the winter. Structurally nothing is wrong with it. I agree that covering as much of the boat as possible is good. Any loads on the mast are relatively minor compared to sailing. I had a cover made up out of canvas, but I think that the shrink wrap idea might make better sense. If I get less than 10 years of service out of the cover then the shrink wrap would be cheaper. The cover is made to fit around the shrouds (CD-36). Some water does run down the shrouds when it rains, but that dries out due to the ventilation. There is seldom any ice on the deck anywhere under the cover.
The cost of pulling the mast on a larger boat gets kind of expensive. I have to rent the yard's crane, crane operator and 3 yard workers for an hour when it is pulled and for two when it goes back together. The rig then has to be re-tuned. It is a hastle. I prefer to pull the mast every 4 to 5 years for inspection/ paint touch up, but leave it up for the rest of the time with an annual trip up the mast for inspection each year.
My frame consists of a ridge pole made of 4 inch PVC pipe supported at intervals by pairs of straight legs of 1.5 inch pvc pipe. You can get fittings that fit the 1.5 and 4 inch pipe together. I glue some of the joints, but use sheet metal screws to connect others. That way the system can be disassembled and carried home on the car. Once the ridge pole is up I put hoops of 3/4 inch pvc pipe over the ridge pole and hook them to the stanchions with hose clamps. The cover goes over the whole mess. When this is in place I can walk around the entire deck and work on the boat.
If you live in an area with the possibility of lots of snow/ice I would recommend using lots of supports if you intend to use your mast as a support.
Try and put any ridge pole up high enough that the tarp will not allow puddles. One nasty winter I used blue poly tarps and a low ridge pole without hoops. We got about 18 inches of ICE that winter and when I went to the boat the tarp had stretched and formed huge ice puddles that weighed hundreds of pounds.

One drawback of leaving the mast up is that if you stay on the boat in the winter the wind can shake the mast/rigging and make it sort of noisy to sleep.
I always worry about the boat blowing over. When I asked the yard manager if that has ever happend he said that it happened in our yard only one time. That was during the summer about 10 years ago. A thunderstorm brought some extreamly high winds and two boats were toppled.

In a perfect world I would store the boat in a building over the winter or sail it to the south Pacific.

Have fun.

Matt

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

mcawthor@bellatlantic.net

[chuck yahrling]

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Whatever you do, be sure not to lash any tarps or covers to the jackstands. On windy days the flapping of the cover will vibrate the stands loose. This is probably the most frequent cause of boats falling over - at least for boats that were properly supported.

If you use a cradle this is probably not so much of an issue.



yahrling@cybertours.com

[Kurt]

For the best price on a custom made winter cover, shop where truckers buy their tarps...here in the Detroit area I recommend Detroit Tarpaulin located in Dearborn, Michigan. I have purchased several heavy weight canvas tarps from them over the past 25 years...they take orders over the phone and the tarp is ready in a week. I purchased my current one in 1993 for $110.00 and expect another couple years service out of it (CD26).



kjlgpw@aol.com

[Jerry]

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Whatever you do, be sure not to lash any tarps or covers to the jackstands. On windy days the flapping of the cover will vibrate the stands loose.

The jack stands should be chained together so they CAN'T vibrate loose.

[chuck yahrling]

Hello. Does anyone store their boat with the mast up, with tarps covering a frame. Is this feasible? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Whatever you do, be sure not to lash any tarps or covers to the jackstands. On windy days the flapping of the cover will vibrate the stands loose.

The jack stands should be chained together so they CAN'T vibrate loose.

OF COURSE they should be chained, but that won't stop a tarp from yanking the stand out in a fore-and aft direction. Regardless, you shouldn't tie anything else to them. If you don't believe me, go ask your boatyard.



yahrling@cybertours.com

[neil gordon]

>>Whatever you do, be sure not to lash any tarps or covers to the jackstands.<<

And be careful that the stands are on firm ground. With heavy spring rain, the ground under the stands can turn to muck, causing the stands to sink.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com