Winter Cover

[tjr818]

Great photos thanks, I'm drooling!

Just wondering do you always leave the cover on when in the water? When docked though, I'd guess!

No, that would be too much work. Although the water is not yet frozen in that picture, it was only about another week before it froze over for the winter. I only use that cover for the winter. Here in Saint Louis that is usually from about Mid-November until the beginning of April. It is always tricky trying to decide when to put the cover on. We don't want to miss the last good day of sailing, but I don't want to get snow and ice on the Teak. This year we winterized and put the cover on the week before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving weekend it was 65 degrees and sunny !!! Oh well. Today it is 7 degrees and tomorrow is going to be Zero or less.

[Jim Cornwell]

Another enthusiastic vote for ShipShape (not the first I've made on this board)! I used remnants of the home made frame I'd built, comprising a self-supporting ridgepole) and patterned the cover myself. ShipShape made the cover and delivered it in plenty of time for installation in fall of '13. Perfect fit, well detailed, stoutly made. The company was extremely pleasant to work with, too! Here it is installed this past fall.

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[Paul D.]

Shrink wrap boys, shrink wrap. Do it yourself and save thousands, but you might wreck your rotator cuff! Do it with a friend and drink twice the beer too.

[JWSutcliffe]

Jim:

Based on the promo photos sent to me by Jim at ShipShape it suspected it was your 31 that was the lead boat for the matching covers he was offering. I guess I have you to thank for the excellent patterning job!

Paul:

Do-it-yourself shrink wrap is simply not a possibility for many of us in yards that prohibit it due to insurance restrictions. The two yards in the Northeast that I have been in do not allow it. In my current yard (which I am extremely pleased with overall, despite that one restriction) the cost of getting Oryx shrink wrapped was about 60% of what I paid for the ShipShape cover.

[Jim Cornwell]

That could be. I know he had made covers for other CDs before Yankee - but never a 31. However, my pattern was not only for the boat's deck plan but for the wooden ridge pole arrangement that was a left-over from my previous frame. So the pattern I made would be unique to my boat, I would think. Further, no two boats have stanchions in the same place, I've noticed. I've got a lifeline gate only on the starboard side, for instance, while others have two.

[JWSutcliffe]

I noticed that when I looked at the initial pictures, and made sure to include stanchion and lifeline gate locations in my measurements to him.

[Oswego John]

There are some owners , also shipyard operators in my area, who slack off the shrouds and the stays a few threads before putting their ships under wraps for the winter.

Is this a common practice to ease off the standing rigging while on the hard or isn't it a good idea.? Anyone else do this?

Just wondering.

O J

[Sea Hunt Video]

As those of us who religiously follow the exciting threads on this board during the winter months know all too well, this time of year is usually reserved for heated and regal discussions about the pros and cons of locked versus free wheeling props and a tiller versus a wheel. Friendships and sailing buddies have been won and lost over such threads.

This year it looks like the winter discussion will add a thread addressing the pros and cons of shrink wrap versus cloth covers. Let the jousting commence

[tjr818]

While shrink wrap my be an option for those who have to haul out every winter, it is not an option for those of us who leave our boats in the water all winter ( the common practice in this area ).
Our Canvas Store cover folds into a 1'-0" x 1'-0" x 3'-6" box for summer storage. How easy is it to store the shrink wrap? BTW tiller and unlocked

[Jim Cornwell]

Eager to seize the opportunity to steer this thread away from the shrink wrap / locked prop / tiller debate, I have to say the topic of slacking the standing rigging is an interesting one! I don't do it (or haven't yet), but it does make some sense because the hull has to change shape a little when the boat is on the hard. It goes from being evenly supported by water (distributed load in engineering terms) to being supported by its keel alone (point loading). So some of the wires have to be under considerably modified stresses. I'd guess that shrouds would all be under varying degrees of increased tension and that the forestay and backstay would be much more so as the bow and stern, overhanging the point of support, would tend to deflect a bit. But someone would have to apply the Loos gauge to know for sure. I'll try to make before and after measurements this spring. Does this increase stress harm the hull? Yankee has turned 30 and hasn't broken in half yet!

[Steve Laume]

How much does anyone think the hulls of our boats might deform when out of the water? I think this may have been a greater consideration in the days of wooden hulls.

If I were leaving Raven on the hard, with the mast up for the winter, I don't think I would slack off the rig. Maybe there would be some slight increase in the tension on some of the wires but I doubt it is as great as the load changes while sailing. A greater danger would be making the rig too loose. This would allow the rig to work all winter without the benefit of the hull being able to rock and absorb some of the movement. This constant working of the rig would be far worse than a slight increase in rig tension. Stainless tangs do not like constant flexing, Steve.

[John Danicic]

Yes, as a shrink rapper, or rather WRAPPER, I prefer to look at it as just one of the ways we boat owners use to protect our boats. Tarps, custom covers, heated buildings all work in their own fashion. Someday, I will give up the art of shrink which is quite a job to do correctly, requiring specific conditions and strong young muscles and go the custom fitted tarp route which, though heavier and not recyclable, would be fairly quick work in comparison. I do however, like the atmosphere beneath the white shrink. It completely covers the deck and allows me to work on many projects, it is warm inside on a cold day if the sun is out and allows plenty of room and even light in which to varnish the cockpit teak. The sound of rain on the shrink while warm and dry inside is one of those Spring time treats after a long northern winter. What I don't get is owners who tie gallon jugs of water to hold down their tarps but that is another topic altogether.


As for slacking off the stays. Because of our marina's method of launching and retrieving, we are required to remove both the boom and the aft stays so that the lifting frame can get close to the mast. The CD 36 has two aft stays a side (four aside altogether). These are securely tied down to the main forward stay and securely wrapped with cord to prevent slapping in the wind. I have never slacked off the other stays but have noticed no problems in the 13 winters I have done it this way. It couldn't hurt to slack them off a little unless they flap about all winter long but doing so just increases the commissioning list for Spring. And if kept tight? If the boat is solid why worry? I would be wary of any boat who's hull started bending or losing shape. I really don't think we have to worry about that from CD's.

[David van den Burgh]

Add this to the FWIW Department: I placed a Sharpie marker line on the mast inside the cabin at the partner to see if there was any hull movement when the boat went from the hard to the water and back. Nope. No movement. No observable flexing. As John said, if there was, I'd be worried.

[Jim Walsh]

It completely covers the deck and allows me to work on many projects, it is warm inside on a cold day if the sun is out and allows plenty of room and even light.

I'm a "fitted canvas cover guy" but I agree completely with John. I find reasons to visit the boat all winter and it can be pleasant to get some odd job done under the cover. My most recent excuse has been to remove my primary winches in preparation for replacement. It's not bad working under a waterproof, wind proof, cover which allows plenty of light in.

[tjr818]

"Milk" Jugs allow the bottom work to proceed at a leisurely pace with out having to keep moving ties that run under the hull from side to side. Usually right about the time the tarps are going on, everyone in the harbor is winterizing engines and heads. That leave lots of unused Antifreeze bottles available for those who don't drink milk.