Cape Dory 10 Mooring Cover questions

[Jack in Norfolk]

I'm curious to know if anyone has the mooring cover offered by CD, or an aftermarket cover. I'd like to rig one on my boat. I'd like to find out how the center is propped up to keep rain from gathering. I have seen dinghies with flexible planks running athwartships which bend slightly upwards to push the fabric up. Not sure if this is the method used by Cape Dory. My friend's Town Class sailboat has a cover rigged in this manner. There are small brackets mounted under the cockpit combing for the ends of the "battens" as he calls them. I could feasibly rig something like this under the teak inwales on my dory. But I was also thinking about using the centerboard slot as a base for an upright brace to push the cover up. Any input is much appreciated.
Thanks

[pdougburgess]

Hi Jack,

I keep my CD10 on the trailer in winter with a strong back rigged from bow to stern such that the winter cover slopes at an angle of 45 degrees. Even when I pull the winter cover as tight as I dare snow collects in the cover such that it sags down and has to be cleared manually. I don't know how relevant this is to your question about rainwater collecting in the cover during the summer but it suggests to me that if you use the battens suggested by your friend you might want to space several of them fairly close together.

Doug

[Moonshadow]

I use this. three 1x4 slats that have their own receiving slots. The slats bow up and hold the cover up. Works pretty well.

[jbenagh]

On Susan's 10ft pram, we use a special piece of wood in the mast step to use the mast as a ridge pole. She had the cover built by a place in Maine; they took measurements from the plan and it turned out very well.
We did look at a number of the batten systems you mention but this seemed more suitable for the pram.
Jeff

[Chrisa006]

Not owning one of these smaller boats my thoughts may have a flaw. When I saw the dory next to the cd22/25 my thought was flip it upside down on the trailer for storage.

[Moonshadow]

You could flip it up-side-down. That is not a bad idea, but then you would not be able to store anything inside her. I store lots of things inside. lines, anchor, sail rudder, sail, bucket with sponge, oars, etc.

[Dick Villamil]

I have the CD10 with a mooring cover. It is just that - for keeping most of the rain out of the boat while on the mooring, at a dock or on a trailer. I made curved battens that elevate about 6" at the center of the boat. Two battens are wood shaped like the intended curve and have pegs at the ends that fit into the oarlocks. I also have batten pockets that are attached to the interior of the gunwale. Even though I have all these supports there are always one or two sage that collect water. This water may seep through the cover and leaves a couple of sponge-fulls of water inside. As for holding snow - not a good idea - make a higher ridge pole as described here and keep the slope rather steep then attach lines that stretch the cover by passing under the boat to keep the cover taught. The more of these the better. I removed the snaps from the sides of the cover and use a small dimension line that ties at the stern to cinch the cover around the wood gunwales - protecting them from UV. So far everything works pretty good - all I need to do is to use a waterproofing material yearly. Keeps the leaves, air pollutants and other debris out of the boat and 95% of the water. When on the trailer I leave the plug out of the bottom so that any water that gets in merely drains out through the bottom.