CD Typhoon winter cover

[smichelis]

We own a Typhoon (18.5 ft. in NY) and want to put a cover on for the winter. Having one made professionally turned out to be quite expensive. Does anyone have advice how to make one yourself? Im curious about the design, material, advice in general.

This year we will have the mast removed, perhaps other years we'll have it stepped.

Kind regards, Sander

[Dick Villamil]

I made two mast supports - one for the bow and one for the stern. They are about 18" high and have a channel for the mast to lay in. Supports are like an H. Then I made a "T" out of 2 x 4 lumber that also has a "U" at the top to straddle the mast amidship just aft of the companionway. I tie the mast to the boat for and aft with a line to the bow cleat and stern cleat. Then I made hoops out of 1" and 1.25", 100 psi poly pipe. In the center of each hoop (long enough to reach over the sides of the boat after laying on top of the mast athwartship. In the center I drilled a 1/4" hole through which I poked a single strand of 14 gauge wire long enough to wrap around the mast to hole the poly pipe in place. I made each hoop long enough starting from the bow to the stern - so that each hoop is a slightly different length. I also drilled a hole a couple of inches from each end of the pipe and inserted a 1/4" nylon rope. The rope is used to tie the hoop taught to the trailer frame (or cradle). After the hoops are tied in place (about 16" apart) I then tied a plastic tarp (medium weight is best) over all hoops and then tied it to the trailer. Making sure that the tarp is stretched tightly to prevent sagging the plastic tarp is slippery and snow will slide off. Since the mast is supported in 3 places it acts as an excellent ridgepole without damage to the mast. I do make sure that I clean heavy snow off periodically. I tie the bow and stern portions of the tarp together but leave an air space to allow air flow under the tarp to prevent any condensation inside the boat. The frame has lasted 10 years so far and the tarp needs replacing every 5-6 years. Total cost is about $125 and comes out to about $15 per year! MUCH cheaper than a professionally done shrink wrap.

[Joegunz]

Don't know if you like to sew or have a machine, but here's some instructions from Sailrite. They're a good company with lots of info on canvas projects of all types. I recently made a Dodger for my CD33 and except for the price of the machine, it was pretty cost effective compared to having one made professionally.
https://www.sailrite.com/How-to-Make-a- ... boat-Cover