Cockpit tent - show me yours & who to speak to

MoodySabre

MoodySabre

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I'd like to get a cockpit tent before setting off for six or weeks this summer - at times there maybe 6 on board.

I looked at the lovely C&J ones at last years boat show - £1700 :eek: including a new spray hood with a zip for the tent. There must be cheaper alternatives that are acceptable quality. A demountable frame is essential.

If you have ideas for local firms and pics of yours that would be helpful. I can string a rope from mast to the single backstay and drape on blue poly tarp over that but it's only for emergency use not sustained comfort and space.

TIA
 
Skinflint reporting in :o
Made mine from an old apex tent which had a bent pole :eek:
Zip at the transom allows access to o/b and fluid drainage ;)
Threaded the boom through the ventilation holes at the top and fixed down with bungees, works for me
Could do with side entry though. Maybe when I go posh
 
MoodySabre said:
I'd like to get a cockpit tent before setting off for six or weeks this summer - at times there maybe 6 on board.

I looked at the lovely C&J ones at last years boat show - £1700 :eek: including a new spray hood with a zip for the tent. There must be cheaper alternatives that are acceptable quality. A demountable frame is essential.

If you have ideas for local firms and pics of yours that would be helpful. I can string a rope from mast to the single backstay and drape on blue poly tarp over that but it's only for emergency use not sustained comfort and space.

TIA
Click to expand...

we have a simple "Over Boom" jobbie with a slot for topping lift
works well rain & shine
 
Had a nice sprayhood made by a localish firm (not in Woodbridge) who I couldn't recommend to my worst enemy, despite it being cheap AND good quality. The plan now is also for an over boom addition but that doesn't give complete protection in bad weather.
 
Here is one we made at home on the wife's sewing machine.
tent.jpg

The material is a breathable cloth I bought on e-bay for about £15.00.
It is a bit difficult to get in and out of the cockpit with to up but it allows the companion way hatch to stay open in most weathers.
 
Had to have a new sprayhood made this summer after I put my elbow through the original. rang 2 or 3 companies, 1 got back straight away, quote similar to others - when they eventually did get back. Ordered with them, free temp repair while I waited, new once manufactured on schedule and under quote!! Don't know what their cockpit tent prices would be like, but they do what they say when they say they will within the price quoted, and keep you informed. I believe that's called service. Parker & Kay, Levington. be worth giving them a ring for a quote.

Ian
 
homemade cockpit tent

Roger,

I made one for our Moody 31. You are welcome to come over and have a look at it. It encloses the entire cockpit, with windows at the sides and in the back, and zips for access or to tie sides or back out of the way. It is suspended from the backstay, with a horizontal pole which clips onto the backstay, and the main halyard, and also has an internal frame, made from tent poles. It's far from professional quality, but does the job very adequately, and doesn't look too bad. It took about a weekend to make and a hundred quid or so in materials.

Alison
 
Nick Mussett of West Mersea has made fitted framed cockpit tents for our Barbican and for our previous Golden Hind. They zip onto the sprayhood. His workmanship is good, and costs are at probably 60%ish of the figure you quote. They certainly increase the effective size of the accommodation, and we have had kids (from the crew, not squatters) sleeping in the cockpit on occasion. We used the last one as a kennel at night too, until we heard footsteps on deck followed by a splash. Our deaf Border Collie had pushed a zip up with her nose and made an unsuccessful leap for the tender, we think on the basis it was the route ashore.

Now the kids have flown the nest, we tend to cruise with only two aboard, and rig the full tent much less often.

We've also found a simple rectangular overboom tent extremely useful - very quick to rig and easier to deal with and pack away when wet. Assuming the boom's long enough to cover the cockpit it provides basic shelter from (vertical) rain, including when unlocking the washboards etc., somewhere to hang waterproofs, and a sun shade which can fully cover the cockpit, or just shield the sun from one side if looped round the boom with both sides attached to the same guard wire.

Anyway, Nick's number is: 01206 385658
 
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When the Mods finally approve this controversial image you should see the new but basic cockpit tent we had made for Kioni last August.

Worked a treat, cooled us down in the heat and let us use the cockpit during a (brief) rainy spell. At some point we would like to add a zipped wrap-around for the stern with windows.

Excellent service and quality from Sail and Cover in Woolverstone, very fast same day service! - measured us up in Ipswich Haven marina at 9:30 then we sailed down to RHYC and picked it up at 3PM same day :D

Good price (couple of hundred quid or so with all the bungee and fittings) and we were very pleased with it - 01473 780075. Nice to deal with too.

Mussetts made our dodgers, also very satisfied with them and they are often recommended.
 
Thanks all

Just back from the boat show - Special Guest ticket don't you know :cool: Preview Day pretty quiet so peeps on stands had time to talk.

Quantum (Parker & Kay) emailed me a quote as they are doing a Moody 31 as we speak - and I thought C&J were expensive :eek:

Mr Jeckells said he comes my way every few weeks and would ring and meet me, measure up and give a free quote - very helpful.

Mussets will get a call.

Ask Crusader for a sail quote and they print it out and give it to you in a drawstring bag made of spinnaker cloth - present for a loved one "'ere dear put your dirty knickers in this" :D actually well received :)

Now where can I get £100k for a Legend 33, worth the extra £25k more than a Bav 32 any day......they seem so much bigger for an extra 2 feet length and 1 foot beam from my boat. A big derriere (boat not me:o).
 
I had a proper cockpit enclosure made and fitted (probably best not to do that yourself) last year by Wilkinson Sails of Burnham.

I had quotes from three companies, CJ Marine, Jeckylls and Wilkinsons. All the quotes were fairly similar in terms of overall cost/value to those you have had (once I worked out how to compare like-with-like). It was a close run thing and I'm sure all of them would have done a good job. In the end I used Wilkinson's because they had already been servicing/maintaining my sails and, most importantly, were local - useful I thought to get my preferences across re spec and later, when/if needed, for any mods/repairs. The Wilkinsons item was delivered and fitted to a tight timescale (my own fault) and has proved eminently serviceable and robust. (An aside: I too once got a nice bag and a quote from Crusader. The bag was so nice I gave them the order - but they never delivered anything so I won't attempt to buy anything from them again.)

For what its worth I didn't use the cockpit enclosure as much as I thought I would. Regular sailors in the crew usually appreciated it but were nowhere near as keen as I was, while the occasional sailors seemed, at best, ambivalent. I liked it but, there again, I paid for it. Although it is fairly easy to get up and down - can be done by one person but is much easier with two or more - the task often seemed onerous, especially at the end of a long day's sailing. Furthermore, if the cockpit was already wet putting the "tent" up was not immediately beneficial. The frame, by the way, is demountable but, on my boat, it proved easier to tie the frame tubes up to the backstay - mine are large and awkward to store elsewhere but I suppose a more collapsible set of tubes would be possible at extra cost.

For what they are worth, here are my observations after a season's use. Positives: warmth (while the sun shines great for drying damp stuff); shade; loads of extra space - effectively an extra room, like putting a conservatory on your house; dry; could be viewed as extra security as it presents an extra "barrier"; I'm not sure but all that side windage might have reduced sheer at anchor in strong winds (no riding sail yet). Negatives: they are generally pretty ugly and mine is no exception (got called the "boatbuncle") but some of that is down to me wanting to optimise space/headroom; makes entry/exit a bit more awkward; can get too warm on hot days (rare in UK); never as comfortable/snug as down below so not as popular as I thought it would be for lounging about whilst anchored/moored; I can't work out how to rig a V shaped riding sail (ses topic on PBO) with the "tent" up; when planning departure you really need to consider when to take it down, the aim being to store it dry as a) storing a large wet thing in the middle of the saloon is unpopular, b) one is rarely sure how long it will be before its next use and it could become smelly/mouldy if left damp.

Was it worth buying? I'd say yes - as long as it lasts quite a few seasons!

Hope this helps.
 
MoodySabre said:
Thanks all

Just back from the boat show - Special Guest ticket don't you know :cool: Preview Day pretty quiet so peeps on stands had time to talk.

Quantum (Parker & Kay) emailed me a quote as they are doing a Moody 31 as we speak - and I thought C&J were expensive :eek:

Mr Jeckells said he comes my way every few weeks and would ring and meet me, measure up and give a free quote - very helpful.

Mussets will get a call.

Ask Crusader for a sail quote and they print it out and give it to you in a drawstring bag made of spinnaker cloth - present for a loved one "'ere dear put your dirty knickers in this" :D actually well received :)

Now where can I get £100k for a Legend 33, worth the extra £25k more than a Bav 32 any day......they seem so much bigger for an extra 2 feet length and 1 foot beam from my boat. A big derriere (boat not me:o).
Click to expand...

Roger save your £100k you have a better boat than that already ;)
 
MoodySabre said:
Now where can I get £100k for a Legend 33, worth the extra £25k more than a Bav 32 any day......they seem so much bigger for an extra 2 feet length and 1 foot beam from my boat. A big derriere (boat not me:o).
Click to expand...
Noo no no no, Roger.
We test sailed one of those once. After the test sail (at Gosport) we went on to Lymington, looked at a Moody, and bought it. Need I say more.
 
Thank you Kacecar for your comments. Storage is the thing that bothers me, particularly with a large crew (not that that happens very often). Work in progress.

Don't worry the rest of you - I'm not about to change boat really (but it was nice down below) - I'm very happy with mine. And it's paid for :)
 
We have had 3 made over the years - all with zipped doors, windows & curtains. The better quality materials are lighter, pack smaller and are worth the extra in my opinion. Using the boom alone does limit headroom and a support from the aft end of the boom (like a coat hanger) transforms the area into a tunnel making a huge difference. This doesn't present any storage issues. Alternatively a permanently mounted hoop (that lies on the deck aft of the cockpit moulding when not in use) can be swung up like a hood frame of a pram. All of ours were very well made and priced by Mike Bamford 01473737414 (Woodbridge area). Sorry no pics.
 
Made Bigwow's last year, it has a metal hoop that slots into the inner pushpits then zips onto the sprayhood. The four back panels and the two sides roll up. Whole lot takes 10 mins to put up. Back is a little loose now so the tenax fastners need moving but overall it's been great.

cockpitcover8.jpg
 
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No photos I'm afraid but Gowens at Mersea used our lazybag and modified it to carry within zipped compartments (one each side) a lightweight canvas half tent which simply unzips, unrolls and clips to the rails. It joins up round the stern and overlaps the sprayhood.
Its brilliant! We can use one side only as a sun shade if we want, and its there all the time ready for instant deployment.And no finding a home for it in lockers.PM for some more info -I can look up the cost etc
 
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