Cost effective Boat Cover

[MagicalArmchair]

I'm looking for a boat cover for a 35 foot gaffer to protect her from the weather whilst she is laid up. I am looking for something effective yet won't break the bank, any suggests?

 

[bigwow]

Look for a local truck curtain side manufacturer, they will be pleased to get rid of a couple of old ones.

 

[VicS]

I'm looking for a boat cover for a 35 foot gaffer to protect her from the weather whilst she is laid up. I am looking for something effective yet won't break the bank, any suggests?

It will be a tad on the expensive side but if it is something you will use regularly and would want to last for a good few years get a cover made from the heavy duty material ( PVC ??) that is used for lorry covers ( and side curtains) In the long run it will be less expensive than cheaper alternatives that only last a few years .

The alternatives are the polyethylene covers from the likes of Tarpaulins Direct ... 2- 3, maybe 4, years use from the heaviest grades.

Dont even think about cheap stuff if you want it to last a full winter.

Consider two, or even three, overlapping covers for ease of access rather than one big cover.

 

[Tranona]

The actual cover is less important than the framework to support it. Wear and failures come from flapping around or being stretched over sharp edges. If it is a long term purchase then there is no substitute for a tailor made cover with vents and access points. For shorter term then construct a tent like framework with a well supported ridge and use Polytarps as suggested by VicS - but do not expect the covers to last much more than a couple of winter.

 

[VicS]

The actual cover is less important than the framework to support it. Wear and failures come from flapping around or being stretched over sharp edges. If it is a long term purchase then there is no substitute for a tailor made cover with vents and access points. For shorter term then construct a tent like framework with a well supported ridge and use Polytarps as suggested by VicS - but do not expect the covers to last much more than a couple of winter.

I found one of the benefits of the heavy PVC cover was that it did not tend to flap, although it obviously still needs to be well secured. The dis-advantage was the weight ... another reason to split it into 2 or 3 sections.

I made wooden tops ( about 6" long x 1" wide) to fit on the stanchions . Pieces of old carpet can be used to pad other projections /sharp bits when necessary.

I use the mast as a support but I keep it all as low as possible so although gives good protection as alying up cover is not so good for working under

 

[Rick_A]

I had a new skin made by a lorry cover/curtain sider maker.
I had it made to fit my 33 foot boat, one at 20x16 and the other 16x12, was £300+vat. Comes with all the tie holes
reinforced and with rope already on it. Quite expensive, but will hopefully last for 20 years. The guy I ordered it though said he had done a few boat covers and if I wanted could have had them tailored to fit the shape of boat rather than just rectangular.
The last lorry skin we had was 20 years old and still had life in it but was very tatty.
As long as it is well secured so it cant flap it will last.

 

[johnphilip]

One Solution

I had a local lorry tarp company make up two sheets from the acrylic material (slightly lighter than sprayhoods ) the aft sheet is square and the forrard one is slightly tapered and has a cut out to lace around the mast.. If you wish to extend it forrard a similar cut could be done around the forestay. At the shrouds the 2 merely but against each other but give pretty good protection.
The sheets have so far done 7 or 8 winters. I rig a timber ridge on an A frame in the cockpit and importantly lash a thin timber batten along each guardrail giving a smooth corner rather than the stanchions poking through the sheets.
Costs about 1/3 of a sailmakers cover ( but admittedly not the same thing )