Tiedowns for Boat Cover

[MASH]

What bright ideas are there for tiedowns for a boat cover? My cover has metal eyelets so I'd like something that attaches to them and maybe with a hook or quick-release and adjuster, but needs to be reliable enough to leave unattended for long periods.

 

[prv]

Rope?

Pete

 

[pcatterall]

I try to use something 'elastic' in order to keep a bit of tension on at all times. Anything else and no matter how well tensioned it starts to flap in no time. Just simple hooks seem to work fine as long as the tension is there.
I have found that the eylets in the cheap plastic covers always seem to tear out so I ignore them now and use the clamp on gadgets on two folds of the sheet. They seem to work well.

 

[wooslehunter]

Eyelets pull out & are often not in th eright places. Take a look here:

http://www.tarpaulinsdirect.co.uk/TarpaulinsSite/product/HOMD.htm

As long as the cover has a cord along the edge these will clip on where you need them. I have no relationship with these guys except as a customer.

 

[prv]

Agree about the crappy eyelets on blue builder's polytarp - I assumed by the OP's use of "cover" rather than "tarpaulin" that he had something more substantial.

I generally tie onto polytarp by putting a small pebble, acorn, etc into the material and tying around the neck of the "bag" so formed.

Pete

 

[rob2]

My spray dodgers are attached with tent rubber tensioners. The mushroom head hold in the eyelets and the ring fits on the hooks. You could attach lines to the rings and maybe find some of those clips which consist of two opposed hooks - they fit over the guardwire and twist through 90 deg to engage the hooks (can't think of a name for them).

Rob.

 

[Quandary]

I have a heavy pvc cover with taped edges ( Like on a Tautliner truck) and substantial eylets, but it can be windy here with snow.
For each eylet I have a disc, cut from 9mm. plywood with a hole cutter, bit bigger than the eye, through each disc I have a loop of heavy (9mm.) shock cord about a foot long. These in turn are tensioned by cheap polypropylene rope down to the cradle. I used to tie the cover over the lifelines but a storm bent two of them, so now I take the stanchions off and bring the cover down to the toe rail, this way rain and heavy snow slide off better without ponding. The custom cover from a truck cover maker was expensive so by putting an even load on the eylets they should not distort or pull out. You also need to use some pipe insulation to avoid chafe.

 

[Norman_E]

Where I keep my boat, quite a few people have boat covers and a favourite method seems to be to attach thin ropes about a metre or so long to each eyelet and then run out the anchor chain and lead it all the way round the boat. By tying each short rope to the anchor chain, the chain's weight keeps the cover in place, whilst the chain itself is kept off the ground.

 

[alahol2]

A lot of folks round here hang 4 litre milk containers (filled with water) round most of the tarp. There are only a couple of actual tie downs to keep the whole thing in place.

 

[VicS]

I have always used ropes through the eyelets and under the hull.
Snugged down but not overtightened.

Potentially the covers could slide round but they never have.

Front corner I tie down to something heavy on the ground