Winter Covers?

[Tim Good]

Considering what damage the sun does to decks and lines, does anyone use winter covers like these?

I was considering making one like the above photo and curious if anyone else has done something similar. I suppose the biggest issue is the wind getting under it and being able to lash it down securely enough.

You can buy waterproof cordura for about £5 per meter so it could be done fairly cost effectively.

Thoughts?

 

[prv]

Over winter, all my lines are in a box in the shed. Don't expect the sun to damage my fibreglass decks.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

I'm with Pete; all my halliards are pulled down to the mast foot ( the mast is lying on deck ) then coiled and bagged away from U/V & rain etc.

GRP won't be affected by sun - well at least not white decks - but covers can do considerable damage in a gale.

Full covers also make havens for boat thieves to work on locks and hatches out of sight...

 

[Tranona]

Not sure a tight cover like that has much value on a GRP boat except that it stops dirt from getting into the cockpit. This is valuable if you have teak as that absorbs a lot of dirt from the environment. Won't really help with cordage - if you are concerned about that, take it off completely.

A proper tent like cover over the boom and down to the topsides, the full length of the boat is much more valuable, particularly on a wooden boat or one with wood decks as it keeps mess, rain and snow off but with suitable vents allows a good flow of air.

 

[VicS]

My boat is completely covered with heavy duty polytarps. The mast serves as the "ridge pole" and they extend almost to the water line. The furling drum and mast foot and masthead are inside strong plastic (rubble) sacks.

Most bits of string go home to be washed although I do not always remove the halyards.

The only intruders I have had trouble with stated to build a nest in the radar reflector one year but they soon found somewhere else