Yacht Cover

[Ceirwan]

I'm trying to fabricate some sort of shelter or cover so that i can work on my yacht whilst keeping it dry!
Its only important that i keep the deck dry, the hull and keel are fine exposed, as i'm doing an interior rebuild and a lot of deck work i need room to work under the cover as well.

Does anyone have any ideas or even better pictures of good shelters they have come up with?
Current thoughts are a long central pole about 5' above the deck and then flexible pvc tubing bent around it and to the toe rail and covered with a tarpaulin to create a sort of dome shape that can be worked underneath.
Anyone have any thoughts?

Cheers

 

[benlui]

Interesting Blog you have there. Try asking the local Tesco or alternative supermarket if they have any "left over" canopys from billboards etc that they mite be looking to get rid of! There is a very fancy 52 footer in our local marina with a Tesco cover, "printed part turned inside" covering the entire deck! Looks the business too and sure looks like it does the job! Best of luck in your adventure, i too am young and understand the whole "limited funds part"

 

[Ceirwan]

I found a place online called dancover that makes tents, until i saw the price.... something like 1500 for a few poles and a tarpaulin!
Thats obscene!

 

[Poignard]

There was a thread about this a few weeks ago. you might find some helpful ideas there. I did.
web page

 

[alahol2]

I've got a similar thing, my mast takes the place of your 'central pole' then use the blue (25mm) water pipe from a builders merchant to make arches. You need several longitudinals, maybe 4 in all, to keep the arches from bending sideways. Hold the whole thing together with gaffer tape. It's a bit of a cats cradle when building it but, once all tied together it's surprisingly strong. A cheap tarpaulin overall completes the structure. Of course, the penthouse version uses the rather more expensive 'clear' tarpaulin.

Edit
Ah! just saw the other thread, could have saved all that typing...

 

[Csail]

years ago i aquired the tarp off an artic. can't remember where but try a commercial breaker. then just hire some scafholding.

 

[Slinky Spring]

This site seemsto be quite well priced
Monarflex tarpaulins

 

[Aeolus]

Have just done exactly the same. My boom doesn't go sufficiently far back to support a cover so I suspended a whisker pole from a halyard at the front and tied the pole to the backstay to provide a ridge for the 'tent'. I tied a rope from the front of the whisker pole to the toe-rails on each side to minimise movement. I also tied a rope in the same way from the rear end of the whisker pole down to the stern quarters. Then a transparent tarpaulin from QVS Online (on ebay) plus a kit to add some eyes round the edge, rigged the tarpaulin over the pole, cutting a 1.5 metre slit so that it could fold behind the backstay to form the rear end of the tent (reinforce the inner end of the slit so that it doesn't tear with some tarpaulin repair tape). Then tied the edges of the tarpaulin to the toerail with bungee ropes, raised the whisker/ridge pole to tension the tarpaulin, and then tied some additional webbing toerail to toerail over the tarpaulin to limit how much it will billow in the wind. Entry is via the stern. Stood up to gale winds and torrential rain at the weekend with no damage and the cockpit was bone dry.