deck canopy for winter storage

[swoosh]

I own a 36 foot Pearson cutter heading for winter storage on open land. I want to cover the deck to keep off rain and snow during the winter. Will appreciate advice, diagrams, etc. on how to construct a cheap structure of PVC or metal tubing or wood to support tarps.

[waterant]

Hi,

Here are the photos of how we did that. Took half a day for 2 guys and $50 worth of 2x4, 1x3 and 2x2







I got cheap tarp for $25 (20'x40') - big mistake. Mother nature needed a week to almost destroy it - i'm going to the boat every weekend to patch with tape. Get heavy duty tarp. I'll see another week and if this one still does not hold will get something like this:

Silver Poly Tarp Sold Individually

White Canvas Tarps

and this frame is though enough to cover with drywall

Hope this helps.

[NICHOLSON58]

Agree on the heavy tarp. Silver or white extra heavy duty. Also, make sure you add chafe protection. Any projection, even rounded will punch a a hole in any poly tarp. I stored this way for three years and replaced some tarps anually. We now have one of those super nice canvas winter covers. They do a nice job on boats under 45 feet especially if they have flush decks and no thwarts. Our thwart is an 8-inch riser all around the hull.

Watch out for condensation inside the cabin if you button it up tight. Water happens.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by waterant

Hi,

Here are the photos of how we did that. ....Hope this helps.

I make the assumption that the beautiful yellow hull is painted...if so you should not have the plastic tarp covering any part of the hull. The plastic will tend to collect condesation that will be absorbed by the paint producing blisters, while the continuous movement of the knots and grommets are likely to abrad the gloss of the finish. If the finish is actually colored gelcoat, then never mind..

[NICHOLSON58]

True about the grommets. The strings can also mark the hull. We bought ours from My Website The owner makes most of the boat shows where you can get quite a discount. If he has a pattern for your boat & nothing tricky it may be as easy as an E-Mail. They sound expensive but they have a long life guarantee. Never buy another palstic tarp and it fits.