Recommendations for custom boat covers?

[David Bewick]

I have a distant memory of someone posting something here (or perhaps the "other" place) about getting custom boat covers made but I have had a look in both places and have not found anything.   Can anyone recommend a company that can do a decent job "remotely"?  My own previous experience of trying to do this with a failry well know south coast sail maker was not a very happy one.

Many thanks,

David.

[Bill Jones]

David

 

I have just had two covers made by the Sail Register http://www.sailregister.co.uk/

 

This was as a result of a recommendation by another member. I am very happy with both the quality and price, and the amiable service. One was for a boat they had already made a cover for (Cruz) the other was to my measurements (Foxer). They had a discount offer - perhaps this still applies.

 

Bill

Topper Cruz 'Arion'

 

 

 

In a message dated 09/03/2011 09:15:54 GMT Standard Time, [hidden email] writes:

I have a distant memory of someone posting something here (or perhaps the "other" place) about getting custom boat covers made but I have had a look in both places and have not found anything.   Can anyone recommend a company that can do a decent job "remotely"?  My own previous experience of trying to do this with a failry well know south coast sail maker was not a very happy one.

Many thanks,

David.

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[Timmo]

My memory is that the reference to custom boat covers was in a review in 'Watercraft' by Graham. I'm sure he'll remind us of the company!

Tim

[james gilchrist]

Try Tident http://www.tridentuk.com/sailing/Boat_Covers.html they make nice covers and do a made to measure service - remotely.  I have one of their covers, but it was not made remotely as they are only up the road

 

Cheers

 

James

From: David Bewick [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]>
To: james gilchrist <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 9 March 2011, 9:15
Subject: Recommendations for custom boat covers?

I have a distant memory of someone posting something here (or perhaps the "other" place) about getting custom boat covers made but I have had a look in both places and have not found anything.   Can anyone recommend a company that can do a decent job "remotely"?  My own previous experience of trying to do this with a failry well know south coast sail maker was not a very happy one.

Many thanks,

David.

If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below:

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[Port-Na-Storm]

Hi David,
I had a custom Boat Cover made by Trident and wrote a review about it in Water Craft.


I'm very pleased with it.

It may not be as heavy duty as some but for the price was very good value and fits well.

I paid around £150 which was a bargain in comparison to the local south coast maker who wanted around £400.

They will customise the cover to suit your boat and add any extra bits like the mast cover.

You simply download their form, fill in your measurements and hey presto.

have a look here.   Trident

cheers
Graham

[Paul H (admin)]

Can anyone recommend an extremely UV resistant cover material?

MilliBee is parked outside 24/7 and every cover I've used has eventually degraded and leaked.

On a pocket cruiser there is always an area perpendicular to the mid-day sun that captures the highest insolation and breaks down easily.

Mad dogs and Englishmen.......

-Paul

[alopenboat]

On 9 Mar 2011 at 2:41, adminHBBR [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

>
>
> Can anyone recommend an extremely UV resistant cover material?
>

Many years ago I managed to get hold of some of the material they use
to make the side curtains on articulated lorry trailers. It lasted
about 15 years before it went brittle and stated breaking up.

--
Hoping for calm nights

Alastair Law,      
Yeovil, England.
<http://www.little.jim.freeuk.com>          

[Port-Na-Storm]

This company supply everything you need to make covers, tents, clothing probably even truck curtains.

They have all the belts buckles rods  and catches  and  they will send samples.

Point North

cheers Graham
 

[Jeremy]

I've no idea where to get it, but there is an alumised (shiny) plastic film around that will last for eons outside.  It also helps to keep the heat build up down.  I believe it has an outer coating of alumised Mylar, rather like a space blanket, bonded/laminated to a more conventional fabric.  I've seen it used to make wind surfer mast covers.  They use it to both keep UV off the mast whilst in transit and also to stop the heat build up in the mast bag, which might otherwise be great enough to weaken the resin bonding the carbon fibre.  Maybe a wind surfer place would know more about this stuff - I only have some offcuts that I got from Swallow Boats (they use windsurfer masts as mizzens, but don't use the bags).

The other alternative would be to find out what the vinyl is that they use to make tensioned fabric structures, like canopies and the Millennium Dome.  It seems to last for years, in all weathers.

Jeremy

[Paul H (admin)]

Thanks Graham,

I used that company for thread and needles for MilliBee's reefing. I've asked them for something like Al's suggestion of lorry side-curtains.

-Paul

[BrianP]

Here's my experience.

Any wooden boat absolutely must have a breathable cover. Don't spend a fortune on wood and varnish to ruin it with damp and condensation.

The material should be a breathable acrylic, the proper boat canvas material that is used throughout the industry.

You can buy the material here. Rod who runs it from his converted garage is really helpful. He also has all the grommets, tapes and threads you need.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Acorncanvas-Boat-Fabric-Specialists?_rdc=1

He did me a special deal on some very bright orange canvas for my sailing canoe. I made the cover for about £60 and the fitted gear bag which fits the cockpit for about £15.

My sewing is not the best, but the boat and gear will be bone dry all year long. when I leave her damp and wet after sailing, she will be dry with dried salt crystals on the cockpit floor when I return

[David Bewick]

Graham,

Many thanks.  That was the one I had in mind - I knew I had seen it soemwhere!  

I think will be getting a quote from Trident.

David.

[Forthsailoar]

Brian

Sounds good - but a lot that I read on boat covers mentions the importance of ventilation.

Do you have any problem with lack of ventilation?

I'm using a tarp at the moment and am keen to make something more effective.

Cheers

Osbert

On 9 Mar 2011, at 17:39, BrianP [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

Any wooden boat absolutely must have a breathable cover. Don't spend a fortune on wood and varnish to ruin it with damp and condensation.

The material should be a breathable acrylic, the proper boat canvas material that is used throughout the industry.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Acorncanvas-Boat-Fabric-Specialists?_rdc=1

My sewing is not the best, but the boat and gear will be bone dry all year long. when I leave her damp and wet after sailing, she will be dry with dried salt crystals on the cockpit floor when I return 

[BrianP]

Hi Osbert, the key thing is that the cover is a breathable material. That allows all the moisture to ventilate through the cover. I just went down to my boat last Sunday after  lots of rain since I took her down and she was completely dry inside.
I can only speak from experience of how well breathable covers work and boat builders advice that you should never ever use a non-breathable cover on any dinghy.
The great thing is using the correct cloth is affordable if you make your own cover.

Brian

[Paul H (admin)]

As an alternative to breathable you can allow for good ventilation. On the house drive I support MilliBee's boom and hang a tarp to create a boom tent.

The end is open facing a wall 1 metre away so is well sheltered from the rain. Also air can blow in at the side because the tarp is a loose fit. Everything stores well.

I think the ideal situation is to keep everything well covered with a hole just big enough for ventilation. During damp weather the air inside stays drier but it can dry slowly. The net result is internal humidity less volatile than exterior humidity.

One of MilliBee's washboards has a 4in x 4in slot for mast storage. That keeps the cabin air dry at all times and slows down the swings in humidity. My shed works on the same principle - it is insulated and sealed with 2in Rockwall and 6mm ply. Natural gaps around the door provides ventilation but its important to insulate the roof from condensation during severe frosts. Steel tools stay bright all winter.

-Paul

[John P]

My recommendation would be NOT to buy a custom boat cover but just to use a rectangular tarpaulin and lay it over a fore and aft pole mounted high enough above the boat that all areas will drain even when pressed down by a weight of snow. Secure it with a few ropes passed below the hull (I assume the boat is on a trailer so not difficult to pass ropes underneath.) My own boat is gunter rigged with a mast only a few inches longer than the boat so we trail the boat with the mast above the boat on props, one prop attaching to the rudder fixings and one to the stemhead fitting. The mast stays in that position to support the cover when the boat is stored in the garden. By comparison with custom boat covers, this has saved me money over the years. I get the tarpaulins from tarpaulinsdirect.co.uk, altough I expect there are other firms that sell very similar products and may well be as good or better. For my boat the right size is 16foot x 8foot. I just checked the website and see this now costs £19 in the 'topgrade' material but I see they now only do blue or white, pity since I prefer green, may need to look for a new supplier next time. They also do a 'Monotex' material, I tried this once but although it is heavier it seemed to rot at least as quick. These tarps come with the eyelets fitted to secure them, also silly bits of cheap rope that I through away, I always seem to have old halyards or such like that are much better rope.  The point is that this type of tarpaulin lasts about 3 years, other people here have talked about custom covers that cost many times more than that and probably do last longer, but not many times longer.

John

[Forthsailoar]

I'm using just such a tarp at the moment, using my mast as a ridge pole. What I dislike about the arrangement is:
- it's a pain to tie down. I need to use lots of ropes to keep it taut enough to avoid pooling, so it's a slow process, one I'd rather avoid after a sail.
- However careful I am, water still gets inside. Whether this is rain blown under gaps, or running through the mast hole in the deck, or condensation, I don't know.
- any water that gets in stays in.

I am attracted by the idea of the breathable cover, and would make one myself. I'm making a boat tent now and getting on fine with the seeing machine!

For the tent I'll have hooks below the gunwale and along the coaming; I could use these with bungie for the cover as well and it would be quick to fit and remove. I have a plan to use the main mast as a ridge pole when trailing, but to leave the masts up at other times and run the halyard to a strong point on the cover to lift it up.

Wish the tarp DID work for me - less work, but it DON'T!

Cheers

Osbert

[John P]

Hi Osbert
Just thought I would snap a quick pic of our boat on its trailer outside our house, to show you how we arrange the tarp. Note that there is no mast hole in the tarp, that probably would let water in. We just use the tarp as it is supplied with the gunter mast as a ridge pole. I think there are about 5 or six ropes under the boat to hold the tarp down. We have the ropes permanently spliced to the eyelets on one side of the tarp, so they only need to be tightened and tied from the other side. I would not tow the boat like that, the tarp is only for storage, we dont have a cover on the boat when towing it. As the pic shows, there is a bit of a gap at the ends of the tarp, that is probably a good thing because it allows ventilation. From my experience, the life of these cheap tarps is about 3 to 5 years, it may depend on how much they are shaded from the sun. We find they first start to de-generate where they drape over the mast. What we have been doing in recent years is to use the newest tarp on top and an older one underneath to protect the new one against any chafe. Every few years we buy another new one and the previous new one goes underneath. Our boat has been standing outside like this for about the last 35 years  and has come to no harm so I can recommend this economical arrangement. I have seen so many boats in dinghy parks where expensive fitted covers have sagged, allowing water to pool and then go stagnent, or allowing the boat to fill through some gap in the cover.
John

[Forthsailoar]

Thanks! The big difference I see is that you tarp completely covers the whole length of the boat. My Walkabout 16' by 5 something, and the tarp only covers the cockpit - it's decked at both ends, with a coaming round the cockpit.

The standard sizes of tarp don't fit long thin boats well - a longer tarp would be too wide to tie down at the sides! And once I start having custom sized tarps made I wonder whether I should just go the full hog!

I think the water must be getting in through the mast hole in the DECK, not tarp. And also the tunnel for the tiller lines.

Will keep thinking!

Osbert

[Forthsailoar]

To follow up my last message, here are some snaps of my set up. It's also difficult to keep the tarp taut enough to shed water.

















Osbert

Osbert Lancaster | changemaking consultant & facilitator
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