How to Make a Winter Cover for a Boat
Leaves and snow mean problems for a boat that's wintering over outside. The snow will melt on your cockpit cover, form puddles and eventually leak into your boat just because it was lying steady on one part of the cover. The leaves will be a mess on top of the cover that--when you try to remove the cover for fitting out next season--will make a wet, moldy mess in the cockpit. The obvious solution is a winter cover that's peaked, like a roof, to shed leaves, snow and rain.
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Things You'll Need
- Marine canvas
- Measuring tape
- Chalk
- PVC pipe
- PVC 90-degree elbow joints
- PVC purple primer
- PVC cement
- 2 metal Christmas tree stands
- Polypropylene line
- Sewing machine or sailmaker's kit
Instructions
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Measure the length and width of your boat with measuring tape, then measure from the top of the side amidships to the keel. Multiply the distance from the top side to the keel by two and add the result to the width measurement. Transfer these dimensions to the marine canvas sheet by marking them on the canvas sheet with chalk, then cut the canvas to these dimensions with heavy scissors.
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Measure from the deck of your cockpit straight up to the top of your windshield. Add 3 inches to this measurement. Cut two pieces of PVC pipe to this height. Measure from the center of your windshield to your transom. Subtract 2 feet from this measurement. Cut one piece of PVC to this length.
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Swab PVC purple primer into the inside of the elbows and around the outside of the pipe ends and allow the primer to dry. Swab PVC cement into the inside of the elbows and around the outside of the pipe ends, push the elbows onto the ends of the pipe and give a twist so that the open ends of both elbows point in the same direction. Glue each of the shorter pieces of PVC into an elbow joint following the same procedure.
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Attach the metal Christmas tree stands to the bottom of the two shorter pipes securely; the Christmas tree stands should hold the U-shaped frame upright. Set this framework lengthwise into the cockpit of your boat.
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Turn and sew the edges of the marine canvas inward to form a 1-1/2 inch pocket and hem, leaving the corners open. Lace polypropylene line through the length of the hem and pocket to form a drawstring. Throw the marine canvas cover over the boat and the frame and stretch the canvas across the frame. Pull the drawstring tight and tie the ends of the polypropylene line together in a reef knot.
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