Winter cover (or not) options?

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1

Posted by Alan (akusinitz@…>)

For most of the years I’ve owned my F-33 its been stored inside in
the winters (New England).

This year it will be stored outdoors and I’d appreciate any advice.
I believe the previous owner just set up a boom tent over the cockpit
on the mizzen boom.

Orginally I was thinking of covering the boat either with canvas or
with a custom canvas cover. The costs and work to set it up and then
space to store have me rethinking this. Shinkwrap covers worry me
due to limited ventilation.

I have a very large dodger and an awning that attaches to it and the
mizzen and can be lowered to work almost lock a cockpit cover at deck
level.

My F-33 cockpit drains through a slot in the transom so there are no
scuppers or hoses to fill with water or snow and freeze.

I’m thinking of either not covering the boat at all beyond this or
perhaps using tarps as boom tents on each tied to the lifelines to
cover just parts of the boat.

Any advice, cautions, suggestions?

Thanks,
Alan F-33 Hull #51 1982

2

Posted by Al Lorman (ajl@…>)


Alan:

I
made a quite acceptable winter cover for my former F30 using 1” gray PVC
electrical conduit for the bows and a 30 x 40 silver tarp from Harbor
Freight. The conduit bends pretty easily and I attached each bow to the boom
with strapping tape (where it crossed the boom). It was not as pretty as a
custom canvas cover, but it actually worked about as well (I even had an access
door). I’ve had boats both covered and uncovered over the winter,
and covered certainly keeps them a lot cleaner. At least on the
Chesapeake, a cover also traps enough heat so that I was able to work on the boat
in the winter fairly comfortably.

Al
Lorman



From: FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Alan
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 8:19 AM
To: FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [FreedomOwnersGroup] Winter cover (or not) options?

\




For most of the years I’ve owned my F-33 its
been stored inside in
the winters (New England).

This year it will be stored outdoors and I’d appreciate any advice.
I believe the previous owner just set up a boom tent over the cockpit
on the mizzen boom.

Orginally I was thinking of covering the boat either with canvas or
with a custom canvas cover. The costs and work to set it up and then
space to store have me rethinking this. Shinkwrap covers worry me
due to limited ventilation.

I have a very large dodger and an awning that attaches to it and the
mizzen and can be lowered to work almost lock a cockpit cover at deck
level.

My F-33 cockpit drains through a slot in the transom so there are no
scuppers or hoses to fill with water or snow and freeze.

I’m thinking of either not covering the boat at all beyond this or
perhaps using tarps as boom tents on each tied to the lifelines to
cover just parts of the boat.

Any advice, cautions, suggestions?

Thanks,
Alan F-33 Hull #51 1982


\

3

Posted by Harvey Notov (harv17@…>)

I’ve used shrinkwrap for the last 5 yrs. I haven’t had any problems
vis: condensation. Venting is needed for the s’wrap & the boat. The
boat has 2 Nico vents that does a go job.
Harv…Invicta II

Sent from my iPhone

4

Posted by geraldfreshwater (freshwater@…>)

How cold does it get where you are, and how windy?

I wintered my F35 (aka33) in Sweden twice; the first time I failed to drain the
calorifier,
thinking that emptying the water tanks would do it. The resulting leak was
spectacular
and needed (difficult and expensive) replacement, not repair, but the
temperatures were
-20 centigrade. The nice covers weren’t enough to stop it freezing!

Usually she sits out all winter here, further North but rarely freezing, with a
tarpaulin over
the cockpit. Winds of 60-70mph are not uncommon, and I tie the tarp to the
toerail with a
lashing every 50cm or so. This usually lasts, although it needs a new
polypropylene tarp
every year. Tying it to the lifelines would probably shake them out, if the boat
didn’t take
off first. It keeps the guano off, but doesn’t help with dust.

You would need a close fit to keep dust out, and shrink wrap sounds ideal, but
you
couldn’t work on board without destroying the cover, or having a special hatch
built in. A
good coating of wax polish, washed off in the spring, would probably remove the
dirt
quite easily, but it can tend to seal in oily stains, as I have found here after
a bad blow
from the oil fueled power station just upwind.

I would suggest that the sprayhood (dodger) would benefit most from being stored
undercover, away from dust, dirt and ultraviolet rays. Remove that and the
wheel, then a
tarp can be lashed down fairly flat from the cutwater behind the mizzen to the
aft end of
the cockpit, covering the hatch but allowing access by lifting back just the
forward edge. A
vent in the washboard would keep the saloon ventilated. Another tarp could go
from the
mizzen to the main, over a lowered boom, and the forward hatch could be kept
open a
crack under that if the usual vents are inadequate. This works fairly well with
Castaway.

Hard luck to lose your indoor storage!

Regards,

Gerald Freshwater,
Shetland Isles

5

Posted by Alan Kusinitz (akusinitz@…>)


My boat used to be in Northern Vermont so I’m well versed
in winterizing as the temperatures would sometimes go to -30 F.

Its now in Boston which can also get cold and have some big
snowstorms.

Thanks for your advice.

Yes the inside storage was great as although it wasn’t
heated it was always dry and I could just turn on a space heater in the boat and
work on it any time. The hassle of stepping and unstopping the masts and
booms and all running rigging was a bit of a pain though.

Alan



From:
FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of geraldfreshwater
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 1:35 PM
To: FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [FreedomOwnersGroup] Re:Winter cover (or not) options?

\




How cold does it get where you are, and how
windy?

I wintered my F35 (aka33) in Sweden twice; the first time I failed to drain the
calorifier,
thinking that emptying the water tanks would do it. The resulting leak was
spectacular
and needed (difficult and expensive) replacement, not repair, but the temperatures
were
-20 centigrade. The nice covers weren’t enough to stop it freezing!

Usually she sits out all winter here, further North but rarely freezing, with a
tarpaulin over
the cockpit. Winds of 60-70mph are not uncommon, and I tie the tarp to the
toerail with a
lashing every 50cm or so. This usually lasts, although it needs a new
polypropylene tarp
every year. Tying it to the lifelines would probably shake them out, if the
boat didn’t take
off first. It keeps the guano off, but doesn’t help with dust.

You would need a close fit to keep dust out, and shrink wrap sounds ideal, but
you
couldn’t work on board without destroying the cover, or having a special hatch
built in. A
good coating of wax polish, washed off in the spring, would probably remove the
dirt
quite easily, but it can tend to seal in oily stains, as I have found here
after a bad blow
from the oil fueled power station just upwind.

I would suggest that the sprayhood (dodger) would benefit most from being
stored
undercover, away from dust, dirt and ultraviolet rays. Remove that and the
wheel, then a
tarp can be lashed down fairly flat from the cutwater behind the mizzen to the
aft end of
the cockpit, covering the hatch but allowing access by lifting back just the
forward edge. A
vent in the washboard would keep the saloon ventilated. Another tarp could go
from the
mizzen to the main, over a lowered boom, and the forward hatch could be kept
open a
crack under that if the usual vents are inadequate. This works fairly well with
Castaway.

Hard luck to lose your indoor storage!

Regards,

Gerald Freshwater,
Shetland Isles




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