Tarping the boat for winter

This past Thursday afternoon my brother and I took off from work to tarp the boat.

 

This time we laid them out on the ground, measured and then made cuts to accommodate the mast, shrouds and stays. We also reinforced each cut with tape so it would hopefully hold up better through the winter snows and winds.

 

We put the tarps on and then used bunches of bungee cords to keep them in place.  We ran out of light before we could cut and install more permanent rope for the tie downs.

 

There are two tarps, one forward of the mast and the other aft of the mast and they overlap about 20 inches around the mast.

Thursday: Getting ready to tarp

 



Thursday: Frame and Boom Supports in the cockpit area

 

 

 

Thursday: Thursday afternoon tarp fitted

On Saturday, I we back to trim some excess tarp from around the bow and then install the rope tie downs.  I also added a piece of "Gorilla Tape" at each point where the tarps rubs against the frame.



 



Saturday: Stern area tarp

 

Saturday: Bow area tarp

 

Saturday: Starboard side looking forward

 

Saturday: Port side looking forward

 

Saturday: Added a piece of "Gorilla Tape" at each point where the tarp
rubs against the frame.  You can also see the screws my brother installed at each joint fitting.

 

Saturday: Looking forward after cutting and fitting the tarp.

 

Saturday: Looking aft after cutting and fitting the tarp.

 

 

Still Getting Ready for Winter Storage

About a week and a half ago my brother took the afternoon off and put a screw into each of the PVC frame joints. That is a lot of pilot hole drilling and screwing. Thank goodness for cordless drills.

I had to work through the weekend last week so I wasn’t able do any work on the boat.

This past Saturday, I Finished the frame by putting a vertical PVC support and a boom support in the cockpit area. I also removed the boat batteries, bow pulpit and the port side life lines and stanchions.

On Sunday my brother and I removed the starboard side stanchions, life lines and the stern pulpit.

I had to crawl into the aft cockpit locker in order to get at the bolts holding the stern pulpit. The hardest part was getting my shoulders through the narrow opening. Once inside it wasn’t too bad.

Climbing into the stern locker

 

Not so bad once inside

We attempted to put the tarp on, but the wind had picked up a bit and the tarp I bought for the area forward of the mast was too large. After trying for about an hour to get it straightened out and battling the wind we gave up and went home.