Snow protection

[LordElsinore]

Hi all. Like many of you, I've thrown the tarp on my and declared the season over. I have one of those big custom tarps from BWY and it's ok, but I find that it pools water from the snow and I end up having to climb up and remove insanely heavy iceberg chunks of ice several from the tarp several times during the winter - or at least I do that because I worry that all that weight on top of the tarp will bend the mast or cause some other type of damage. And it's complicated by the fact that I store it at our cabin property which is about 4 hours away and gets a TON of snow (my dang HOA won't let me store it here ) so I can't exactly walk outside and brush the snow off every day.

Obviously there are some solutions to the problem if money weren't an object:

- I could shell out money to store it in a storage place
- I could build a garage/structure to store it in

But I'm curious if any of you find yourself in a similar situation where you get significant snow, store your boat under a tarp, and have had to deal with those weight concerns. I suspect I could fashion some kind of braces or something to prop the mast up off the deck, sliding hatch, and cockpit areas and that might help prevent the mast from flexing, getting bent or worse. But there are probably other things to be concerned about too.

I'm curious to hear what some of the rest of you do

[Russ]

I'm not familiar with the BWY tarp. I have a cheap semi-disposable tarp I use. Lasts a few years and replace.

The key is to build "ribs" and cushion pointy things like stanchions and mast hounds with stuff like scraps of carpet etc.
Typically I've used PVC pipe to bend into an arch. Last year I used a slightly modified version of Adre's tarp.

You will need to support the mast at the step. I use 2 2x4s screwed together with a U slot under the mast. I bought a roll of irrigation tubing, cut into inverted U shapes, and tied them down to the trailer. Cover is then tied down snug and it sheds snow very well.

I've made mistakes in previous years. Not enough "ribs" and or "ribs" that were not secured and popped out. One year my mast support 2x4 popped out and a snow load smashed the mast down to the deck. I came to check on the boat and found the mast bent and against the deck. I freaked out. "Gonna need to buy a new mast," I thought. After clearing the massive ice clump that formed in the valley, the mast popped back into normal shape. What a relief!

Here are some pics of Andre's system. He raised the mast where it attaches to the bow pulpit. I did NOT do this. The advantage of raising it seems to be a better shape of the inverted U ribs, especially to get them above the lifeline stanchions. Mine worked fine without doing this, however I padded the stanchions with scraps of carpet. I also used a piece of carpet over the mast hound to protect the tarp from chaffing on rigging.




More discussions.
viewtopic.php?t=24952&start=15

[LordElsinore]

Thanks Russ. Exactly the kind of response I was hoping to get back. I had been toying with a similar idea of using PVC to create a "skeleton" of sorts. The suggestion of raising the front of the mast is brilliant, since it's the valley between the mast and the stantions/lifelines that causes my issues.

Thanks for the pics and the link to the other thread. Looks like good stuff in there as well

[Russ]

Yea, the valley with the stanchions is the issue.

I'm considering raising the mast forward also this year. That's going to require some carpentry work and a new mid-support, but it may be worth it.

When My mast bent down to the deck, it was actually an ice pocket in the cockpit near the main hatch that pulled it down. One of my "ribs" came loose and created a massive lake in the cover. Probably several hundred pounds of ice bending the mast down to the top of the deck. I really thought it was ruined. After breaking up the ice and relieving the weight, the mast popped back up.

Typing this now makes me think it's worth the effort to raise the mast in the bow so water can run off better. I haven't put the cover on and the weather is good for doing some carpentry.

I have a camera on the boat that I use to check on it because it's in a storage lot.

[dlandersson]

Ditto

I'm not familiar with the BWY tarp. I have a cheap semi-disposable tarp I use. Lasts a few years and replace.

The key is to build "ribs" and cushion pointy things like stanchions and mast hounds with stuff like scraps of carpet etc.
Typically I've used PVC pipe to bend into an arch. Last year I used a slightly modified version of Adre's tarp.

[LordElsinore]

I'm not familiar with the BWY tarp.

In case anyone is interested, this is the custom tarp that Blue Water Yachts sells. It fits really well (no bagginess at all), has held up well for the last 3 years and even includes the tennis balls for the stantions. But by itself it did nothing for the snow and ice problem of course. I haven't tried it with the suggestions that you have had - making the ribs, raising the front of the mast etc, so I don't know how well it would fit over those things. And I do have a couple of holes in mine since I didn't pad things like the mast hounds

Is it a bit pricy though - almost $500. That's more that it costs for one of their fancy 17 gallon gas tanks that BOAT loves so much and that I am super jealous of.

[LordElsinore]

Here’s a terrible picture of what that tarp looks like on my boat.


And here’s the beginnings of the “garage extension” I’m working to build for it, which I’m hoping the neighbors don’t complain about…

[OverEasy]

Just a bit of a thought from out of past life experiences….
Our home that we had previously in New Hampshire was 2 & 3 stories tall.
We would get a LOT of snow and I’d be up on a multi extension ladder trying to rake it off to lighten the snow loading and attempting to avoid ice dams (which can be a REAL problem if not addressed early!

While I did ad 46” upslope metal flashing I also added roof heater wires as well to make drainage channels.
I ran the wires ina square wave layout (NOT fees) so the roof could still be rake f need be without tangling with the wires.

I’ve also had the snow & ice adherence to tarps covering our travel trailer (when we still had it).
So keel yer pain.

I’m wonder if it might be possible to drape several heater wires over your tarping and connect it to a remote WiFi Bluetooth kind of on/off controller so you could turn them on after a snowfall ad it would self shed or at least drain.

The heater strips don’t actually get very hot and are always just warm to the touch….just enough to melt the snow and ice.

Just some thoughts…. Hope they of some use…

Est Regards,
Over Easy

[Starscream]

I'm curious to hear what some of the rest of you do

This photo is from many years ago when I was using those cheap blue tarps; they would only last 2 seasons and then be shredded beyond use. Four years ago I bought a heavy duty tarp (silver) and it has held up well for years. The tarp size I use is 20'x40', which gives a fair amount left over at each end. I don't protect the tarp from the stanchions either, so the tarp now has convenient holes that line up perfectly with the stanchions and mast hound to confirm good placement of the tarp at the next install.



Mast in its normal transport position, with a mid-support. I use a mixture of 2x4 arches and pex pipe to create a sort of grid to support the tarp, using the mast as the ridgepole.

If you don't have easy access to the boat to clear the ice and snow buildups, then this isn't a great solution and will very possibly end up damaging the mast or parts of the boat. The boat is stored in my driveway beside my house so after every snowstorm I go out and clear off the tarp.