Cheap Covers

[scrobo]

$75 is not enough for a boat cover. Especially at Canadian tire.

I decided to pull off the cover of my boat and take a peak inside. It's been pretty cold... raining and snow since she;s been covered. And about -10 Celcius right now.

Hmmm... I forgot to mention I never did get around to drillin and installing the drain plug. And my cover must leak like a seive. (did I spell that right?)

I now own a boat full of ice. I think the entire gap under the floor may be full.

I'd take apicture but I may be recognized and laughed at in the future.

But on to serious matters: Do I have anything major to worry about or should I thaw her in a garage somewhere and drain her? I may be able to get her in the garage at our depot next weekend. Or is she ok untill the natural thaw comes?

 

[rolmops]

Re: Cheap Covers

Do not move that boat.
Put blocks under the axle so your boat will not sink into the ground when the thaw sets in, because of the weight of the ice and water and go invest $20 on a good tarp to throw over her so things will not get worse.
If you have not done so already,make sure to have a drain hole in the boat and make sure the plug is out!
Trying to get a boat to move that has the wheels and front jack wheel frozen onto the ground is a tricky job and people may get hurt because of the extra weight of the "ballast"
good luck.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Cheap Covers

Not much you can do about it now, but i would be worried about expansion pushing flooring up or worse....

 

[rndn]

Re: Cheap Covers

I would also be worried about what damage the ice has caused to the structure of the boat. Water could get everywhere and then once it freezes it has a lot of force and could easily pop rivets or carck fiberglass seams. If I were you I would try to get the ice/water out of there. Can you put it in your garage for a while to thaw out? Parents or friends garage?

 

[scrobo]

Re: Cheap Covers

I can thaw it in one of the service garages at work This coming Friday.

I have to laugh at this to be honest with you. A friend came down from North Bay and wanted to see wat I had done with her. He hadn't seen her since I bought it and brought it home in a mess. I pull off the cover and TA-DA! Frozen.

But.... I'm going to get the hole drilled right away. I can't see it being a problem drilling it while frozen. Then hopefully get it thawed out. When I bought this thing it was in a backyard for 10 years. It's probably been through this before. Just never after so much work has been put into it. (Including re-sealing the floor to te hull sides)

I can back the truck into the backyard and haul it out to the garage if it is necessary. Temps are below freezing untill Saturday and Sunday is rain rain rain.

I am off to buy a nice tarp though.

This is my stupidest trick yet. I thought backing into the log was bad. lol Not sure how to top this.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Cheap Covers

Update. For $50 I found a waterproof tarp 20x20 used for those temporary garages. Says water proof and rot proof. Hopefully it will protect better than the boat cover I bought. Think it will be good for covering a boat?

Features

* Made of 850-denier woven high-density polyethylene that's stronger and lighter than canvas
* Tear & mildew resistant, rot & waterproof; non-cracking in hot or cold weather
* Heat-sealed seams and rope reinforced hems for long wear
* Laminated on both sides with LDPE
* Rust-proof grommet every 3 feet for secure tie-down
* 4 pieces of spare polypropylene rope included
* 20' x 20' size in natural transparent colour
* Convenient replacement roof for temporary garage

 

[cbear34]

Re: Cheap Covers

That should work. One thing you want to make sure you do is to "tent" it in the middle. Put a support in the center of your boat to raise the tarp so the water can roll off. You can easily make one with wood. That could have been the problem with the other tarp. If water collected on it and it just saturated the tarp to seep through. Good Luck!

 

[orion25]

Re: Cheap Covers

Before you move the boat try to figure out how much Ice is in it. Keep in mind that Ice weighs about 55lb to 60lb per cubic foot. If the frozen area is 5ft wide X 5ft long X 1 ft deep you are looking at more than 1300 lbs of extra weight in the boat. Can the trailer and hull handle that while being pulled to a new location?

 

[Hashi]

Re: Cheap Covers

Dude...good luck with that giant ice bucket. If you decided to move it, I hope it didn't blow out your tires or damaged anything else.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Cheap Covers

She's still in place. I havenot dared move her. Too heavy. Going to try alternative methods.

Propane heater facing the transom with aholedrilled for dainage. I am adding the drain hole this weekend. Got the plug ad everything.

Lots of ice. Temps above freeing coming in a few days

I've come to the realization this stupid human trick is a double whammy.

My bilge pump is in there Damn good thing money grows on trees! lol

I just hope she comes out of this undamaged. I've learned a valuable lesson.

 

[orion25]

Re: Cheap Covers

You could use the drill to drill some holes in the ice to break it up also. Little pieces of ice melt faster than a large one. You could also pour some salt on the ice to melt it. Just rinse it will afterwards.

 

[dukhnter8]

Re: Cheap Covers

You could also try some of the ice melt that's environmentally safe or pet safe to get things started melting. I don't think it would hurt the boat.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Cheap Covers

Well.. it's going slowly. I don't know how I would get the ice melt under the floor.

Temps have been above freezing past few days. I figure since I am not going anywhere I will let nature take it's course. If damage has been done it won;t get any worse (famous last words).

If it comes to it I will use a parabolic heater and focus the heat on the transom to aid it along but I doubt it will come to that.

On a good note my new tarp is doing very very well No new accumulation!

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Cheap Covers

Temps have been above freezing past few days. I figure since I am not going anywhere I will let nature take it's course. If damage has been done it won;t get any worse (famous last words).

I would think it would get worse from the expansion and contraction... just like how fence posts will get pushed right out of the ground by multiple freeze/thaw cycles instead of just one.

 

[snappernz]

Re: Cheap Covers

id really like to see a photo

 

[scrobo]

Re: Cheap Covers

I'll see what I can do for a photo. I'm strapped for time this week.

Someone told me to pour antifreeze in.

 

[jerrymalone]

Re: Cheap Covers

May I suggest you use an electric paint-stripper to melt the ice. And mopping the water everytime there is some.

 

[rndn]

Re: Cheap Covers

Your title states cheap covers. I might add to this posting that cheap covers would not exist if cheap people didn't buy them. You always get what you pay for. Why do some people expect a Cadillac at the price of a Yugo?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Cheap Covers

Try using either a space heater or a couple of higher wattage bulbs to help the thaw. Make sure there's no fuel present or leaking. I keep a small drop light lit all winter in my boats, it helps keep out moisture. Sort of like a dehumidifier in a way. I also don't seal my boats up tight, I let the cover breathe a bit in at least one end.

 

[kevylongshot]

Re: Cheap Covers

hey how do i post on here ? canu help