Cover support

[bowhunterjac]

I'm looking for suggestions on building a cover support. I have a 17' bow rider, stern drive and have the usual problems with water pooling on the cover in the seating area behind the windshield. I had some of the adjustable wooden bows which worked about half but once they draw damp they kind of turn inside out. I stick our ski tube between the seats which helps, but i need something better. I was thinking of making an "A" frame type if support out of PVC and set it between the seats to support the cover. Make it about the height of the windshield in the front and angle it back down towards the stern, keeping it a bit higher to make the water run off the sides. Any suggestions, ideas, photo's ????

 

[gozierdt]

Re: Cover support

iBoats has several "boat cover support systems. Here's one I'm considering:

http://www.iboats.com/Deluxe-Boat-Cover-Support-System-22-Attwood/dm/*******.193869343--**********.250894655--view_id.165258

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Cover support

iBoats has several "boat cover support systems. Here's one I'm considering:

http://www.iboats.com/Deluxe-Boat-Cover-Support-System-22-Attwood/dm/*******.193869343--**********.250894655--view_id.165258

I've got one just like that, except mine is a paint roller extension handle, a frisbee, 2 bungie cords and a length of rope

 

[NYBo]

Re: Cover support

Something like this?

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Cover support

I'm looking for suggestions on building a cover support. I have a 17' bow rider, stern drive and have the usual problems with water pooling on the cover in the seating area behind the windshield. I had some of the adjustable wooden bows which worked about half but once they draw damp they kind of turn inside out. I stick our ski tube between the seats which helps, but i need something better. I was thinking of making an "A" frame type if support out of PVC and set it between the seats to support the cover. Make it about the height of the windshield in the front and angle it back down towards the stern, keeping it a bit higher to make the water run off the sides. Any suggestions, ideas, photo's ????

I also found the bow thing to not work well.

I did a support for my homemade cover for my 15' Trihull out of PVC pipe and fittings. It's kinda like a big, 4-footed double "U" that fits into the four recessed cupholders on my gunwales. It's held down by bungees and is actually sturdy enough to be trailerable. Boat is more or less taken apart right now for refurb so you won't get to see how it works with the windshield and all, but I'll try and get a pic of it next few days or so.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Cover support

Here in utah we get some pretty good snow storms in the winter, so I went a bit further than the pvc route. I put the snap cover on then crawled inside and took some measurements up to the snap cover. Then built a little wall out of some 2x4 with a few angle pieces to make it stand up on its own. I did one for the cockpit area as well as a small one for the open bow. Used screws so I can take it apart to store during the boating season. Takes about 15 minutes to put back together and works very well even with snow falling on it. I use a silver tarp on top of the winter cover during the heavy snow months and it sluffs right off. It seemed like the pole idea would just punch right through the cover.

 

[overkill]

Re: Cover support

home depot has sone 1/2 inch PVC that is thiner then the normal stuff, think its supposed to be for drinking water systems. its a little thiner but MUCH more flexable. i used it to make up some bows for cover support for my cover, just bend them over and i stick the ends into my rod holders.
my boat is a CC so a real cover is too much for me right now. cover is just a cheap tarp, but the supports i made up have held up to some good storms.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Cover support

iBoats has several "boat cover support systems. Here's one I'm considering:

http://www.iboats.com/Deluxe-Boat-Cover-Support-System-22-Attwood/dm/*******.193869343--**********.250894655--view_id.165258

I have this one...and it works just fine!

Quick releases on the bow strap makes it easy to deal with....

Happy boating!

 

[bowhunterjac]

Re: Cover support

I also found the bow thing to not work well.

I did a support for my homemade cover for my 15' Trihull out of PVC pipe and fittings. It's kinda like a big, 4-footed double "U" that fits into the four recessed cupholders on my gunwales. It's held down by bungees and is actually sturdy enough to be trailerable. Boat is more or less taken apart right now for refurb so you won't get to see how it works with the windshield and all, but I'll try and get a pic of it next few days or so.

I'll be interested to see what you made. Sorta along the lines of what I was thinking....

 

[bowhunterjac]

Re: Cover support

home depot has sone 1/2 inch PVC that is thiner then the normal stuff, think its supposed to be for drinking water systems. its a little thiner but MUCH more flexable. i used it to make up some bows for cover support for my cover, just bend them over and i stick the ends into my rod holders.
my boat is a CC so a real cover is too much for me right now. cover is just a cheap tarp, but the supports i made up have held up to some good storms.

I'll stop in and look to see if our store has anything like that. I was considering trying to bend standard PVC into a bow. I saw that if you heat it with a heat gun it becomes flexible.....I'd just have to figure out where to stick it so it stays up.

Thanks everybody !!

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Cover support

I'll be interested to see what you made. Sorta along the lines of what I was thinking....

Should give an idea how it's made:

The four short "feet" normally rest in the not currently in place cupholders. The long shock cord normally would hook between the OB cowling and bow rail, neither of which is currently installed...cover is a good tighter fit with those in place, also.

Another thing I like about this setup is that I can just open the front and back a bit for air and work inside the boat under its shade.

 

[overkill]

Re: Cover support

I'll stop in and look to see if our store has anything like that. I was considering trying to bend standard PVC into a bow. I saw that if you heat it with a heat gun it becomes flexible.....I'd just have to figure out where to stick it so it stays up.

Thanks everybody !!

if you dont have a rod/cupholder, you can buy a "T" fitting for each end and attach a short length to each side of the "T". then you just cut the main length of pipe so the "feet" are pressed into the corner where the deck meets the wall. it'll hold itself inplace, just cut the main length for the ammount of bow that you want.

 

[G-Money-Sunbird]

Re: Cover support

Something that I use that works well and very easy to handle is a tall camera tripod. Its very stable and tall enough to allow water to run off all sides. I run a bungee from the bow and one from the stern and it works like a champ as long as I have the cover tight (bungeed down to the trailer).

 

[namesjax]

Re: Cover support

I guess I am just cheap I put a traffic cone in the rear bench seat and my wifes big ol round exercise ball in the bow and water runs right off

 

[TJDave]

Re: Cover support

I built one out of galvanized chain link fence parts for my previous boat. I wish I had a picture of it. One 2 3/8" fence post with a 4"x4" plate welded to the bottom. A round post cap to protect the cover. I made a tripod for the post with three pieces of 1 5/8" rails, welded to 1 5/8" galvanized rail ends on one side of each tripod leg. Attached them to the post with three 2 3/8" tension bands but did not tighten them all the way so the tripod would fold up when not in use. Just under the post cap two more brace bands pointing opposite directions is what I hooked ratchet straps to the bow and to the stern of the boat. The straps acted like a roof peak. Worked for years. Total cost was less than 10 bucks. All I have is a pic of the post sticking out of the boat.

 

[bowhunterjac]

Re: Cover support

Thats sorta what I was hoping to build... all this stuff found at Lowes I would assume.... I'd like to make it as high as my windshield or just a bit lower and maybe taper back towards the stern. Thanks everybody !!!

 

[Jeepster04]

Re: Cover support

iBoats has several "boat cover support systems. Here's one I'm considering:

http://www.iboats.com/Deluxe-Boat-Cover-Support-System-22-Attwood/dm/*******.193869343--**********.250894655--view_id.165258

I bought this one and found that it really wasn't tall enough for our cover. We have a mooring cover for covering the boat in the water so that may be the problem. The only way to keep it on the boat is with suction cups so its hard to pull the cover tight. Ive found that if I keep the pole(extends to 48") on a bucket it keeps the cover tight. Its still hard to keep water from pooling in some places but it gets the job done.

 

[sandersps]

Re: Cover support

find yourself a small tent at a garage sale and repurpose the flexible poles. thats my plan anyway. or look around most people already have an old tent hiding somewhere in there garage thats not getting used.

 

[Pirate_40]

Re: Cover support

Angles angles angles. No flat spots. Nothing should be level, not even the ridge beam. Angles allow water to run off the cover. The also help when pulling snow off. If you get any kind of snow in your area PVC will not hold up too long.

I would suggest Three T-stanchions to support a main ridge beam. all made of 2x material and through bolted together. One T goes on the bow and should be fairly short (just enough to clear your rail). The next T goes in the center of the boat in front of the seats. This one is the tallest to create a front and rear angle. The last T goes either in the back of the cockpit or it there is an engine box in the way, put it on the platform. This one should also be short like the bow T. Now connect the rear T to the center T with one beam, Then connect the center T to the bow T. You'll need two 4" and one 6" carriage bolts with nuts and washers.

After your main frame is setup, drill 5/8" holes through the center of the two main beams. Drill them about 18" apart all the way up the beam. Now take 1/2" rope and sew it though the holes you drilled and your rails and or cleats. This rope acts as cheap rafters and will help support the cover from settling pockets of water. This frame set up shouldnt cost more than $50 and should last several seasons.

 

[mike-the-cobra]

Re: Cover support

Something I put together last year, held up great in the Michigan snows...