Made some rain hoops for my boat cover…FAIL?

[Josh]

When I purchased my boat this summer, the guy tossed in a bunch of extra boat "stuff" (as often happens). Part of that was a boat cover, which seemed useful given that I don't have a covered place to store it. But it was obvious that it would just turn into a giant kiddie pool in the first rainstorm without some sort of support structure.

There's lots of examples on the internet and even some factory built ones. But I decided to just go with a basic PVC hoop setup. @kerrys is going to tell me that it will work right up until a snowstorm breaks them all. But I figured I would give it a shot.

Two lengths of 1/2 PVC and a pile of 1/2 x 1 1/4 T pieces were all the supplies I needed.



I cut some ~3/4 inch slots in the T pieces with the portaband and then put it all together. The trickiest part was getting the angle right.



The pressure from the bend and the lip on the gunwale rail keeps everything in place easily. The forward hoop is a little weird because the sides start to become not parallel as they bend into the bow. But I made it work well enough and put a bucket on the forward seat. I'll probably put a T into the center of the forward hoop and add another "arm" going to the bow at some point.

First small rainstorm went alright, just a bit of puddling. A little got into the boat, but it didn't seem terrible.



However, the second rainstorm we had over the weekend.... Well let's just say that I don't think the cover is waterproof at this point in its life. There was easily a couple of gallons of water in the boat. I had to jack up the front end and let it drain out then pump out what I couldn't drain with gravity.



So it looks like I'll have to either add a tarp to this setup, or find a new cover (or both) if I want to keep things dry through a PNW winter.

 

[kerrys]

When I purchased my boat this summer, the guy tossed in a bunch of extra boat "stuff" (as often happens). Part of that was a boat cover, which seemed useful given that I don't have a covered place to store it. But it was obvious that it would just turn into a giant kiddie pool in the first rainstorm without some sort of support structure.

There's lots of examples on the internet and even some factory built ones. But I decided to just go with a basic PVC hoop setup. @kerrys is going to tell me that it will work right up until a snowstorm breaks them all. But I figured I would give it a shot.

Two lengths of 1/2 PVC and a pile of 1/2 x 1 1/4 T pieces were all the supplies I needed.

View attachment 39342

I cut some ~3/4 inch slots in the T pieces with the portaband and then put it all together. The trickiest part was getting the angle right.

View attachment 39343 View attachment 39344

The pressure from the bend and the lip on the gunwale rail keeps everything in place easily. The forward hoop is a little weird because the sides start to become not parallel as they bend into the bow. But I made it work well enough and put a bucket on the forward seat. I'll probably put a T into the center of the forward hoop and add another "arm" going to the bow at some point.

First small rainstorm went alright, just a bit of puddling. A little got into the boat, but it didn't seem terrible.

View attachment 39346

However, the second rainstorm we had over the weekend.... Well let's just say that I don't think the cover is waterproof at this point in its life. There was easily a couple of gallons of water in the boat. I had to jack up the front end and let it drain out then pump out what I couldn't drain with gravity.

View attachment 39345

So it looks like I'll have to either add a tarp to this setup, or find a new cover (or both) if I want to keep things dry through a PNW winter.

I made a center ridge using 1 inch pvc. I put in 3 uprights to support the ridge. I then stretched a 10 x 20 tarp over the whole thing using straps underneath to hold it all in place. No pics of the pvc pipe setup. This setup will last a couple years. If it snows hard I will need to sweep the accumulating snow off or if to much sticks to the tarp it can collapse the thing. The second pic is of a device I use to attach the straps to the tarp where I need to. They are also much stronger that the grommets that come on tarps.

 

[Josh]

I made a center ridge using 1 inch pvc. I put in 3 uprights to support the ridge. I then stretched a 10 x 20 tarp over the whole thing using straps underneath to hold it all in place. No pics of the pvc pipe setup. This setup will last a couple years. If it snows hard I will need to sweep the accumulating snow off or if to much sticks to the tarp it can collapse the thing.

yeah, I'll probably end up with a tarp and also wishing I'd used bigger PVC. So goes life, live and learn.

 

[Chucker]

You will probably need a center pole that goes all the way down the middle. At least I have always needed to do that to make a boat cover work. I also always kept my boat jacked up at the front so that it would drain if any water got in. Seems like cheap insurance. With my old drift boat, when I stored it outside at a remote location over the winter, I made a frame with a high ridge so that it would shed snow. It worked.

 

[Josh]

You will probably need a center pole that goes all the way down the middle.

I thought about that and figured I could always add in one if I needed. But you are probably right.

 

[Josh]

The second pic is of a device I use to attach the straps to the tarp where I need to. They are also much stronger that the grommets that come on tarps.

Where do you get those?

 

[kerrys]

Where do you get those?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFDKQD3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[M_D]

I have a canvas boat cover similar to yours. My cover is probably 20 years old and I don't think it was ever truly waterproof.

I'm okay with it not being water tight cuz I figure moisture is going to get in there somehow and if it breathes, I might not end up with mold. (and so far I haven't encountered mold after multiple years of ignoring the boat altogether). With the cover, I'm mostly interested in keeping leaves, sticks and other stuff out.

I've tried a handful of things over the years to keep the cover supported in the rainy season but I never was able to keep the cover tight enough to not have it sag somewhere after a heavy rain and capture gallons of water....which would then cause the cover to stretch even further and retain more water still. How my cover never tore I have no idea.

In my laziness, apathy (or whatever ya wanna call it when my boat was on ignore.) I happened upon what seems to work the best so far in supporting the cover...and that is/are sections of plywood under the tarp. I had some left over OSB after re roofing my house a couple years ago and I ended up cutting 3 ft strips or pieces the width of the boat and overlapping them, like shingles, toward the front of the boat....and then I lay the canvas cover over the wood.

Will this keep out a dump of snow?....I highly doubt it since I've done nothing to support it in the center....but it does okay with water...as long I keep the bow elevated fairly high. The wood will sag and warp over the winter and when it does I simply flip it over so it will be concave again for a while. Is it perfect, nope...but so far this has done away with any water collection points in the canvas.

Also, I've only used wood on 3/4's of the boat. I was gonna underlay the whole thing with plywood this year but found my ADA casting brace provides enough canvas support for now...so you'll probably want to get one of those

 

[MELinOre]

Where do you get those?

If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, these are what I use for securing tarps, even while traveling.

Multipurpose Tarp Clips, 4 Piece

Amazing deals on this Multipurpose Tarp Clips at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[mark wlker]

Might think about putting a 4 way PVC connector on the top bows and connect them together for more support?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/LASCO-1-2-in-x-1-2-in-x-1-2-in-x-1-2-in-x-1-2-in-dia-Cross-Tee-PVC-Fitting/3371628?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-plb-_-ggl-_-LIA_PLB_142_Pipe-Fittings-_-3371628-_-local-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlcTQ8Y2Q-wIVWf_jBx0z2ABOEAQYASABEgKMt_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Mtnwkr]

I take the rope I have connected to the bow up over a couple seats and over the top of my outboard, pull it tight then tie it off. Put cover/tarp over that.

 

[nomlasder]

When I purchased my boat this summer, the guy tossed in a bunch of extra boat "stuff" (as often happens). Part of that was a boat cover, which seemed useful given that I don't have a covered place to store it. But it was obvious that it would just turn into a giant kiddie pool in the first rainstorm without some sort of support structure.

There's lots of examples on the internet and even some factory built ones. But I decided to just go with a basic PVC hoop setup. @kerrys is going to tell me that it will work right up until a snowstorm breaks them all. But I figured I would give it a shot.

Two lengths of 1/2 PVC and a pile of 1/2 x 1 1/4 T pieces were all the supplies I needed.

View attachment 39342

I cut some ~3/4 inch slots in the T pieces with the portaband and then put it all together. The trickiest part was getting the angle right.

View attachment 39343 View attachment 39344

The pressure from the bend and the lip on the gunwale rail keeps everything in place easily. The forward hoop is a little weird because the sides start to become not parallel as they bend into the bow. But I made it work well enough and put a bucket on the forward seat. I'll probably put a T into the center of the forward hoop and add another "arm" going to the bow at some point.

First small rainstorm went alright, just a bit of puddling. A little got into the boat, but it didn't seem terrible.

View attachment 39346

However, the second rainstorm we had over the weekend.... Well let's just say that I don't think the cover is waterproof at this point in its life. There was easily a couple of gallons of water in the boat. I had to jack up the front end and let it drain out then pump out what I couldn't drain with gravity.

View attachment 39345

So it looks like I'll have to either add a tarp to this setup, or find a new cover (or both) if I want to keep things dry through a PNW winter.

I think your arch is too shallow. PVC pipe can be bent. Heat them up with heat gun, radiant heater, etc. Make a jig for uniform arch.

 

[Josh]

I think your arch is too shallow. PVC pipe can be bent. Heat them up with heat gun, radiant heater, etc. Make a jig for uniform arch.

yeah, that's not a bad idea. I just bent them without heating this time around.

 

[PhilR]

I was thinking of putting a center ridge down my boat using those sawhorse brackets

 

[Josh]

Survived first snowfall. 6-8” or so. But admittedly, very cold light snow. I’m not sure it could have handled 30deg “cascade concrete” snow.

 

[Driftless Dan]

I saw a guy make a greenhouse out of PVC. to bend it, he had a great big wok over a fire outside, and filled that wok with sand. He then poured the hot sand into the PVC and packed it in good and tight. The sand relaxed the PVC to the point he could easily bend it, as well as kept the tube from collapsing as it was bent.

 

[Josh]

I suspect I'm going to redo the whole thing (or at least reconfigure) next summer. But I think it will last until then at least.

 

[PhilR]

I just throw a tarp over this.

 

[Josh]

I just throw a tarp over this.

That's not a bad idea at all. My storage spot might be too windy for that though.

 

[Wanative]

I do what what KerryS does sort of.
My boat is 20' long not counting the outboard. I use a rope with a loop on the bow end that fits over the trailer hitch post.
The rope spans the length of the boat and outboard. The stern end is centered on top of the outboard as I pull the rope as tight as possible then secure the rope at the bottom of the jet pump. I cover the ridge rope with foam and a strip of tarp tied on with twine as the bare ridge rope will wear the cover tarp faster over time than the wrapping method I use.
This method will support snow easily 4 to 5 inches deep. Deeper I broom it off.
I have two support poles spaced equally to support the ridge rope.
A 25 x 16 heavy plastic tarp goes over the ridge rope to cover the length of the boat and motor.
I use some bungees and some lengths of nylon twine to secure the tarp.
I position the tarp length wise so that the grommets on one side are about 12 inches above the trailer frame for the length of the boat. The other side I cut the tarp so that the edge is also 12inches above above the trailer frame for the length of the boat as the tarps long enough for the boat are way too wide. The cut side I attach multi purpose tarp clips as pictured above.
Hardware Sales in Bham is your friend when it comes to all things for tarping. Tarps, bungees, multi purpose tarp clips twine etc. All found in the far rear of the store.
Expect to get 2 years maybe out of the silver poly tarps and 1 year out of the cheaper blue tarps. UV kills tarps quickly.