New boat cover support

[jleger98]

Hey, I'm brining my boat in to get a new cover tomorrow, and today I built a new brace for it so I don't have to use those PIA poles anymore. I have to admit, I got the idea from someone either here or on Wakeworld, so its far from an original idea. Anyway, went to Lowe's and bought 10 feet of 2" PVC, two 90-elbows, one "T" and two caps. A little glue and some pretty rough measuring and here it is.

[jleger98]

Frame with the cover off:

[jleger98]

With the cover on

[jleger98]

and a couple of closer shots.

[jleger98]

The new cover will allow me to keep the tower up too.

[chpthril]

Looks cool J. :cool:

Did you glue all the joints or leave some so it can be taken apart?

[Razzman]

I made the exact same thing last year for mine, works well. I didn't glue the joints, don't need to. That way you can take it down and store in the rafters when not needed.

[jleger98]

I glued the whole thing. I probably didn't need to. I'm thinking about putting a barrell in the middle so I can separate into two pieces though. I figure the only time I won't be using it is when I'm out on the boat, so I'm not too worried about it.

But yeah, for $15 bux and about 30 minutes of work, really slick!

[Paublo]

I've done something just like that before and it works well. You may need to add another leg down to the floor at about mid-span as the pipe will really sag and bend over time.

[TigeDuner]

Great idea. Much easier to use than the poles. Could be this weekends project.

[jleger98]

Great idea. Much easier to use than the poles. Could be this weekends project.

Yeah, cheap and easy.

[jleger98]

You may need to add another leg down to the floor at about mid-span as the pipe will really sag and bend over time.

I used 2" PVC, so we'll see.

[dogbert]

Looks good. One thing you'll want to consider is the chaffing of the PVC against your cover. You may consider adding some felt (or equivalent material) over the key touch points where the cover will be resting on the PVC.

[jleger98]

yeah, I talked to the guy creating the cover and thats what he suggested.

[Razzman]

I just used the foam used for pipe insulation. Split it apart and taped it over the pipe to create a nice soft cushion, works like a charm. I also have a smaller diameter piece of foam that covers the top of the windshield to protect the cover there.

[mtnsmith]

I built a similar support for my cover and also installed a couple of these to help with airflow.

http://www.airlette.com/snapvent.html

[jleger98]

I'm pretty sure my new cover will have two vents built in, but this might not be a bad idea . You have any trouble with leaking??

[mtnsmith]

Didn't seem to leak at all. I actually don't use my cover anymore because I bought a huge tarp to cover tower and all and it is super cheap so I am kind of saving the cover. Plus I can tie the corners of the tarp out from the boat to improve drying, which I have already experienced one small mildew outbreak.

[race fan]

I did the same type of support for my 22v except I got a little carried away and used 4in pipe. It works great. It was nice to go through a winter with out having to bail out the water from the cover every time it rained

[jleger98]

Finally got the cover back. Here's before and after:

[jleger98]

and just cause I can't help it, here is one more.

[jleger98]

Anyone have trouble getting water in around the tower feet? This side fits well, but the other side is a little bit (maybe 1/4-1/2") looser on the top end. Just don't want to get water in if I can help it. Any solutions out there?

[TigeDuner]

Nice job on the top. The tower mounts look like surgical steel and way strong. Your PVC support looks like it will work well also. Project complete...