I have a boat with a winter cover that has a sleeve sewn in for a 2 X 4 “ridge beam” that helps it shed snow in the winter. The 2X is 16′ long and although it works fine when on edge, it seldom stays that way for long, always rolling onto its flat side and sagging. I’m trying to invent something better.
I thought of putting a 1X inside a piece of 2″ PVC. I don’t know exactly how I would accomplish that, but if it would work, I’d find a way since this would be easiest to get into and out of the pocket in the cover.
Secondly and more costly would be to cut a 2 X 4 in half and embed a strip of carbon fiber tape to stiffen it and epoxy and screw the whole thing together.
Lastly is an upside T with two pieces of 5/4 lumber glued and screwed together. In that configuration, they need to be narrower in section than 5/4 X 4 lumber would be in order to fit into the pocket.
I plan to use SPF lumber or maybe doug fir. I need to be able to westle it around by myself, so weight counts.
Any help and additional thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Replies
Rectangular hollow aluminum?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Sphere has a good idea: Rectangular hollow aluminum.....or a less expensive piece of angle iron 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 or 2 x 2 turned with the corner up
You could build a boat shed, rent boat storage or sell the boat. Sell the boat? Shut up tx.
Edited 12/8/2006 9:10 pm ET by txlandlord
Thanx Tx , but that was waaaaay back at post#2...I kind like the newer idea of a x brace inside the boat amidships to support the upside down keel idea..outta something as simple as a rope.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
that was waaaaay back at post#2
Yea, somtimes I get so busy I am a day late and dollar short on BT
Of course there is always the option of building a boat shed with storage for all of the fishing / skiing and boating equipment.
Might be heavier than you want, but I would take your 2" pvc, put in a piece of rebar & fillit up with concrete. Or eve easier get a piece of 2" black steel pipe.
It'll take two pcs of pvc, so put the joint in the middle. Rip a crowned pc of 1x and whack it into the pvc. Stick it in the sleeve crown up...if it eventually bows downward, turn it over...Me, I just raising the bows(not to be confused with bows, ha) of my boats higher...I'm gonna go get some pvc...great idea<G> Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
How about a steel cable attached to the ends of aluminum or steel tubing that is tightened to create a bowing up like effect.
Actually, upon further reading and reflection. Maybe pre-camber what ever you use, and think like the theory of many parts ( like 1/2" dia) PVC or wood bundled with the ends securely fixed to contain "slippage past each other" MAY be stiffer than one element.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Well, the most obvious thing is to rig up something to keep the 2x4 from rolling onto its side.
I don't think the carbon fiber thing would do much good unless you put it on the bottom of the wood member (and maybe another piece on top).
I agree with whoever said to do something to keep it from twisting. No matter what you do with anything non-symetrical, it will twist till its biggest dimension is horizontal. Tubing or bamboo? Anything with a bow or arch will also twist until the bow is downward.
How about laminating a few pieces of doug fir together and ripping to end up with an octagon of max size that will still fit the sleave?
We had a few pieces of structural select doug fir in our framing lumber this week that were tight grained with zero knots. Stiff. Very stiff. Perfect for your application. You might ask to look at the lumber and hand pick such a board.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I would build a small box beam. From my structures classes in school: if you double the width of a beam, the strengh is multiplied by two. if you double the height, the strength is squared (basically 4 times the strenght). That is why I would go with the box beam; it won't roll, and if it does, it is just as strong in both dimensions.
The strongest thing is a tube. They used a graphite-carbon tube on that Burt Rutan plane that flew around the world or across the English Channel.
Perhaps an aluminum tube would do. Perhaps you cut cut off a 16' piece of you mast and use that.
~Peter
Vivaldi cheated -- he only gave us four of the five seasons.
Rather then support the cover longitudinally. I would give some thought to some bowed lateral supports.
I've used 1" or 3/4" pvc bowed up to keep an arch in the cover.
If you have rod holders, they make great supports for the pvc. Otherwise I just support and tie it to the gunnels.
Hmmmmm. That's an interesting approach. The pole in question runs from the top of the center console to the forward part of the bow pulpit; that's why the span is so long. Although there are no rod holders forward, I wonder if some lateral supports could help support the ridge pole to effectively shorten the span. Now I just need to figure out how to support the ends of the lateral supports.
Look at how they support tonnau covers on pickup beds, tubing wedged in sockets.
As stated by others, the greater the depth, the greater the stiffness will be.
PVC will not add much stiffness due to it's low modulus of elasticity. Wood material inserted into a PVC pipe is not going to be efficient either.
Graphite on the top and bottom of anything should be effective.
For strength to weight AND symmetry (so it doesn't roll over) I would expect the box beam idea will be best. Use 1x4 or 1x6 for least weight. Might be tough to get 16 foot length except in PT 5/4 board (extra weight)
What about aluminum tube? (look at metal scrap yard?)
Good luck
Let's overthink this some more.
Get some nylon rope. Make a pylon that will stand just behind your windshield (and is a bit taller), making sure it has a base that's wide enough to not tip over (a pair of 2x4s nailed or screwed together will work fine but either use stainless screws or PL-200 on the top to attach it to the base). Notch the top of the pylon and tie one end of the rope to the tow hook on the transom. Then, run it to the bow, over the pylon and tie a loop about 3' from the point of the bow. Send the end of the rope through the bow eye and back up through the loop you tied in the rope. Use that to tension the rope and tie an overhand knot but leave a loop in it so you can re-tighten it or release it completely. You'll be able to put enough tension in the rope that there's no way snow, water or anything else will make it sag.
I worked for a couple of boat dealers and we always used a thin plastic strap when we shrink-wrapped boats. It's way stronger than it needs to be and nylon rope will work fine. If you want to have another rope that goes from side to side, over the pylon, you can tie that off to the trailer.
Would not a 16' 4by4 solve this problem? Will it not fit in the pocket?
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
A 4 X 4 would be too big to fit into the pocket. Maybe a 4 X 4 cut into a triangular shape could fit....
Or how about if you just store your lawn chairs under the tarp and call it good.No seriously, couldnt you just set something at the right height under the center of the 2x4? like a small saw horse,etc.
Edited 12/9/2006 3:43 pm ET by wood4rd
Conduit
Troy Sprout
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."
-- Thomas Sowell
Edited 12/8/2006 4:56 pm by Hackinatit
I have the same type of boat cover.
I use a 20' section of aluminum irrigation pipe....never had a problem....it's light, plenty stiff and was one of many on my property when I bought it.
Since your profile is basically blank (grrrr) I don't know where you're from, but if you're near farm country, you can probably get a section of the irrigation pipe for next to nothing as it's not used much any more.
Notch,
I'm in Maryland; some farms still remain here. Where would I go for irrigation pipe?
PS, I went into my profile, but I didn't see any fields other than name and email address which are already in there.
Check w/one of the farm communities and look for a farm and ranch supply or livestock feed store....ask the help and they may be able to point you in the right direction.
Of course, I know nothing about east coast farming, so I don't know how prevalent field irrigation has been, historically. But here in the West, the old irrigation pipe is pretty easy to come by.
Even here on the Oregon Coast,which has a reputation for rain, we have long summers and Falls that are pretty dry.....even more so inland. But, with water allocation issues, the old rainbird sprinklers are pretty inefficient and a lot of water is lost to evaporation....better technologies have prevailed.
I'd send you a pic, but I use my boat (an 18' North River sled) for work and for the past year or so I keep it in a covered Marina.
Notchman, One more quick question. Are you using 2" irrigation tubing, or 3"?
Three inch (3")
To improve your profile and add information, click on your name on one of the posts and you will see a prompt to "Change profile."
It will be appreciated and helpful to you in the long run. As for your SSN, you can send that to me via email. :-)