I love snow, but the boat cover does'nt!

[greenbuttskunk]

I have a nice lightweight cover on the new boat but some heavy snow on it is a bummer. Now with the chance of freezing rain, I'll have to go out every so often and sweep the snow off with a broom. What else can a guy do. I need to find a place out of the elements for it.

[Taildragger]

You may want to try putting a 2x4 under the boat cover to held prop it up and thus make a steeper angle.maybe even throw a poly tarp over the top to help protect your good cover from the freezing rain. Other than that youd have to find somewhere to store it which might be worth the xtra $$$ If you dont want to hassle with it. good luck!

[El-Kabong]

gbs,

try this.

take a sheet of 1/4 plywood and cut 4" wide strips. trim these to length such that you can bow them across your hull.

My boat (18.5') needed 5 of these to provide enough arc to the cover to keep rain and snow from pooling.

Use enough bungee straps to pull the cover down pretty tight.

works great and was cheap!

EK

[ 01-05-2004, 01:29 PM: Message edited by: El-Kabong ]

[greenbuttskunk]

I've got props under it, but freezing rain will surely stick, not run off and spell disaster. A least for tonight I'll throw a blue poly tarp over it. Looks pretty bush to the the neighbors but I will remove it once the weather improves.

[SafetyChain]

The problem with using a additional prop is the possibility of stretching the top. I had this happen with a tonneau cover.

[greenbuttskunk]

going to try the plywood idea. Sounds perfect.
Thanks for the idea.

[El-Kabong]

one word of caution.

when you have a spar bowed across the hull, be aware that when/if it gets bumped out of place it will expand quickly. If you face happens to be in the way...

I found it much easier to pull the cover on from the side (rather then trying to go front to back)

my next step is to fashion blocks that will hook over the hull and have a slot on the back that will accept the plywood strips.

[ 01-05-2004, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: El-Kabong ]

I built arches out of 3/4" poly pipe and put 1x4 lengthwise to support my cover.

[Riverkeeper]

Preach on, Brother He Who Smelt It !

Brad, get that kid of yours a shovel and send him out there twice a day. Builds character.

[Lured In]

I am somewhere around 'plan 12' in the evolution of my boat 'shanty'. I have a concrete pad and driveway next to my house, but not enough room to actually build anything permanent over the boat. I used a large 14'x 30' tarp and used 1x2's to support it over a 2x4 wall and attached the tarp to the bottom of the eves with screw hooks. It aint pretty but works better than nothing. I am already planning for the next remodel of the shanty, but need to wait until it warms up a bit.

Having a tarp is over your boat cover is a good idea as it not only aids in the shedding of water, but also cuts down on UV rays beating up your good cover. [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

Another idea is the sun shades if you have room for one. It's basically a standalone tent.

[greenbuttskunk]

oh, I forgot the other thing that bites about a boat cover. Try to make sure it's closed off in the stern. Those damn stray cats love to take leaks in boats, at least in my experience!

Riverkeeper, I like you suggestion but there are child labot laws against making a 6 month old work that hard. Hopefully next year though.

[El-Kabong]

I have yet to devise a method of keeping the cats away. My current plan is replace the interior carpeting with vinyl so I can just hose the cat pee off. Open to non-lethal (and just a little bit lethal) ideas for cat management.

EK

Get a dog :grin:

[El-Kabong]

I have a dog, but she won't sleep in the boat!

[zipper]

Ya gotta do what I did, and build a shed for it! Then, for the cats... I found a piece of plastic mesh - it's kinda stiff but bendable - like for a snow fence or a garden arbor, I've seen in in orange and green - I cut a piece that fits across the back of my boat transom splash well area (a bit higher than the gunnels - then stretch the top over that. It takes a bit of finessing but works like a champ. Also, Hydrogen peroxide sprayed on kills the smell of cat **** instantly and it's real inexpensive. Stay warm! zip

[blacktail]

skunk,

Make sure and rub your hands in that cat urine really good next time you take the boat out. It's a great scent for the fishies. No matter how bad it smells, you have to remember not to wash it off.

Mike

[SafetyChain]

Brad,

I don't fish in cat **** :grin: Better get it cleaned out or I might have to do some marking of my own to offset it :grin:

[kodiakfisher]

Brad,

It is perfectly legal to trap them and take them to the humane society. Neighbors may not like it. If the cats have collars I would trap them and take them to their owners and explain the problem and explain your solution. If you trap the cat again I would take it to the humane society. If they have no collar they have to be assumed abandoned and should be taken to the humane society where hopefully they will be adopted by families that will put appropriate tags on them and keep them properly confined. :grin:

Hopefully your neighboors are understanding of your desire to not have loose cats urinating in your new boat. I guess that new boat smell may not last long after all.

BTW there is no law against having that boy of yours do some chores around the house. I have a shovel that may be just his size. My one year old daughter had out grown it already.

Kodiakfisher

[Riverkeeper]

I'd be careful on that cat trapping thing. There was a guy here in southeast trapping cats recently because he liked birds in his yard. The cats ended up at the county, and those that didn't have collars or chips were destroyed after 48 hours or something like that. Probably not too neighborly to do that if you live in a residential area where there are bound to be cats. Maybe just a few extra bungee cords to seal that baby up?

[kodiakfisher]

you can also request that you be called before any animal you drop off is destroyed. :smile: I would hate for a cat to go missing and the neighbor is on vacation and returns to no longer having their pet. Trapping house cats and feral cats are two very different situations. Granted both are capable of leaving a bad smell in your boat.

I have a cat with a collar and tags so I'm not biased against cats and she went missing the first year hunting for the whole trip, 5 days. She was just mad and came back as soon as I got home and stepped on the back deck and called her name. Wife was pretty mad when that happened she had put signs up all over the neighborhood.

The guy in southeast trapping cats wasn't guilty of breaking the law, however cats with tags should be taken back to their owners the first time. I am blessed with really nice neighbors three doors down. Everytime my dog can sneak away she goes down to see them. Granted they always give her treats and bring her back but they surely aren't obligated to do so. Lucky for me she is very well behaved and listens to I think all adults.

Cats without collars and or tags should be assumed feral and handled with caution. The cat I have now is from a feral litter and really chose us. The parents were really mean/wild. The cat is a big fat housecat living the good life. Maybe she is smarter than I give her credit for.

[Birdnest]

cat-a-pult :shocked:

[slabhunter]

GBS, Last time we had freezing rain I had my top up, drop curtain open, and a Coleman heater on low. Be sure to allow for ventilation as you tend to your boat. Perhaps another way to keep ice from building up would be to run an extension cord(outdoor rated) to a light bulb in the boat. Either way keep an eye on things so you don't fire!

[greenbuttskunk]

no cat leaks on the new boat yet thank god. Just freezing rain now to contend with. May put the heater buddy in the boat and warm it up so the water melts off the top instead of freezing over.

[pathetic novice]

Are cats good crab bait?

[Tagster]

I have heard they are a great crab bait!

If you would like to try it, my wife has two that I would let you have! :grin:

"honey, I don't know where those darn cats are, I bet they show up after a few days"

tee hee!

Tag

[HOGGEMIN]

On my boat there is 2 opening by the gunnels where I put 3 rat traps on eash side. The neighbors wern't too happy till I informed them it was against the law to let there cats roam out of there yard. And if I wanteded to be harsh I would of found a gunny sack and a big rock. now the neighbors cats won't go in there. I only lost 4 rat traps. A cat looks real funny with a rat trap stuck to them and running for the fence.

[pathetic novice]

My ex-girlfriend's aunt used tinfoil to keep cats out of different things. She would take a big piece of foil, crumple it up, then spread it back out. Supposedly the cats hate walking across it. I don't remember if it actually worked (the 80's are rather foggy to me), but it's a cheap easy way to go if it does. I can't believe nobody's gone PETA on some of the cat smack here.

[Fourteen]

.



I had the same problem years back and purchased an eletronic dog that barks when anything approaches it within 5 feet. It's really an intruder alarm for your home but it works well on cats if you can place it under or behind an object so the cats can't see what it is and the sensor still works. At night it doesn't matter. It might wake you up a few nights at first but it's an easy solution to keeping them away. I bought mine at the Sharper Image but I'm not sure where they sell them now. You will have to check around. You need an outlet to plug it in. Mine cost $75.

[greenbuttskunk]

BOAT COVER UPDATE.
Thanks to three days of vigilance, I've successfully prevented it from getting trashed by the snow and ice. Started with cutting 6" strips of plywood for structural bows underneath, then I just went outside and knocked of the snow and ice every fews hours. Once the cover is flexed, the ice just cracks and falls off. No biggie, I just stayed on top of it. The strong east winds helped to, by billowing out the cover and preventing some snow and ice from really accumulating too.
Should be good for sat. Hope so. Please! I want to catch some gators with the gang!
GBS

[reelcodfather]

Moth balls work good to keep out cats...just remember to hold them by the wings!

[reelcodfather]

An open box of Moth balls works good to keep out cats...just remember to hold the moths by the wings!

[reelcodfather]

An open box of Moth balls works good to keep out cats...just remember to hold the moths by the wings!