Sunbrella as a "boat house" cover??
 

(Long...jump to the bottom for the questions. Thanks.)

Here's the situation: While we were working on / restoring our boat
my dad built a lifting hoist in our yard. It is basically four 4x4s that
are about 12 feet tall put into the ground with steel beams going
across them. The boat has lifting rings built in at the stern and bow.
This his how she was meant to be transported / put into the water.

Here's the thing: Dad has been looking into buying one of those
rounded top type structures to store the boat under to keep it
out of the sun and keep the snow off in winter. (Up until now
we've kept her in the shop, but that's a pain to get in and out
of plus we'ld like the room in the shop for other projects *smile* )

ANYWAY...Since we'll want to keep the lifting-rig I figure, why
have (and pay for) a totally seperate structure to store the boat?
Why not use the lifting rig and just make a cover for it?

Now we've tried that with only a little success in the past. Basically,
we've used tarps. The problem is the tarps wear through, break their
gromets in high winds (after many months), etc. So what I'm wondering
is...does it make sense to buy Sunbrella material and make (or have made)
a cover? How hard is that stuff to work with, say to put in gromets or
cut? Does anyone know of a supplier of pre-made tarps out of that stuff?

Other ideas on our situation?

Thanks,
gary

If it was me, and the rig is staying put, I'd put on a hardtop (e.g.
standard pitched roof, trusses etc) on it. There's one near here that not
only has the hardtop, but the guys has put old auto wheels/tires on it
making it mobile.

"Gary" wrote in message
...
(Long...jump to the bottom for the questions. Thanks.)

Here's the situation: While we were working on / restoring our boat
my dad built a lifting hoist in our yard. It is basically four 4x4s that
are about 12 feet tall put into the ground with steel beams going
across them. The boat has lifting rings built in at the stern and bow.
This his how she was meant to be transported / put into the water.

Here's the thing: Dad has been looking into buying one of those
rounded top type structures to store the boat under to keep it
out of the sun and keep the snow off in winter. (Up until now
we've kept her in the shop, but that's a pain to get in and out
of plus we'ld like the room in the shop for other projects *smile* )

ANYWAY...Since we'll want to keep the lifting-rig I figure, why
have (and pay for) a totally seperate structure to store the boat?
Why not use the lifting rig and just make a cover for it?

Now we've tried that with only a little success in the past. Basically,
we've used tarps. The problem is the tarps wear through, break their
gromets in high winds (after many months), etc. So what I'm wondering
is...does it make sense to buy Sunbrella material and make (or have made)
a cover? How hard is that stuff to work with, say to put in gromets or
cut? Does anyone know of a supplier of pre-made tarps out of that stuff?

Other ideas on our situation?

Thanks,
gary

Gary,
This is simply an opinion:
Sunbrella under ideal conditions has an expected life of six to eight years
here in FL where wind and sun do the damage. The six to eight years include
annual waterproofing applications. These assumptions are made when the
fabric is stretch fairly tight and is supported at least every three feet,
similiar to the supports you would see on a large bimini. I don't believe
there is enough strength in this or any other fabric to expect success with
any more of a non supported run. Any fabric will act as a sail, sails are
made of fabric, so design to protect from lifting from the wind would be
essential. Since our snow load here in FL is minimal and I have no clue as
to how heavy that stuff is I can only assume it would require a sufficient
slope to allow it to be removed easily to avoid tearing or collapse.
If color isn't important I have seen large quanities of sunbrella on ebay at
very reasonable prices. A lot of the reasonable prices had to do with color
and pattern, the most offensive were the least expensive.
I had some large curtains made of sunbrella a couple of years ago, they are
about 12' wide and 12' high each and hang vertically on my lanai. The
bottoms are weighted with a couple of pounds of lead each and they will do
some serious swaying in a light wind, moderate winds require they be closed
and heavy winds secured. They require minimal maintenance and despite the
fact they are white look good. They block the evening sun as were their
original purpose and I'd do it again but the cost of material and labor was
around 2K.
Hope this helps a little,
Mike
"

"Gary" wrote:

snip
Now we've tried that with only a little success in the past. Basically,
we've used tarps. The problem is the tarps wear through, break their
gromets in high winds (after many months), etc. So what I'm wondering
is...does it make sense to buy Sunbrella material and make (or have made)
a cover? How hard is that stuff to work with, say to put in gromets or
cut? Does anyone know of a supplier of pre-made tarps out of that stuff?

Other ideas on our situation?

Thanks,
gary

Check into the heavy tarps that the flatbed truckers use. They are a
lot heavier than even your heavy canvas tarps.

--
Jim Rusling
Partially Retired
Mustang, OK
http://www.rusling.org

On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 07:32:00 -0500, "Gary"
wrote:


Other ideas on our situation?

Thanks,
gary

I am the major shareholder for Sunbrella. darn good product.

Thanks, folks, for the replies.