Hiya John!
I also researched boat shelters when I came to Florida. George Buehler
spends a few pages on the topic in his Backyard
Boatbuilding, as does Reuel Parker in his New Cold-Molded Boatbuilding. You
might also try a keyword search at Woodenboat Magazine
http://www.woodenboat.com/ for articles on cheap shelter in their archives.
There have been several
over the years.
But unless you are getting fancy you are looking at a framework (wood most
likely) with a skin on it.
I settled on building five A frames with a joining ridge pole at each of
the three joints. That was about $600 for the pressure treated lumber.
THRIFTY is a thousand dollars or less depending on what you use for a skin,
unless you are fortunate enough to source out some recycled materials.
Buehler recommends UV treated plastic sheet like they use in the greenhouse
industry or polytarps. Any way you cut it the sun will eat them alive
especially here in Florida. The blue polytarps you find at the hardware
store will be trash after less than 12 months. There are heavier-duty green
polytarps available at Defender and some other chandleries. Larry Pardey
built a more permanent shelter using the corrogated fiberglass sheet, but
that is fairly high dollar and dangerous to put in place though long lived.
After much research I nixed the corrogated sheeting due to expense and
hazard - I had no desire to be climbing that high on
a roofing project - and settled on a custom made heavy duty tarp such as the
truckers use to cover cargo. I had one made which was 22’ x 40’ and was
guaranteed to withstand the Florida sun for 24 months and perhaps last much
longer. It had the added advantage of having grommets so with the kids help
I could throw ropes over the ridge poles and pull the tarp into place over
the top. My five A frames were to be spaced at eight foot intervals and sunk
to a depth of two feet leaving me 6’ fair dinkum headroom standing on deck.
It was a good plan which failed dismally…
How was I to know that my little bit of real estate at the boatyard was on
concrete just a few inches under the surface. So much for sinking post
holes. Plan B was to set the A frames on the ground and join them at the
foot as well as the other three joints with ridge poles and reinforce them
with cheap 1 x 2 X’s. Mind you, I was doing this all by myself and I
actually got
three of the five A frames in place. Try raising an 18 foot A frame by your
lonesome. It is no small feat! The fourth A frame got away from me and
knocked the other three down just like dominos 1-2-3, breaking my A frames
into pressure treated kindling that wasn’t fit for a fire.
That was enough, I’ve been working in the sun, and hats are THRIFTY!
Since then I saw a fellow use his mast as a ridge pole cradled in wooden
crutches set on deck. I also drove by and saw that entire setup lying on the
ground after a moderate windstorm.
By the way, I have an AWESOME heavy duty truckers tarp tailor made for
getting a BCC under cover. It is 22’ X 40’.and it is yours if you arrange
shipping. The thing weighs about 100 pounds all told and will only be
handled by general freight. Never been used…
Oh yeah, one more NEAT option is to sink two beefy telephone poles and join
them with a steel cable, then drape your custom made heavy duty truckers
tarp over the top, or better yet add grommets so you can clip the tarp
in place and then slide it to one side or the other on building day like a
shower curtain. Helps if you aren’t setting on concrete.
regards
Donald Kircher
----- Original Message -----
From: <stonej0302@aol.com >
To: <bcc@yahoogroups.com >
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2001 9:58 PM
Subject: [bcc] BOAT SHELTER
Hi all,
I have been monitoring this web site for about three years and it is
finally
time for me to post a question. I need to build a temporary shed for my
boat
as it is on the hard for the next 18 months while I perform a major refit.
I
need to do something thrifty (sounds better than cheap!). I need to keep
the
sun and rain off the boat so I can do the work I need to do. I am trying
to
come up with something that is mostly roof and no sides. I want to be
able
to drape cloths along the side later when I paint, but for now all I need
is
the sun/water shade. Lumber is not cheap . . . I mean thrifty . . . and
all
the commercial products such as “Cover-It” and “Big Top Shelters” are
outrageously expensive . . . definitely not thrifty. I Have been
sketching
out some diagrams with pipe, wire, and tarps – also some with lumber,
like a
pole barn with corrugated metal for a roof. Before I plunge into this I
wanted to see if anyone had and ideas or designs that have worked in the
past?
Thanks.
John Stone
BRISTOL CHANNEL CUTTER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
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