UP FOR THE WINTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 129, 2 June 1934, Page 17

UP FOR THE WINTER.

SMALL CRAFT NEED A COVER. With the season finished and many of tli« boats alrea-Jy on the hard, the question of protection during the winter requires attention. No doubt the bigger yachts take very little harm when stripped of their gear and left exposed, but a small boat certainly requires a cover. Even a big boat is better for some protection, as the paint .work is usually pretty bare at the end of a season, and the more this is protected the better condition the surface will be in when fitting out time arrives. A boat under 20ft, particularly some of our square bilge type, should be well covered up to keep the weather from warping the planking or the water from, lodging in the body of the boat. If a small boat is not well supported this weight of water may easily strain her out of shape, for the draining plug is frequently left in. Another reason for covering a small boat on a beach is to keep undesirables out. People will sit on her, children will piny about inside and in other ways do harm to a boat left lying uncovered, especially where it is easy to get in and out. One of our 14-footers was left like this two years ago and she was never the same after. The best form of covering is a wooden one made of light boards nailed to a ridge pole and projecting enough over the rail to keep the water off the sides of ther.boat. This is rather expensive and 'must be stored each season. Quite a satisfactory cover can be made from old canvas. The way to do this is to erect "a ridge pole, made of a spar or a piece of 3ln x 2in timber. ?Plnce this in : th;e'centre running from bow to-stem, and-set it up on short pieces of 4in x lin notched at the top to receive the round or square rklge ' pole. A brace or two to the rails will improve it. For a covering "use a "piece of old canvas •which may be purchased-from a sailmaker, or an old tarpaulin. It would be better if this were cut to shape by a sailmaker, but it is not absolutely necessary. Stretch the canvas over the ridge pole with the seams running athwartship if possible, as the canvas will not tear as easily this way. It should come well down over the sides, around the turn of the bilge, and should be fastened by ropes passed un*Jer the keel. It is advisable to have gronmiets set in the edge for this purpose. Xever fasten the canvas on with battens nailed into the topskles, as they not only mark the boat, but collect moisture on their under sides. If the canvas is not stretched out it will sag between the ridge pole and rail, and water will collect an-l gradually soak into the boat. a small opening at the forward and after ends where the two sides of your canvas overlap for ventilation, otherwise the boat will swot during the winter whenever the sun gets on the canvas. Before covering up be sure that the boat is dry inside, and that the plug is knocked out to permit any water that may leak in to drain out. If it is a cabin boat, leave companion doors and ports open for a free circulation of air. By taking care of your boat in this way you will not only add to her life, but make the fitting-out process in the spring very much easier for one winter is harder on a boat not properly protected than several summers afloat.