Need Shrink Wrapping advice for a liveaboard

[mariner36bob]

^what he said. Yes. You'll need a boat to access offshore side of your boat. Don't be tempted to shrink the offshore side from underneath, you'll wake up dead.


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[Rainh2o2]

I don't know your weather in your area but I built a PVC pipe frame and strap it to the downed mast during winters here in michigan. I use a cheap poly tarp from harbor freight. 2nd year in use and it seems fine. I do keep the snow and ice raked off of it. Here is the frame

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[ThreadenSails]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think i've gotten some really helpful thoughts, and its confirmed a lot of what I already thought. It is probably best for me to hire someone to do the wrapping and let me watch so I can have a better idea of how it's done. I think I should probably still build the frame though. I doubt that many shrinkwrappers around here are used to wrapping for liveaboards. How do most people attach the frame? Just to the stanchions? How do you go about putting in a wood door instead of the zipper one?

Thanks again for the help folks.

Those canadian videos were really helpful. Hope I don't have to deal with anything quite as heavy as that!

[Delancey]

Whether Morris Canal or Hudson River proper I am sure you have some neighbors nearby who have shrink wrapped. Liberty Landing for sure. I suggest you talk to some real people to get some references before you start. Give it a try, I am sure they won't bite.

As far as building the frame yourself. Pros will shrink wrap your boat in a half a day including the frame. You might save a few pennies or you night not. The pros will have their own way of doing things so might not appreciate your assistance so much. Exception being a rigid door. Not typical so the pros might hit you for that.

This is where talking to neighbors and getting references comes into play. You might be surprised, there are a lot more liveaboards on the Jersey side than you might think.

Cheers

[Mike OReilly]

I've never (yet) lived aboard over winter, but have a fair bit of experience building winter covers for our boats. Up until recently we lived in the real north (north of Lake Superior) so know a little something about effective winter covers. It took me a few years, but I learned to build a cover that kept the boat dry, and handled the serious winter storms we get on the north shore of Lake Superior.

Start with PVC pipe arches. Space them every meter (3-4 feet) along the deck. Secure them to the toe rail, and link them together with 3/8" line tied from pull to pushpit. The key is to mechanically link everything, but allow for the entire system to flex under the weight of snow and wind loads. From there, cover the frame with whatever plastic material seems best. Cheap, thin tarps lasted me three years. Thicker, more expensive ones would add a year or so. The key is to avoid chafe, so add foam patches wherever there are hard points.

The entire cost of my covers ran a few hundred dollars for the initial structure, then perhaps $50/year to account for tarp replacements. Shrink wrapping looks great, but to my frugal mind, is ridiculously expensive and horribly wasteful.

All this said, for our new (old) boat we had a custom canvas cover and aluminum frame built. We designed the cover with liveaboarding in mind, so there are zipped access ports and plenty of ventilation points. It cost a fair bit, but I expect to get a decade of use out of it.

[Delancey]

Shrink wrap is expensive when compared to alternatives and wasteful, but it is also very effective. Nothing wrong with doing it your first season. You can always make your own cover next year after you have mastered the other important aspects of living aboard in the northeast.

Talk to some with neighbors and get some references for who to hire.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Delancey

Shrink wrap is expensive when compared to alternatives and wasteful, but it is also very effective. Nothing wrong with doing it your first season. You can always make your own cover next year after you have mastered the other important aspects of living aboard in the northeast.

Talk to some with neighbors and get some references for who to hire.

I think this is very wise advice ThreadenSails. Your time is short now. Nothing wrong with going with the tried and true (and professional) approach right now so you can, git-er-done. You'll have a whole year to learn what you need to know to either do it yourself next year, or learn why it's best to hire professionals.

[pyeguy]

To build a door, build the frame of the door into your winter frame, one year I just built a door that looked like two hollow squares on top of each other using 2X2 then stapled on vapor barrier to seal it...another year I built a draw bridge that turned into a door, I've seen someone use an actual screen door. Many options.

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[ThreadenSails]

Thanks guys, this is all a big help. I'm just up river from morris canal, but I walked over to liberty landing yesterday to see what other people were doingl

I think I will go ahead and pay for the wrapping by a professional this year, but hopefully I'll learn enough by watching that I can do it myself next year. I am still considering doing the frame myself so I can get it the way I want it. I'll definately upload some pictures once it's all done. It's unseasonably warm here in NY, hopefully it will stay that way a little while longer