Here’s how I cover my boat for the winter. I use a big grey tarp, stretched tightly fore and aft, loosely down the side. (Spring is busting out behind Grizzly Bear, my H26 under the tarp.)

All wrapped up

Under the tarp, there are 11 or 12 ribs made from PVC pipe. Next time I’d use ¾” or 1”. Some pictured here at 1½”.

Top view of ribs

To help the snow slide off the bow area, I raised the mast with this plywood contraption. This first rib doesn’t bend. I used a 45 degree angle joint in the middle of it.

Mast lift

Each rib has a slotted end that fits over the safety line.

Rib with slot

The rib-end is capped off with a 45 degree angle connector. A hole is drilled through both PVC pieces and a short section of copper wire acts as a keeper. It bends softly away from the tarp – no sharps ends to tear the tarp.

Rib - safety line closeup

A close up.

Endcap detail

Then all rib-ends are covered with pipe insulation and duct tapped in place. Notice the spring snows are still covering Long’s Peak in the distance, north west of Denver. This tarp system does a great job of shedding our heavy wet spring snows.

Ribs at safety line with foam

Here’s how they look with the tarp in place. A tarp lasts two years by making sure that the tension on the tarp is along the fore/aft line, not down the sides over these pieces of foam. They would rub a hole through the tarp quickly if tension were put there.

Rib ends under the tarp

We’re at the bow. This type of connection occurs at both ends of the mast. That keeps the sections between the ribs taught enough so that snow and water sheds rather than pools. You can see the trucker’s hitch that I use to pull it tight. (The black object is the top end of the roller furler.)

Keeping the tarp tight

This year the stern tidied up nicely.

Stern is tucked in

The bow is kind of a mess, but it works. Notice the floppiness here. The tension is across the top of the boat, not down the sides.

Bow tucked in

Underneath the tarp, you can see the winter’s dust accumulation. The round wooden piece supports the mast midway. This is also a good shot of the jam cleat that I use to lock down the jib sheet.

Under the cover