November 2, 2015
Salty 4
Salty’s owner requested a custom winter and storage cover, so I turned to my trusted canvas contractor for the job. After an initial consultation to discuss the overall format of the cover, I built a sturdy yet simple frame running from bow to stern pulpit, supported with vertical posts as needed. With an eye towards ease of assembly and disassembly, I bolted the pieces together with short splices. Later (not shown here), I stabilized the frame and secured it with athwartship lines where required. The angle of the cover itself would be self-supporting and didn’t require any side bracing.
Jason built a pair of blanks for the cover–it was to be in two pieces, split at the aft end of the cabin trunk–and with it draped over the boat in oversized and raw form used it as its own pattern to work out the cuts required to clear the bow and stern pulpits, and exercise in self-faith and mid-air visualization.
A few days later, with the hemming and sewing work complete, Jason returned to install the cover. With zippers securing the two halves together at the cockpit, and closing off the long slits required around the stern rails, the final result was a great fit, yet with open ends would allow lots of natural ventilation through the boat. A few small detail items remained to be completed, but the cover fit so well on its first fitting that we decided to wait for spring for those, as none of these details affected the cover’s function now.
