Winter Cover

[David VanDenburgh]

I recently finished a winter cover for our Cape Dory 36 that I began work on a year ago - I know, pathetic. Needless to say, I'm glad to have it done and on the boat. Tim had mentioned that he'd like to see some pictures, so I'll post a few pictures and some information about the project here.

I used 7 oz. Surlast fabric (60" wide) that I purchased from Sailrite at 11.95/yd. The project required 55 yards of fabric and over 1000 yards of V-92 thread. I used my LSZ-1 purchased specifically for the project - and other future projects. The machine worked marvelously. Construction was based on my own plans drawn from Ariel's measurements. Although I tried to be as scientific as I could, there was a certain amount of guesswork and cross your fingers and hope for the best involved. Most of my reading on canvas work and sailmaking suggests that there is almost always tweaking to be done. That has proven to be true. I'll need to construct bow and stern enclosures when I get a break in the weather here and can pull the cover off for a few hours of sewing without threat of snow or rain - right now we're under a storm warning.
I sewed on nylon webbing tiedowns at every panel seam and in between where I thought I'd need ties closer together. I also added a hem along the bottom of the cover to incorporate a drawstring closure that draws the cover tight to the hull contours.
My materials expense, excluding the sewing machine, was $700. Total estimated time - minus cogitation - is hard to figure since I only worked in fits, but I would guess it to be around 20 hours.
Looking back on the project, I thought it was an advantage to use wide material to reduce the amount of sewing but have since reconsidered and think that - despite the extra work - it would be better to have narrower panels that allow seams and tie down points to be closer together and stronger. The ability to secure each tiedown in the thicker and beefier material of a seam is preferable to tiedowns with little reinfocement.
Building the cover using flat-felled seams was a wise choice. It takes more time to build the cover this way - three rows of stitching for each panel - but the resulting seam is stronger and more attractive than simply overlapping panels and leaving fabric edges exposed. Don Casey's book "Canvaswork & Sail Repair" helped me with this decision.
Here are a few photos and a link to more photos showing the flat-felled seam.







Flat-felled seam photos: http://www.ariel-cd36.org/sewingproject ... index.html

[Tim]

She looks cozy under that cover. Thanks for the photos!

[David VanDenburgh]

I pulled the cover off the boat and used my last bits of material to make bow and stern enclosures. It's better, but I still ended up short in the stern. It will have to do until spring when I can sew on another flap.

All in all, I'm happy with the way the cover turned out.

Here are a couple of pictures of the enclosures.

[Tim]

Actually, it's better for the boat if you leave those air gaps that you have. A little snow may get in, but it won't hurt anything, and the airflow is far better for things than that small amount of snow, rain, or ice is bad.

[Figment]

Nice cover. It's pretty bright under there, eh?

...and we see another boat with the FOR SALE sign taped to the topsides instead of the bottom. Sigh.

[David VanDenburgh]

Thanks, Tim, for making me feel better about the gap. If I hadn't already spilled the beans, I'd say that it was intentional.

Figment, I understand that the FOR SALE sign taped to the topsides of that boat is the least of a prospective buyer's worries. Prior to being moved to her new, more visible location, the boat was parked behind the marina office for five or six years, during which time it filled with rainwater and snowmelt as it sat uncovered.

It sounds like a sad story. There was something about the boat's glory days before her owner passed away and how she won virtually all of the yacht club races. Apparently the guy knew how to make her move. She certainly has an interesting underbody.

[Case]

David.... Hey... That boat with the "FOR SALE" sign taped to the wrong place....

Is it by any chance an Allied Chance 30-30? Its a rare Allied that was designed to be a race boat. Designed by a guy called Britton Chance. It was an IOR design and was moderately successful when it first came out.

Here's some photographs I found online of this boat. Look at the photographs then tell me if that red boat like the one in the photograph or different.

Side View:



One detail thats rather unique to the Chance 30-30... the area where the rudder attaches to the hull, its pretty weird. Does the red boat has this?



The keel (and possibly the bottom edge of the rudder) on this Chance 30-30 was modified so don't try to compare the keel of this one to the red one. The red boat in the photograph showed a certain hull feature that looked similar to the Allied 30-30. That plus your comments about "interesting underbody" made me suspect it may be an Allied Chance 30-30.

By the way, that cover looks beautiful!

- Case

[David VanDenburgh]

David.... Hey... That boat with the "FOR SALE" sign taped to the wrong place....

Is it by any chance an Allied Chance 30-30?

I don't know. I'll have to swing by the marina and take a look. The hull shape certainly fits, but I don't recall what the rudder looks like. I'll let you know what I find out.

[David VanDenburgh]

David.... Hey... That boat with the "FOR SALE" sign taped to the wrong place....

Is it by any chance an Allied Chance 30-30? Its a rare Allied that was designed to be a race boat.

Case,

Here's the info straight from the owner's son: It's a "Chance One-tonner". Apparently, one of seven built in Germany. He said it's commonly called a 33-29 - if that means anything to you. He said she has a newer Yanmar, but he also says he thinks she's full of water right now so that newer Yanmar probably isn't looking so new. The price is very negotiable. If you are interested, here's the number: 843 557 6082, ask for Randy. I've got nothing to urge, of course.

David

[Case]

Sounds like it is a sailboat designed by Britton Chance but not actually the Allied Chance 30-30. I guess I am wrong.

No, I am not interested in the boat, I just wanted to know whether it is a Allied Chance 30-30 or not. I do feel sad about that boat, wish the son of the now dead owner took the time to simply drill a hole in the hull for drainage. A hole in the hull is very easy to fix, much more than a hull full of water. Sigh, such neglect just boggles my mind.

- Case