Canvas for Alaska

[Annie Time]

Hey Tugnuts,
Annie and I are looking for a little insight on the value of adding a canvas enclosure on our 27OB. We plan to leave mid May headed north from Oak Harbor. We plan to be gone for 8 -12 weeks, hopefully making it as far north as Glacier Bay. We are looking for those who have done the trip this time of the year and wondering if you wished you had more covered space while traveling.

Perry and Annie

 

[Red Raven]

If you are talking about the bimini over the cockpit area, then absolutely. If you are talking about the full enclosure with side windows etc., I don’t think it is necessary for a spring summer trip. We made the trip last year the same time of year without the full enclosure and never felt a need for it.

Curt

 

[Annie Time]

Thanks Red Raven! We are referring to the full enclosure.

 

[NorthernFocus]

With a heated, enclosed cabin it's not a necessity. But awfully nice to have. We've been boating up here for 18 years. The first two with just a bimini type cover. And since then with side curtains. Though we do have the full enclosure (on two boats) we've never deployed it.

A couple of good aspects of having the enclosure:
- If you spend much time in the cockpit it's nice to be able to block the wind from one or both sides when at anchor.
- It keeps salt spray out of the cockpit when running in a seaway. Apart from the obvious of keeping things dry it also avoids things getting all crusty with salt when you go multiple days without the luxury of fresh water washdown.
- It rains a lot in Alaska. Which means wearing slickers a lot when going ashore, paddling, etc. It's nice to have a place to hand wet stuff without bringing all that moisture into the cabin.

 

[ALICE J]

I would agree with Dan about a place to hang foul weather gear. Roll up windows were up a down a lot depending where the rain was from. Mostly the side windows were important, t did use the aft occasionally, generally got on the dock from the side of the boat, but need to have easily usable door that can be used quickly.

 

[M/V Miss Kendy]

We had a full cockpit enclosure made by an upholsterer in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The admiral had the idea of a 3 layer side pieces. One is screens, second layer is isinglass and the inside layer is solid for privacy. They all roll up depending on the application you desire. They also roll completely up and out of the way on those nice days. Check out our pictures and you should be able to see what I’m talking about. They are not cheap but very nice in inclement weather. We always are in the gulf islands the first 2 weeks of September and the full enclosure is nice when the evenings cool off but you want to be outside.

 

[Toucan]

We were on the boat for 5 months in both 2017 and 2018 in the PNW. We traveled from Tacoma up as far as Skagway, AK. In both years the summers were very dry with minimal rain. We kept the Bimini up all summer but do not have side curtains. We were glad not to have side curtains as it would have interfered with the fantastic wildlife viewing, sightseeing and fishing/crabbing. Aft curtains would have made getting the dinghy pulled up on the Weaver davits a lot more difficult.

Barry and Lynne Thompson
TOUCAN, R-27 Classic

 

[Annie Time]

Great info everyone! Thank you. A lot of good pros and cons.

 

[scross]

We had some simple side panels made up for extra cockpit shade and wind protection in the PNW. They can be deployed or stowed in just a minute or two. Inexpensive and take up almost no space when stored. We only use them when not underway.
Sorry the pics are upside down but you will get the idea.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=47786
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=47789

 

[baz]

I fully embrace a full cockpit enclosure for many reasons.

1) Keeping cockpit dry
2) With minimal canvas the plastic screening does not obstruct outside viewing
3) Provides an 'extra room'
4) If aft panel simply sloped from the hardtop to the transom the cost for a full enclosure is halved (for me down to just under $2,500)
5) Added Security - items visible bit not as easy to grab and run
6) Overnight and early morning moisture can collect on all cockpit surfaces without the full enclosure, and thus a morning chore for wiping all the surfaces down to get rid of the moisture is not required.
7) Panels easily roll up and out of the way within a few seconds.
8) Pong from the holding tank's exit port is minimized
9) Safety for small children and pets avoiding unpleasant and unwanted MOB situations.
10) Helps to keep critters (large and small, as well as birds) out of the cockpit
11) In heavy weather with water over the boat the enclosure will do a good job keeping things dry in the cockpit and avoid water buildup in the side cockpit lockers.
12) I've had to deal with very large stern wakes created by commercial tugs that have cause the boat to be completely swamped and the cockpit enclosure did a good job keeping much water to no water getting into the cockpit.
13) With cockpit enclosure my stress level is reduced when the kids (small ones especially) wander to the cockpit area when the boat is rocking & rolling.
14) The full cockpit enclosure acts like a green-house and warms up nicely with the slightest of sun light.
15) When dousing the boat with fresh water after returning to dock, close up enclosure and spray down boat without any care the cockpit will be soaked.
16) For all the above reasons I'v opted for full cockpit enclosure on all RTs I've owned.

 

[Red Raven]

We had some simple side panels made up for extra cockpit shade and wind protection in the PNW. They can be deployed or stowed in just a minute or two. Inexpensive and take up almost no space when stored. We only use them when not underway.
Sorry the pics are upside down but you will get the idea.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=47786
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=47789

Al, I love this idea! While we have never really felt the need for a full enclosure (we like the fresh air and unobstructed view) we have had a few occasions where the evening sun is very hot and in our eyes (or the wind in our face). One or two zip-on panels that we could quickly block the sun or wind would be awesome!

Note to all: If we did winter boating or lived on the boat full time we would have a full enclosure, for sure.

Curt

 

[SJI Sailor]

Although (unfortunately!) I can't answer about Alaska, I wholeheartedly agree with Barry about the full enclosure in PNW . That has been the single beat improvement we've made to our C30S and makes fall/winter/spring boating much more comfortable.

 

[Spinner]

I took my 31 RT Spinner to Alaska on a three month trip in 2017. Part of my planning for the trip including getting a full enclosure for the cockpit (as well as a different dinghy). King Marine Canvas in Seattle built me an entirely new framework and the canvas for it. The side windows were doubled with screens, so I could roll up the vinyl windows, leaving screens in place.

I was really happy with the full enclosure, as it rained almost every day of the month that the boat was in Alaska!

 

[Annie Time]

Thanks for all the input from everyone! We decided to make an inexpensive canopy for the boat for our trip up north. We likely won’t use it much here in California.

We invested about $150 and a few days time and came up with a cheap canopy. It takes about 10 minutes to put up from inside the boat and will help with more dry space if needed. My husband sewed zippers to attach to the existing Bimini and it uses Velcro at the bottom.

 

[Bruce Moore]

The links to your images work if copied and pasted, but they won't display.

You used the Img tag correctly, but your images may only be up to 700 pixels high and up to 700 pixels wide.

Cheers,

Bruce