Full cockpit enclosure for R29 CB ?

[baz]

Subject: Full cockpit enclosure for R29 CB ?

I'm contemplating having a full cockpit enclosure templated for my new R29 CB in late May. This will be done by King Marine Canvas (Dave in Seattle/Ballard). If all goes well and I like the design I will go-ahead and have it assembled & installed. Dave did my full enclosures for my R-21 EC and R27/OB and a very good job was made and was pleased with the results.

For the R29 CB I don't mind having the aft panels sloped from the trailing edge of the hard top Bimini and will have the aft panel wide enough to allow for the transom flip over seat to be used with the panel rolled up. The one panel that concerns me at this time is how Dave will adapt the enclosure for access to the stairway to the command bridge.

If other R29 CB owners have had a full cockpit enclosure made I'd love to see some photos and especially how the access to the command bridge stairway was dealt with.

Thanks... 🙂

 

[Wee Venture]

Dave’s crew did a great job with a full enclosure on our R-31CB, including the stairway. He texted us pictures beforehand, so if you ask, he might have pics of the 29. We asked him to make a little opening (covered by a small canvas flap) for the line from the overhead Weaver winch to the dinghy. This works very well and can help steady the dinghy in rough waters. Also, we like to keep our Magma grill on the cockpit rail so we had them make a little pouch in the enclosure to accommodate the grill. We are very pleased with the outcome.

 

[Eastside3]

Barry I look forward to seeing the piece you ultimately decide on, since my R29 won’t be ready until lat June.

 

[baz]

I've chatted with Dave today and discussed my full cockpit enclosure requirements. We came to an agreement on having the aft panels slope from the stock Bimini hardtop to the transom. This avoids having to have an extension made for making the aft panel(s) vertical and saves a considerable amount of money, plus I don't like the idea of having more poles. Dave will give me a Boat Show 10% discount as well.

There will be an aft panel wide enough to allow the transom seat to flip over when the wide panel is rolled up. There will be a separate panel for the transom door. A special zipped in section will be made for accessing the stairs to the command bridge. The panel bottom edges will be secured to under the rub rails with black looped stretchy cords over installed knobs to the hull sides (much like Dave did for my R-21EC and R27/OB).

The sloped aft panel when in position will not obstruct a person's head when sitting on the flip seat, unless they are taller than 7 feet. :lol: I had Andrew and Kenny check this for me a few months back.... but mind you, Kenny isn't that tall... :roll:

My primary reason for having the cockpit full enclosure is for...

1) protecting the cockpit area from the weather elements when docked. (I will have the teak/holly carpet in the cockpit)

2) when cruising in windy/cold conditions.

3) keeping the cockpit warm with the sun shining and making the cockpit sort of green-house-like.

4) making use of the fact the cockpit area can be heated when the Webasto heater is running.

Now I have to decide on what color to have for the enclosure's Sunbrella narrow strips of canvas. There's a Sunbrella Jockey Red Plus that looks appealing and it could/may compliment my Hero Red hull. 😉 :roll: As the stock canvas is Khaki it may well be the best choice... then maybe off-white might go with the cabin's white color also.... food for thought, right ?

Dave's workman will come to my Marina late May and template for the enclosure as Dave has not done a full enclosure for the R29 CB model before. I will be present for this to discuss panel locations and sizes etc. I will ensure there are large enough zipped openings in the side panels for working the cockpit located fenders and lines.

King Marine requires a 50% deposit to start the scheduling process.

 

[Eastside3]

Barry, is Dave sketching something up? I’d love to see the concept sketch.

 

[baz]

No sketches I'm sorry to say. What I can do is to take some photos of the templating activity in late May and post them for you. This will give you some idea of what it looks like.

 

[DMR]

I just bought a 2008 R25 classic. Do you know where I can get a hard top bimini?

 

[baz]

Today the crew from King Marine Canvas came to my boat to template for the cockpit's full enclosure. I purposely requested to have the enclosure be fitted to the Bimini's hard tops gusset channel and to ensure a panel is made allowing access to the Command Bridge with the rest of the cockpit panels fully deployed. I was a bit nervous about how this access would be made and I'm glad I was present for the templating activity as between the crew and me we came up with what I think is a good design for the access. When the final enclosure is installed (likely within next two weeks) I will add additional photos to my shared photo album referenced below. The transom panels will slope from the aft edge of the hard Bimini top with the transom seat folded forward. This allows the seat to be used with all the panels down and a wide panel is made for the transom seat to swing and face aft with just the one wide transom panel rolled up. Of course, a single panel will be made for accessing the cockpit via the swim step door.

It was a somewhat of windy day so we all had to hold onto the plastic templates to stop them flying about. The King Marine Canvas crew consisted of two people, very very friendly, very professional and the lead crew person is the person who designed and installed my full cockpit enclosures for my previous R21 EC and R27/OB models. He's worked for King Marine for over 30 years doing this type of work and it was very clear to me he knew exactly what he was doing.

The final activity was with being asked where exactly did I want the zipped panels and lower side flaps large enough for retrieving the stern fenders when the cockpit enclosure fully erected. This has been a problem for me in the past that meant having to unzip panels in order to retrieve the fenders.

I'm looking forward to having the final cockpit enclosure fitted and providing yet another useful area for passengers when weather, wind and temperatures aren't conducive to hanging out in the cockpit. In addition the enclosure will offer safety for my Wire Hair Fox Terrier when in the cockpit who has a tendency for jumping at anything that moves around the boat. I can safely allow him to be in the cockpit now when underway. This enclosure will also keep my cockpit safe from wind, rain, seagulls and extra security etc when docked in my covered slip with bow in and starboard tie up. The cockpit has a heated air outlet so that will also help in keeping the enclosed cockpit a bit more toasty during winter and spring times.

Shared photo album here -> https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B1A5FrPQ6OXpOp

 

[baz]

King Marine Canvas will be installing my full cockpit enclosure this coming Thursday. Will capture photos/video of the event and post back here later on.

 

[baz]

King Marine Canvas cockpit installers were on time yesterday to install my full cockpit enclosure. No rain and no wind made the installation go smoothly over some 3.5 hours.

The trickiest part was the design and installation of the access to the Command Bridge with the enclosure installed. I have to admit, King did a good job figuring out how to do this. At first when the templating was being done a week or so ago I was a bit apprehensive about how it would work out. However, as the installation unfolded I started to feel better and better about how the access worked. There's a separate solid canvas panel that unzips and is rolled aft and secured and access to the Command Bridge becomes available while the rest off the enclosure stays in place.... very cunning if you ask me. 😀

All panels can be rolled up except for the two corner sections. Access to the cockpit when the boat is alongside the dock can be either via a rolled up center panel on starboard or port sides or via the panel that exposes the cockpit transom door.

The aft/transom panel is slightly wider than the transom flip seat so that when it's rolled up allows the seat to flip and face aft.

The plastic windows are 40 mil thick so rolling the panels up in low temperatures is not affected.

The R29 CB has a tubed gutter running around the edge of the hard top Bimini and the panels slid into this to form a water tight seal. Some extra gutter was added to accommodate installing the solid canvas panel for the Command Bridge access.

I purposely has King design in two large flaps to allow the aft fenders to be retrieved without having to partially unzip panels. These flaps can be clipped down at their lower corners so they don't fly about while under way.

There's a large gap running from starboard to port under the transom flip seat and will simply wedge in a soft old blanket to block this gap when necessary.

I'm very pleased with this enclosure. 😀

Photo Album below...
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B1A5O3DjHFvIWt

 

[SalishSailor]

This is a 2022 follow up to the posts on cockpit covers. I am buying a 2017 R29CB and will want to add a cockpit enclosure. I would be interested to hear how these enclosures have held up over the past 3-4 years, especially for boats moored out in the elements.

 

[mlanger]

I’ll help keep this alive by adding that I was unable to get an enclosure installed by the Ranger Tug canvas people (King Canvas, I think?) before shipping my 2019 R-29 CB to the Great Loop in October but definitely want one. Does anyone know where I can get one installed in Florida?

I’m also interested in feedback about durability and general usefulness from folks that have them.

 

[mlanger]

King Marine Canvas cockpit installers were on time yesterday to install my full cockpit enclosure. No rain and no wind made the installation go smoothly over some 3.5 hours.

…

I'm very pleased with this enclosure. 😀

Photo Album below...
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B1A5O3DjHFvIWt

Wow! This looks amazing! Did you also get bug screen panels?

 

[strangecrew]

We had King Canvas install a cockpit cover on our 29 (sedan) and so far, working very well. We're out in the hinterlands on the Hood canal so had to wait for time and weather to make it into Seattle, first for the measurement/templating, then the installation but the crew was very professional and fast. It's like having an extra room on the boat in the winter.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9z1FoJnhkp94yVdX9