Boom Tent

[nies]

Rainy day project for a boom tent for a CP16...........one Farm&Fleet 6x8 blue ploy tarp (actually 5'6"x7'6") .........about 20' of 1/4' braided poly line from Ace Hardware........place tarp over boom and attach center hole to each end of boom.......attach rear corner holes to stern cleats.............attach center holes to cockpit combing rail if you have one.....attach second hole from front to jib jam cleats and you have a quick and cheap boom tent(under$6'00)......not water tight but covers cabin entry and allows air movement.........nies

[skip1930]

Yep. ' I's luv's mine ' on my CP-19.

But I tie it to the safety lines as well as the mast, and the back of the boom [the boom's back end is held up by a short cable u-clamped to the aft standing rigging with a Q/D..

They are cozy in the evening, keeps the dew off, a bit of shelter from the weather, and plain O`fun to be under when cooking grub on a one burner stove in the cockpit, then kick back and read a book via kerosene lantern.

skip.

[MKBLK]

Ditto, here, nies. Now that the sun is beating down relentlessly, thought I'd revive your thread since I missed it first time around:

Wanted to make a boom tent w/o actually buying anything with stuff on hand and in regular use on board. Had the tarp that I used 2 years ago for BBB-2013. Problem was that I didn't "experiment" with it 'till I needed to use it. Poor decision on my part. Naturally, I waited until after dark and wind picking up, and hadn't figured out how to secure the tarp. Lots of fun!

Sooo... I raised the mast and boom in my drive-way, tossed the tarp over the boom, used same sized bungees from the four corners to the aft cleats and two pulleys that the PO had mounted on the cabin roof. That left 2 grommets on either side. I used two fenders as weights and strung them between the grommets and left hanging over the side. You can use the fenders vertically or horizontally. Less than 5 minutes to set up. So easy a blind person could do it by feel alone. No more worries about getting it set up before dark (For some strange reason, a lot of gabbing occurs after dark in the cockpit of a 23! - ain't that right, Bob23?).

Of course, head room still isn't great but no problem sitting/sleeping. Great protection from rain/sun/sea-gull guano. When used along with my raised cockpit grid and air mattress - perfecto!

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus

P.S. I've given up on a Bimini that can be used under sail. Don't know how people do it. I'm 6'2 - hopeless!

[BruceW]

I have used a boom tent a little bigger. Son and I barely got to anchor when a storm came up. We put the thing up as rain started.  Glad to have it, since it was summer time, and it rained nearly all night. We were able to cook under it, and leave  sliding hatch open. I want a smaller one to cover front hatch.

For underway shade, try the top half of a cheap beach umbrella bungeed to a stanchion. I have used them for years. They were $8 bucks when I started; now they are $12 or more, but you could float a loan and get 2!

[MKBLK]

Well, my boom tent got the acid test the other night... a fast moving front with horizontal rain came through and hit Pegasus hard on her port side. I knew the front came through 'cause the house shook! Jumped out of bed and peeked out the front door to see if Pegasus was still upright on her trailer. Yep, just fine, and the rain was still horizontal! The boom tent took it in stride, although I'm sure that anyone/thing under it would have been soaked anyway. The storm pointed out one small deficiency - I added a clamp on each shroud to keep the tarp from riding up.

Bruce W. - Yeah, I like the idea of the umbrella. Not a lot of headroom in the cockpit of a 16 (or anywhere else on board, 'cept the bow!), so it makes sense to have an umbrella that you can adjust as necessary.

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus

[Bob23]

While I don't have a rain proof boom tent for my 23, I did make a sun shade using a small painters drop cloth, some old line and a part of my brain that get's overworked some time. Typically, it lays on the boom and is tied off to stanchions, the mast and somewhere else that I can't remember just now. It works great and provides some relief from the sun.
Bob23

[MKBLK]

Bob, you can't remember because of those overworked synapses! I'd tie off on my stanchions too, if I had any.

With some minor improvements, I think I've constructed the ideal boom tent for a 16. To provide some decent sitting room, I added a pair of 1" diameter PVC piping about a foot long at the stern. An end of the bungee goes through the tarp grommet into the pipe at the top. The bottom of the pipe catches the stern cleats horn nicely via a notch cut into it. Seems to work very well. The bungee goes under the stainless rub-rail thingee and is held in place by a pair of plastic squeeze clamps. Definitely will be trying out this system come the highly anticipated BBB-2015. I've also resolved the problem of the lack of headroom... just leave my head home!

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus

[Duckie]

When I use my boom tent I use the topping lift to hoist the aft end of the boom which gives me a bit more head room near the cabin and a lot more head room at the aft end of the cockpit.  Also, I haven't tried this but couldn't a person use the mainsail halyard to lift the boom at the mast and follow that up with a sail stop to give more head room forward?

Al

[Tom L.]

Duckie, A friend of ours who sails an Oday Day Sailor does just what you suggested. He lifts the back of the boom with the topping lift and raises the goose neck very high and he has all kinds of room under his boom tent. It looks different but is very functional. The tent itself goes all the way to the deck.  Remember, this is the cabin for the day sailor. He has a cot for his bunk.

Tom L.

[MKBLK]

Gee, Tom - why do things the easy way when the hard way is so much more fun! As I posted earlier, leaving my head at home solves the headroom problem. But, maybe I'll try Duckies method. Worth a go!

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus