Mooring cover

[Paul vR]

The mooring cover of our BC23 keeps the cockpit free from all kinds of debris etc (see pictures).

The design connects the cover with mooring cleats and stays, and has two rubber bands suspending it from the boom to give it a tent-like shape. However, with strong winds and rain, small pools of water develop on top of the cover despite its shape, which start to collect more water, until finally the cover collapses and the rubber bands give away. Until this happens it can put quite a bit of weight on the boom I think.

One solution might be to do away with the rubber bands connecting it to the boom and put a couple of small holes in the cover to drain the rain water in a gradual way when it rains.

Have any of you experienced this problem, and do you have any suggestions for it?

[Graham W]

This is a common problem on all boats.  You need to put in place a central ridge, which could be a pole from front to back under the cover or even a clothes horse!

[Philip L]

How strange - we have an identical setup on Ullswater and this has never happened.  It certainly rains enough there!
The only difference I can see is that we have the cover slightly further forward with the bungees attached to handrail instead of the lower shrouds.
The shape of the cover would make it difficult to fit a ridge pole but a prop with with suitable chafe protection top and bottom may work.  Alternatively you could fit stronger bungee to the ridge - I see you have your halyard as a topping lift so the boom should be well supported.
Let us know what works for you

[Sea Simon]

I never had similar problems with my Rain n Sun BRe cockpit cover, used on mooring for 3 seasons, at least.

See photo, coincidentally  attached to another recent post, here. Mooring rigs.
https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,3591.msg19417.html#msg19417

The ridge pole (as suggested by GW) is in fact my mizzen,  Sail on, under cover too.
The cover was held off the mizzen by the central bungy.
Even without this my cover was OK, although the arrangement in the photo is more typical.

Suggest using stronger bungy? Use longer/doubled lengths (more strech) wherever possible.

Maybe add more  eyelets to the perimeter?  Keep it all as taught as possible.

[Paul vR]

Thanks for your sugestions. A ridge is more difficuld to realise, without a mizzen. I'll start with stronger bungees connecting the cover with the boom and possibly adding a third eye there. Paul