Cockpit Tents

[Tony]

I'm in full accord with Steve Jones on this topic.
I can't be bothered with "elegant", I much prefer "functional". 

Unfortunately, I have achieved neither – but I keep trying.

On "Four Sisters" the primary function of the cockpit "tent" is to keep the seats dry overnight to enable morning coffee to be enjoyed without the necessity of donning waterproof overtrousers  first.
Secondary to this is the provision of shelter from the rain and a degree of privacy when on a mooring. (Putting on clothing while still in the cabin requires the skills of a Limbo dancer, and tends to rock the boat in a manner known to cause significant alarm to the general public.)

I have two approaches:
1.
A large fishing umbrella.
Quick, fairly effective (if you watch where the drips are going) but an uncontrollable  liability in a high wind and has to be put back in its (waterproof) cover before being stored in the cabin.
2.
A cheap tarpaulin.
They come from a local agricultural suppliers for less than a tenner, in attractive shades of green, blue or white,  arranged - with minimal effort spent on modification - as shown in the sketch below. The front end is rolled over a length of heavy shock cord and stretched over the spray hood, tight enough to stop the wind getting under it. The aft end is fixed to the mizzen with an adjustable rolling hitch. You need an attachment point in the middle of the tarp which can take some tension without tearing. I found the best way is to use a golf ball, as shown in the second sketch.  (Just one of the many uses I have found for the golf balls of unknown provenance that keep appearing in my back garden - and occasionally in my green house, damn it!)
Stick-on Velcro and dead eyes hold the sides down well enough.  I doubt the fixings would hold in a full gale but who would want the windage of even a low profile tent in a gale? In high winds the boat's better on its trailer ......and I prefer the bar and a pub room or even a Best Western overnight, myself.  Any fool can be uncomfortable. 
(The best gale I have weathered was seen through the windows of the Bay Hotel, Robinhood's Bay. http://www.bayhotel.info/  Rain and salt spray rattled the windows as I ate my Haddock and chips and afterwards watched the footie with a pint in my hand.  What my fellow members of  the DCA would have said, I do not know – or, to be frank, give a hoot. ) 
The tarps last a couple of years before the UV gets to 'em and can be stuffed in a locker soaking wet without coming to harm. I expected condensation to be a problem but the lash-up is so draughty, I mean (ahem) well ventilated, that it's not an issue.
One day I might make a copy of this design in proper tent canvass, with sewn-in zips and re-inforced seams etc. just so I have something that looks "nice" . ...but then I'd have to look after it, clean it, store it dry, re-proof it each season.
On reflection,   I can't be bothered;   but good luck to all of those who can!

[steve jones]

HI ALL,

Just returned from Plymouth, and picked up this thread.

  If the snap comes through, it will show the hoops I use, 22mm over split and repaired 9mm tent poles ( ex.) . I fix them in the rowlock holes amidships and they socket into 15mm tubes in the stern. the spray hood is erected and the Market traders tarp is tensioned around the mast with a bungee cord . a continuous bungee cord either side is clipped onto ss deck clips fixed under the rubbing strake. The aft end is lashed around the mizzen and laced with rope .

The loose end at the mast end over the spray hood allows air to flow through to the stern, doesn't matter if rain gets in at the mizzen since it's over the outboard well and I have afterdeck and side decks that drain through scuppers.

I also use a very old tent that just happens to fit ,better in fact but there is a lot of condensation. it means that my gunwale and rubbing strake are a'brissle  with clips so be careful if coming alongside with an inflatable! I can wax lyrical about inflatables , I have two , one a 'proper job' too heavy to carry and a light weight 2.3m 250kg toy that I can stow on the foredeck I've rigged up a seat on that to keep my bum dry. The former has an o/b transom and attachable oars cost £220 from force 4 , the latter £15 that I scull over the bows.

Since I have a BR17 1.83m beam and about 3.4m mast to past mizzen, the BR20 dimensions might not be as conducive to that particular arrangement.
 
Will send more snaps when I get time.

All the best ,

Steve

BR17 Nona Me

[david]

Looks like I will be going the same way as Tony and Steve. Tarpaulin that is strong enough, (Maybe with reinforcing), to accommodate extra grommets for tie downs. I like the hoops Steve showed and will be stealing that idea.
  The search continues for a simple and effective = elegant solution.

[Tony]

Not sure where I stole this photo from, Graham W, I think.
Looks like a neat answer to the cockpit tent problem, if it works.... and you can stand having all that hardware permanently mounted on the back of the cockpit.

[david]

Agreed Tony. "Pickles" is certainly a nice looking boat.
David

[Peter Taylor]

Probably you all know of them already, but something I've found useful for rigging ad hoc shelters (for example using a tarpaulin over a boom) are what Force 4 sells as "Holdon Instant Clip-on eyelets" (£4-95 for pack of 4) - photo below. They hold really well and the great thing is you can add them to your shelter after it's been erected - for example when you discover you need a rope pulling "just there" to stop the rain puddling on the shelter roof!

[david]

I had not seen these Peter. Thank you for sharing them. I was already to try the golf ball idea. This looks easier for me to do. Still have the  golf ball as a back up 
O

[Tony]

Hi, folks.
Hopefully, Peter, these clips are a better product than those I had a few years ago.
(They came adrift when the tension came off and quite quickly tore the canvas under load because of sharp edges.)

The golf ball trick (other spherical objects are available) is for attaching a line to the middle of a tarp where clips won't work. It doesn't look too clever but it spreads the load, has never caused a tear (or a tear!) and, best of all, it works!

[Peter Taylor]

Hopefully, Peter, these clips are a better product than those I had a few years ago.
(They came adrift when the tension came off and quite quickly tore the canvas under load because of sharp edges.)

I must admit I haven't used them much on Seatern but I've used them for some time now at home with those cheap tarpaulins made out of blue woven polystyrene and have had no problems. And the garden is quite exposed being next to the river.  Rather than letting go when not under tension, they have a ratchet mechanism which means it can be difficult to get them to let go when you want them to (bones and dogs come to mind)!  The bit that grips is quite flat and I've not had trouble with tears - however I admit that use on a boat is a more stringent test!

Peter

[Jonathan Stuart]

I know this is re-opening an old topic, but I thought I'd add to the discussion on tent ideas. This summer I've used a 3m X 3m DD Tarp on my BRe. Two of us sleep under the tarp and two in the cabin. It worked well and at £35 has been good value. Attached are two photos showing us using this on the Fal near Truro.

[Rory C]

Imitation is the finest form of flattery! I followed a suggestion from the thread and bought the same 3m x 3m tarp and set it up much as Jonathan has done. I tried it for the first time on a mooring on Ullswater this week to be sure that I could rig it from within and was very pleased with the result.
The only differences are that I shorten the lazy jacks a bit by putting each one under the boom and on to eye on the other side thereby raising it a bit, unclip the main sheet, replace the mizzen with the mast crutch and use the former as an external ridge threading it through the supplied loops in the top of the tarp so it spans from the spray hood to the crutch. The tarp edges come between the gunwhale and the coaming. The lazy jacks seem to keep the boom from veering to much and as I was head to wind there was no need to lash it to the shrouds.
No pics I'm afraid (I was alone) but hope the mizzen ridge solution may help others planning to use a tarp.

[Bill Rollo]

Steve,

When you have a moment I'd be interested if you would 'wax lyrical' on tenders (your post above refers) We might have to shift to the inflatable tender thread to stay legal...

Best wishes

Bill

[Bill Rollo]

Steve,

When you have a moment I'd be interested if you would 'wax lyrical' on tenders (your post above refers) We might have to shift to the inflatable tender thread to stay legal...

Best wishes

Bill