BR20 Cockpit tent, furling, sail cover & battery lights

[Andy Stobbart]

I thought some BR20 owners might be interested in a few accessories I gave made and ideas I have come up to make my boat more suited to overnighting/longer trips.
Firstly I have just finished making a canvas cockpit cover which zips onto the sprayhood and covers the entire cockpit. My design criteria were to avoid drilling any holes in my boat, to have side windows and an opening rear door.
I made a support frame from plastic plumbing pipe with dowel glued inside it (straight lengths easier to stow than curves, plastic and wood floats better than metal and is a lot cheaper); this has aluminium pins glued into it that plug it into the aft rowlock holes.
The cover itself is sewn from acrylic canvas on a cheap domestic sewing machine using the strongest outdoor thread that I could get needles for.
I ended up drilling 2 holes in the mast support on the mizzen mast base to install a padeye to attach the rear door to.
I have included hanging loops inside so that I can suspend a mozzie net to cover the sleeping area (my next sewing project). 
While making the cover and pondering a) how I would be able to stow the sail securely during windy conditions (more securely than with sail ties); b) how to prevent the lowered gunter boom from bumping on the mizzen mast all night, especially if the mizzen is left up as a riding sail; and c) how to get an all round anchor light aloft for overnighting, I suddenly realised that I could do all three by simply detaching the sail from the gunter boom and hauling it aloft again. Once the gunter is aloft the problem of it bumping the mizzen is gone, plus it is a doddle to raise it and lower it again. If I made a simple cap equipped with a battery powered all round white  to attach to the top of the gunter I would then be able to raise an anchor light very easily.The cap I have designed (more plumbing pipe and velcro) is waiting for the arrival of a Navisafe Navilight that I forgot nd going for a song on eBay but shore-based trials were conducted prior to the idea getting the green light to go into full production and sea trials.
With the gunter now aloft, how to stow the sail? The gunter rig gas always driven me crazy because the sail doesn't drop in an orderly fashion as a normal Marconi sail with slides in a mast track or a square gaff sail does, it cones down in a crumpled heap that wants to slide off the boom and defies all attempts to tame it. What I have realised is that with the head if the sail off the gunter yard and the yard aloft it is actually quite easy to flake the sail on top of the boom as though it had dropped down a track; once that is done it is much easier to secure the tidy result with sail ties but, having some spare canvas left over from my sewing learning curve I had just enough pieces to be able to make a reasonably presentable (well I think it is) sail cover to secure the whole lot for stress free slumber when the wind gets up at night.
The photos show my canvas work, I will take a photo of my nav light contraption and add that shortly.
First sea trial to be completed later this week... wish me luck!!

[RogerLennard]

I'm impressed by your handiwork Andy. When I made my BR20 tent I used a proofed nylon flysheet material. My approach was more 'utilitarian' (AKA - scruffy) and I chose to make a cover that would also fit over the top of the spray cover. This was primarily to cover the windows at the front for privacy. Secondly it was because I didn't want to try to attach my nylon tent to a perfectly good spray cover and risk making the spray cover unusable.

Can I ask where you purchased the material and zips from?

Are you still working on your nav light contraption?

[Sea Simon]

I have, finally, today got around to trying my new-to-me Habitent, Scirocco model, for size on my BC 26.

Bad news...for me...is that it doesn't fit!
My cockpit is too wide at aft end, at 1.75 m outside coatings. TBH I  didn't  really expect it too, but these tents are getting very hard to find.
Therfore it will be sold. See for sale section. £300 ish...

Pretty much "as new", very little use. Undamaged, all present  and working.

Navisafe lamps.
Andy S.
Thanks for the above.
Looking forward to learning  more of your applications for these very effective battery nav lights. I find them excellent.

[Andy Stobbart]

So here are a couple of photos of my nav/anchor light attachment. It is made out of 40mm plumbing pipe with a 40-65mm expansion fitting and a push fit cap to accommodate the width of the nav light base. All of the pipework is now solvent-welded together (unfortunately the expansion fitting is not in perfect fore-aft alignment due to user error but it still works). Inside the push-fit cap (now solvent-welded on!) is a circular piece of ply cut with a holesaw and glued in place with a plastic-specific 2-part adhesive (I think it is called JB Plastic Weld); this is to provide support for the screw for the magnetic light fitting.
I originally intended to get a tricolour
 for night sailing and an all round white for anchoring but the tricolour didn't show up so I might just stick with the anchor light for now - anyway, that was why I went with a system that allows me to swap lights in/out on the fitting.
The slot in the pipe is to accommodate the padeye fitting on my gunter boom and the velcro strap secures the whole contraption below that fitting so it won't fall or be blown off.
As mentioned I am using usb rechargeable lithium AAA batteries in the light and the manual suggests that on low power, which is probably all I will need, I could get up to 70hrs of light.

[Andy Stobbart]

Roger, I bought the material & zips from a canvas supplier here in Auckland - you might be able to find some nearer to where you are 🤓.
That said: I tracked down the original sprayhood material which is now known as Sauleda colour Vanilla. I went looking for it here and couldn't find it so bought Planosol Vanilla which is a pretty close match - and then the people I bought it from said "we've found thus other stuff which is also a good match..." and you guessed it: Sauleda Vanilla, but by that time it was too late😬. I believe Planosol Vanilla may be being discontinued.... I reckon, though, that any of the "proper" acrylic canvases will do the job.
I was advised to get a hot knife cutter which I did and it has been a boon. I was going to sell it off when finished but having found it so useful I think I'll keep it for now.
I was also advised to trim the edges with Sunbrella Centrefold binding - quite pricey but it elevates the look of my home-made effort to quite classy-looking - so again, well worth the extra cost.
Finally I found and used Guterman Outdoor polyester thread in 40-weight (or is it gauge?) as this was the heaviest my little cheapo sewing machine could use and it seems well strong enough.
Last WE I went on my inaugural Raid with 23 other boats. During the course of the event we got some seriously torrential rain. I am pleased to report that my tent didn't let in a drop ... but the original sprayhood leaked like a seive for a while (cue a belated application of heavy duty waterproofing).
Hope this helps.