A good looking cratch cover design

[MtB]

I love our new boat (well ok it's 19 years old but we only recently bought it), but there is one thing that spoils it. The cratch cover.

 

It's a completely bog standard cratch cover, but I find them truly ugly and I hate it. Further, ours is past it's best and needs replacing but is SO ugly I cannot bring myself to spend good money on a new one the same so I'm wondering what I can do to improve the appearance. We NEED some sort of cover as the floor of the forward deck is below water level and has a nice varnished table in the centre that needs weather protection really.

 

One solution would be getting rid of the conventional cratch cover and having a gunwhale-level tonneau cover. Another idea that might look better would be to have trad style sheeting that doesn't fit up and over the corners of the cabin like contemporary cratch cover designs.

 

Any other ideas, anyone?

 

Cheers, Mike

 

P.S. I'd post a pic of the current plug-ugly cover but I can't figure out how to insert it in my post!

Edited February 20, 2009 by mike bryant

[MtB]

Right, I've uploaded a couple of pics to the Gallery....

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...si&img=3211

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...si&img=3212

Edited February 20, 2009 by mike bryant

[dor]

Whilst I agree it looks a bit tired, I've seen a lot worse!

 

You would be surprised how useful a cratch is. I would live with it for a bit and look around at other boats for ideas. I think you would miss it if you replaced it with just a tonneau.

[Big Steve]

I'm in the process of making one. It will have a polycarbonate roof and roll up canvas sides based on an ash frame. It may be a disaster, but I'm giving it a go. I'll post some pictures when it's done, but it may be a month or so. (I work with the speed of a striking slug) Jokes about conservatories not appreciated.

 

If you are interested I could maybe post a sketch of the design.

[Ray]

Looking at the boat the problem looks to be that the area that the cover fits over is quite long and the cover is unsupported although it doesn't look quite so bad from the front as it does from the side.

 

How long is the front deck area?

 

Is there anyway that you could fit a "vertical" support about half way along (even temporarily).

 

Do you have the ability to use one of the various software packages to doctor the picture to see how you could improve the look? Would a light colour and a different material make any difference?

 

What about reducing the width of the top plank?

 

We had ours fitted last autumn and there's a couple of pictures part way down this page of our blog.

 

I wouldn't necessarily discount the previous supplier because if the current one has lasted all of those 19 years it must have been well made!

[darb]

Right, I've uploaded a couple of pics to the Gallery....

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...si&img=3211

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...si&img=3212

i think it would look a lot better with some windows in it helps break the dark cover up and the clear is fairly cheep

[alexandra]

If it's window you are after it's Bon you need to speak to her windows are wonderfull

[canalchris]

I love our new boat (well ok it's 19 years old but we only recently bought it), but there is one thing that spoils it. The cratch cover.

 

It's a completely bog standard cratch cover, but I find them truly ugly and I hate it. Further, ours is past it's best and needs replacing but is SO ugly I cannot bring myself to spend good money on a new one the same so I'm wondering what I can do to improve the appearance. We NEED some sort of cover as the floor of the forward deck is below water level and has a nice varnished table in the centre that needs weather protection really.

 

One solution would be getting rid of the conventional cratch cover and having a gunwhale-level tonneau cover. Another idea that might look better would be to have trad style sheeting that doesn't fit up and over the corners of the cabin like contemporary cratch cover designs.

 

Any other ideas, anyone?

 

Cheers, Mike Hi, mike if i can make an observation. you have obviously got a v/big well deck to cover. if you are looking for atidy solution can i suggest that you fabricate a solid roof from marime ply, then solid sides to the fore end of the cover, with canvass roll up sections for acsess.

 

P.S. I'd post a pic of the current plug-ugly cover but I can't figure out how to insert it in my post!

[kbarber]

If I knew how to include a photo I'd let you have a pic of ours. You could PM me & I'll email a copy, address is keith at keith barber name (sure you can work out where to put the dots). It's very much based on the old working boat cratch & sheets, requires supporting partway along (an A-frame, sort of, leaving the deck space clear) & the back half can be rolled up for access, sitting out in the sun etc.

[Keeping Up]

Ours is supported by a telescopic rod, attached with a sort of universal hinge at the cabin front, and clipping into a couple of small supports at the edges of the front boards, which are also widened at the top, so that there is more headroom inside.

 

On our previous boat I made a roof from a couple of twinwall polycarbonate sheets, which fitted under a bar-clamp all along the central plank, and the sides hung straight down from that. I reckon it looked quite good.

 

Both had windows, and both could be taken down totally in the summer. I wouldn't be without one in the winter.

[Big Steve]

Ours is supported by a telescopic rod, attached with a sort of universal hinge at the cabin front, and clipping into a couple of small supports at the edges of the front boards, which are also widened at the top, so that there is more headroom inside.

 

On our previous boat I made a roof from a couple of twinwall polycarbonate sheets, which fitted under a bar-clamp all along the central plank, and the sides hung straight down from that. I reckon it looked quite good.

 

Both had windows, and both could be taken down totally in the summer. I wouldn't be without one in the winter.

 

And I thought mine was going to be unique!

[Keeping Up]

And I thought mine was going to be unique!

Here's the only picture I could find of Thistle's cratch (all the photgraphy I did was in the summer when the affair had been taken down) at her 21st birthday party in 1991.

 

 

I know it's not a good picture, especially as the front bungee of the side-piece is undone at the time, but you can just about make out the details:

 

Bright red upright (carrying the spotlamp). The top plank fixed from there to the cabin roof.

 

Two clear polycarbonate front panels; these were frameless, clipping solely into the base and the upright. Note that they were not just triangles, they had some width at the top. There was a greenhouse glazing bar along the top plank: the roof panels fitted under the bar, then a couple of wingnuts underneath pulled the bar down to fix them in place.

 

Roof panels of twinwall poly, curving to fit the roof shape at the rear and resting with a couple of inches ovelap on top of the clear front panels.

 

There was a 3-inch strip of blue canvas, glued all along to the edge of the roof panel with Sikaflex (which never leaked or gave way in 4 years of hard use). There were 6 holes along it, to hang the sides from using turnbuckles.

 

Keeping Up's cratch developed from this, the same shape as Thistle's but the front panels are glass in frames and the rest is one piece of canvas (well plastic, you know what I mean) with the widened shape coming from the telescopic rods which are actually landing-net poles that swing down out of the way when the cratch is taken down. Again I don't have a good picture to hand but here's one taken last year by Chris JW

 

Edited February 22, 2009 by Keeping Up

[MtB]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

 

Ray said:

 

Looking at the boat the problem looks to be that the area that the cover fits over is quite long and the cover is unsupported although it doesn't look quite so bad from the front as it does from the side.

 

How long is the front deck area?

 

It's 2.5 metres long, cratch to cabin

 

 

Is there anyway that you could fit a "vertical" support about half way along (even temporarily).

 

Do you have the ability to use one of the various software packages to doctor the picture to see how you could improve the look? Would a light colour and a different material make any difference?

 

What about reducing the width of the top plank?

 

We had ours fitted last autumn and there's a couple of pictures part way down this page of our blog.

 

I wouldn't necessarily discount the previous supplier because if the current one has lasted all of those 19 years it must have been well made!

 

Yes yours looks perfectly presentable, but I guess my problem is that I think all boats look far better without a cover at all, no matter how well executed!

 

I think your right. Changing from black to blue, adding window panels and some vertical supports to limit the sagging are probably the way forward. My preference would be to get the front deck raised to just above water level and scrap the cover completely, but there are two of us involved and she LIKES the covered front deck and wants to keep it...

 

Cheers Mike

 

 

 

 

If it's window you are after it's Bon you need to speak to her windows are wonderfull

 

Who's Bon? Is she a cratch-cover-maker, or a girl with wonderful windows..?? :- )

 

Cheers, Mike

 

 

 

 

If I knew how to include a photo I'd let you have a pic of ours. You could PM me & I'll email a copy, address is keith at keith barber name (sure you can work out where to put the dots). It's very much based on the old working boat cratch & sheets, requires supporting partway along (an A-frame, sort of, leaving the deck space clear) & the back half can be rolled up for access, sitting out in the sun etc.

 

 

Hi Keith,

 

Yes please! I've had a crack at joining the dots and sent you an email.

 

Cheers, Mike

[MtB]

Just to ressurect this post we now have a most exquisite trad-style cratch cover made for us by Karl Assinger. VAST improvement on the original abomination. Her are some pix for you to admire :-)

 

 

 

 

 

Last pic includes mods to the top plank, widening it so the cover clears the front doors (just!)

 

 

Cheer Mike

[alan_fincher]

Mike,

 

Whilst my fast cable broadband is just about keeping up with these very large images, (seem to be about 1.5Mb each ?), I can imagine they are going to snooker someone on 3G or dial-up.

 

Any chance of posting something a bit more web-friendly ?

[MtB]

Mike,

 

Whilst my fast cable broadband is just about keeping up with these very large images, (seem to be about 1.5Mb each ?), I can imagine they are going to snooker someone on 3G or dial-up.

 

Any chance of posting something a bit more web-friendly ?

 

 

 

Good point Alan. I'll re-size the images in the links.

 

 

Hang on though! Does anybody NOT have broadband these days?

 

 

Cheers, Mike

Edited May 8, 2009 by mike bryant

[alan_fincher]

Does anybody NOT have broadband these days?

 

 

Cheers, Mike

When we are aboard, it's often "not very".

 

Close on 5Mb of images takes a long while at some locations.

[MtB]

Mike,

 

Whilst my fast cable broadband is just about keeping up with these very large images, (seem to be about 1.5Mb each ?), I can imagine they are going to snooker someone on 3G or dial-up.

 

Any chance of posting something a bit more web-friendly ?

 

 

All done. Images are all around 90k now.

 

Should take under ten minutes each now with your 14kbit modem!

 

;-)

[bottle]

Good point Alan. I'll re-size the images in the links.

 

 

Hang on though! Does anybody NOT have broadband these days?

 

 

Cheers, Mike

 

Yes me, have got rid of broadband in readiness for going live aboard.

 

Now on a dongle, it is not only speed that can be a problem it is the download limit, for the month.

[Gibbo]

That's very nice. Much better than the usual design.

 

I agree that the normal cover that goes round the cabnin sides isn't very pretty. That's a vast improvement.

 

Gibbo