| Winters can be pretty brutal at our elevation in the Rocky Mountains. We live about a mile from one ski resort, and 15 minutes from two more. Many nights the temperatures can dip well below zero and it is not uncommon for the snow on the sides of our driveway to reach shoulder height, as shown in the photo on the left.
I therefore knew that I would have to think long and hard about how to protect Harried Potter during the winter months. When I awoke to find ice in the puddles and ditches around our house a couple of weeks ago, I knew that the time had come to put her into hibernation. |
She would fit in our two-car garage, but it is filled with... two cars. I decided that the only practical solution was to park her on the cement patio behind our house and find a way to adequately cover her. I really liked the idea of the “whale rib” frame for his Precision 18 that Kevin Pearce describes in his modifications page of the Yahoo WWPotter Owners group and figured that I would have to construct something similar.
Then, about two weeks ago, I happened to stop by the local “Mom & Pop’s” grocery store in our village, and saw that they were using two portable carports as canopies for their fall produce outside. They seemed large enough to cover Harried Potter, were made of steel, you could roll the tarps on the back and sides up or down, and the front panel consisted of zippered, sliding curtains for easy access. I asked the manager where they had purchased them, and he told me at Costco —although he couldn’t remember the price.
I went to Costco and found that the price was... $164.99, plus tax. You can’t beat that! One could conceivably spend just as much —perhaps more— for PVC pipes and tarps. I also learned that the carport would indeed cover Harried Potter: it was 3 meters wide by 6 meters long, certainly sufficient to cover a 19' boat, although the mast and the trailer tongue would undoubtedly extend beyond the back and front panels. I decided that it was certainly worth a try and bought one.
Putting the carport together proved easier than I expected: no tools are necessary. You simply connect the poles and joints together with pins and cotter rings and secure the tarps with ball-bungees —nothing new to us sailors!
My biggest concern was how to anchor the carport to withstand strong winds. Although the feet come with pre-drilled holes to bolt it down, I knew that my admiral would not be happy if I drilled into the cement of her patio. It then occurred to me: why not use Harried Potter herself as an anchor? I therefore simply stretched long, industrial-strength bungee cords from the horizontal side beams along the roof to the trailer frame.
| The photo on the right shows Harried Potter parked under her canopy before I installed the side panels, with the bungee cords stretched from the roof beams to the trailer frame. Although not clearly visible in the photo, I should point out that the slanted roof is reinforced on each side with two rows of thick steel “wires” that you tighten with turnbuckles —also familiar to us sailors!
You can also see in the photo that the “exposed” side of the shelter runs along the very edge of the patio. I went to Home Depot and bought some long plastic stakes which I pounded down into the ground at a slight angle right along the edge of the cement, one for each “leg” of the shelter. I then threaded ropes through the pre-drilled holes in the “feet”, as well as the eyelet on each stake, and tied them tight. Next, I anchored the one corner leg on the opposite side in a similar manner, as it was also near the edge of the cement. I secured the other corner leg on that side with a rope tied to an eye-bolt drilled into the house itself. Ergo, both the roof beams and the legs of the shelter are now securely anchored down. |
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As the photo illustrates, the carport is indeed large enough to cover the entire boat. However, for the front curtains to hang flat, I first had to make a couple of minor ajustments. For example, you can see that, when trailering Harried Potter, I extend her rolling furler headsail along a pole overhanging the bow pulpit. I unbolted the rolling furler and laid it along the curved edge of her deck. I also removed the front motor bracket, turned it backwards and upside down, and remounted it underneath the winch, resting on top of the spare tire.
| At first I thought that, to close the front curtains, I would need to glue long velcro strips along their inner edges, since the trailer tongue would stick through them, rendering the zipper inoperable. Then I realized that, if I rotated the tongue wheel to its trailering position and placed the tongue directly on the ground, it would be low enough for the curtains to zip together over it.
To protect the tongue from the weather, I wrapped some black garbage bags around it and secured them with ball-bungees. On the left is a photo that shows the result, with the carport completely enclosed around Harried Potter and the tongue extending underneath the front curtains. |
| As predicted, the mast also protrudes beyond the rear of the carport. This isn’t a problem, however, because it fits nicely through the upper “knotch” of the pointed roof. I also wrapped black garbage bags around the mast with ball-bungees and then installed the rear panel. Rather than hooking the top portion of the panel to the carport frame, I used a ball-bungee to wrap it around the mast.
You can see the outcome in the photo on the right. I suspect that the mast is sufficiently protected to withstand winter weather and its protrusion through the rear panel leaves such a minuscule opening that I doubt much moisture will find its way inside. |
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The other day we had some horrendous gusts up here, sometimes reaching over 60 mph (according to the weatherman). Yes, the tarps billowed and flapped around quite a bit, but everything stayed solid and secure. I was relieved to see that my bungees and stake anchors work like a charm. Unless a hurricane blew through Utah, I can’t imagine a breeze strong enough to lift the shelter, let alone Harried Potter, into the air.
Although the steel frame and wires of the carport will withstand light to moderate snowfalls, I don’t plan on putting their strength to the test. In point of fact, we got a bit of snow the other night, and when it was about four inches deep, I went inside the shelter, climbed aboard Harried Potter, and tapped on the underside of the roof tarps with my hands. All the snow came tumbling off the roof without any problem, as shown below. As long as I do this every time the flakes fly, I don't think I'll have to worry about the shelter collapsing. Regardless, as the patio is on the south side of our house, the snow there is the first to melt after a storm.
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Finally, I have happily discovered an added plus to this type of shelter: there is so much room inside that I can stand upright in Harried Potter’s cockpit, should I care to install any new “goodies” that Santa Claus leaves in my stocking for her. So far, I am very pleased with this solution for winter storage. Time (and weather) will tell if Harried Potter stays snug and dry until she awakens for some spring sailing.
