Deploy The Flying Nun!

[Rideitout]

This is a rain cover I made after getting rained on about every other trip to the lake 2 seasons ago. 10x16 tarp with some extra grommets strategically placed, tent poles cut to length, paracord and shockcord. There are also "spreaders" I fashioned out of pvc to push the tarp out on either side of the tower. It drains the water off the sides of the boat nicely and covers the seats in the bow and cockpit area.
Although the sky looks nice and blue in these pics, we just got rained on 10 minutes previous .

 

[Eric Ballard]

I like it. Simple, cheap and works! Better than the $400 Yamaha Sun Shade....

 

[Jet Blue]

Man I love it. The last few weeks I have been rained on at Falls, and this is after is was 100 and no breeze. I was hoping to find a solution at the boat show this weekend (but heard picking is slim on accessories), but this may end up coming to Falls Lake.

 

[robbo3]

Very cool, looks like a nice accessory to not let scattered showers ruin your boating day. I've often thought about doing something like this to quickly cover the boat and avoid using the full cover rain comes through. Have you had it hold up through a strong breeze yet?

 

[Julian]

I was thinking of something similar to just cover two sides of the boat since the E-series bimini is huge....I might take a shot at making it out of vinyl since I made my porch screens myself....and that wasn't hard....just time consuming.

 

[96Pirate]

Nice work! How long does it take you to put up?

 

[MrMoose]

@Julian, if you're just looking for shade, you don't need to use a heavy tarp. Just use a big flag. It'll pack much smaller and much lighter. Maybe something like this one:
http://www.united-states-flag.com/t...8HZxIetdjNch_sTP-3G3Cu4BrrcjNjmEXsaAuls8P8HAQ


I was thinking of laying a big flag over the top of my factory AR tower/bimini, but I went in a different direction because of concerns setting it up in the wind... cuz everything on my boat is a one man job.

 

[Speedling]

Hey, may not be the sexiest thing but certainly functional!

 

[Rideitout]

It doesnt take long to set up maybe 3 minutes. I haven't used it in heavy wind; Falls Lake is pretty small so it doesn't have the wind that some other lakes do. For just shade, I would go with something much lighter and thinner. This packs up pretty small and lives in the area behind/under the dash.

 

[Julian]

@Julian, if you're just looking for shade, you don't need to use a heavy tarp. Just use a big flag. It'll pack much smaller and much lighter. Maybe something like this one:
http://www.united-states-flag.com/t...8HZxIetdjNch_sTP-3G3Cu4BrrcjNjmEXsaAuls8P8HAQ


I was thinking of laying a big flag over the top of my factory AR tower/bimini, but I went in a different direction because of concerns setting it up in the wind... cuz everything on my boat is a one man job.

Like the OP, I'm pondering easy rain protection, specifically across the part between the windshield and bimini....I miss my camper cover bow curtain...see through and keeps you dry. If it starts raining....just drive into the rain and most of the boat remains dry.