A Custom Winter Cover For Our Alberg 35

Sewing a custom cover for our Alberg 35, sailboat Mystic, has been on our radar for years. Each fall, we have wrapped her up in poly tarps that end up in the garbage the following spring. The cost for this has been somewhere around $150 each year. We obtained a quote of $4,000-$5,000 for a custom cover through a canvas shop. It was a no-brainer to do the work ourselves.

We've been planning for a long time so we had a good idea of what we wanted. Our first task was to gather the materials. We purchased 50 yards of Surelast marine fabric from Rochford Supply in a neutral light brown color from the second's bin. Shipping was expensive but we our total cost was about $5.00 a yard. We needed 6 yards of Marine grade vinyl also order from Rochford Supply. With shipping, it cost about $10.00 a yard. We stocked up on other supplies needed for finishing. We ordered 8 cover vents, thread, needles and basting tape from Sailrite. We picked up buckles at Defender Marine. Later, during the project we purchased more vinyl. By the time we were finished, our supplies cost about $500.00, only 10% of the cost of a custom cover from a canvas shop.

Together, we watched a good number of videos from experts including Sailrite and Ship Shape. We learned a lot. The information guided us to modify and improve our original design which used the boom and a angled 2x4 running from the mast to the bow. We planned to go under the lifelines and over the toe rail. This design required us to work around 28 obstacles (stanchions and stays) and created pockets for snow to gather. John Hall, the owner of Frank Hall Boatyard, stopped by one day and suggested we raise the 2x4 at the bow to make a straight line from the bow to the stern. He recommended that we avoid creating flat spots where the snow could sit on our deck over the canvas. In addition, he told us to go over our life lines to create a tent style pitch to the cover. This made sense, so we changed our design again. The new version cut 20 of those obstacles out of our work. We were left with only eight stays to maneuver around. John stopped by daily to make suggestions and to encourage us along.

Original style which we decided not to follow
photo by Sailboat Owners

When we left on our journey four years ago, Dave built a mast cradle that held our mast on deck as we moved down the inland waterway. We decided it could also work for the winter cover with slight modifications. Dave made adjustments that created a multipurpose mast cradle/winter cover base support. We primed and painted all the parts. John Hall commented on how simple, but finished it looked. Dave said he wanted it to look good as we moved through the Erie Canal and the paint would help it hold up for many years to come.

Bow cradle with horizontal 2x4

Dave building extension behind backstay

Dave adding sections to stern cradle

Stern cradle in progress

Dave with finished stern cradle

I was a little nervous about cutting into that 50 yards of fabric so we started out small. The first cut we made was a section used to cover eight air vents. Adding fabric to the vents is not required but we saw this done on the Sailrite video and liked the finished look. Vents are an important part of covering a boat. They allow air to flow which limits condensation and moisture. We added the rubber vents into the panels, four on each side. Each vent is held in place with vinyl on the front and back. 

Cutting out vinyl to finish vents

Vents with fabric installed

Fitting vent into panel cut

Adding vinyl to vent during installation

Sewing vents into cover panels

Vents in place on the cover

We made a separate bowsprite cover for Mystic, mainly to protect the newly varnished wood from the elements. This fitted cover goes underneath the boat cover. The bow panel has several screened vents that may allow some rain in. Having a custom fit cover will protect the bowsprite should any rain get through. We had to work around the forestay with a hood and zippered boot. A strap and buckle hold the cover in place under the bowsprite.

Bowsprite cover with supporting frame

Bowsprite cover installed

Boom and 2x4 create straight line.
Bowsprite cover with supporting frame.

Bowsprite cover

Our confidence grew with each step and eventually we were ready to cut seven 16x5 foot panels of fabric for our cover. We started our work with panel 1 and 2 at the mast. Each panel has a hood that wraps halfway around the mast, meeting at the center on the sides. A zipper runs from the top of the hood down below the rub rail on each side. The hood zips only about four inches up the mast and is not water tight. To help keep this area dry, we designed a second mast hood that goes over the zippers, covers the winches then wraps tightly. This second hood goes about one foot up the mast and is held in place with a buckled strap.

Panel 1 and 2 mast hood, joined by zipper

Second mast boot, covers panel zippers and winches

Port side view, panels, vents and mast hood

We made six boots, one for each of the side stays, then added them to our panels. They zip from the top down with a hood around the stay that is velcroed shut and tied. This creates a nice finished look at these obstacles. The first one we made took a long time but once we got the hang of it we made the rest relatively quickly. Our work involved a lot of measuring and zipper installation. We were lucky to have enough heavy duty zippers that we repurposed from another project. Most were 94 inches long. Several had to be shortened with new stoppers but they looked great and will last a long time!

Adding basting tape to vinyl

Working on stay boots

Stay boot and hood with zipper down the middle,
this will be added to the cover panel

Once the boots were made, we installed them in the panels. Each step we took required a quick run to the boatyard in order to refit our work. We took things at a slow pace, measuring three times and fitting twice. It took a lot of time but we made less errors this way.

Beth sewing panels with yards of fabric sourrounding her
like Rapunxel's hair

Stay boots installed in panel

The bow and stern boots were a little more complicated. We had to maneuver around the forestay and backstay while transitioning from a horizontal piece of fabric to a nearly vertical panel. It was tricky but both turned out great! John recommended that we add screened air vents to allow air to flow into both the bow and stern. We came up with a nice design for these vents and installed four in the bow and four in the stern.

Bow Stay Boot sewed into bow panel

Screened air vent ready for installation

Stern air vents

Bow vents

Once all the panels were sewn together we gathered the three sections and brought them to the boat for a fitting. When connected, the panels created an uneven bottom. With the finished cover in place, we marked the rub rail on the fabric. Once we had this mark, we measured down nine inches and trimmed off the excess fabric below the nine inch mark, leaving a nice even bottom edge for finishing.

Installing the bow cover panel

Working from the bow to the mast

Dave marking the rub rail

Dave making his way to the bow

Backstay fitting

The stern view during fitting 

Dave fitting the forestay boot over the bowsprite

Bow fitting

Uneven edge during fitting

We finished the bottom of the cover with vinyl trim. It took over 100 feet of four inch vinyl to complete this step. We ran out of the original vinyl that we purchased from Rochford so we bought more from Joanne Fabric. We found the same brand but had to go with a lighter color. 

We created a tie down system that we learned about from the videos we watched. Sailrite sells a product that you simply sew to the bottom of the cover, but it is expensive. We made our own loop system using ratchet straps cut in 8 inch lengths. They loop below the cover and are secured with a vinyl patch over them on the back side. We added 62 straps, approximately 2 feet apart, giving us many options for tie down. 

Tie down webbing loop installed

Our last visit to Avondale was bittersweet. After a very long summer of hard work we were ready to wrap Mystic up for the winter. With the three cover sections in tow, we began our winter prep ritual. Having a custom cover made things much easier than our old method of shaping and fitting a poly tarp. Our work came together nicely.

Beth fitting bow panel

Dave securing bow panel from underneath

Dave tieing off bow panel

Beth adding final stern panel

Beth fitting and closing stern panel

Dave ready to tie off our custom cover

Dave tieing off port side

Dave working on starboard side ties

Mystic all wrapped up

We are happy with the cover design and fit

Back panel has zipper for easy boarding

Bow panel wrapped up tight

Mystic at Frank Hall Boatyard ready for winter

Almost looks like she's smiling!

We estimated the project would take about 80 hours but it was more like 120. The finished cover took 48 yards of fabric, has 3 sections that zip together and weighs about 39 pounds. Each step included planning, measuring, cutting, sewing and fitting. Like many things we do for Mystic, we wish we'd taken this project on sooner. Had the cover been in place last winter, we may not have had the water intrusion that caused damage to our beautiful boat. We are confident that this cover will last ten years or more, our teak will be out of the elements over winter and we've done everything we can to protect Mystic while we are away.

That's a wrap! Nice teamwork!