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TENTS for Tramp #249488
06/12/12 03:07 PM
06/12/12 03:07 PM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 54
S
soulsailor Offline OP
journeyman
soulsailor  Offline OP
journeyman
S

Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 54
does anyone know of a place that makes a tent like 14X16 custom made? i have looked all over cant really find anything for a CAT?

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Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: soulsailor] #249554
06/14/12 08:50 AM
06/14/12 08:50 AM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 144
Near SLC, Utah
tomthouse Offline
member
tomthouse  Offline
member

Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 144
Near SLC, Utah
I've never run across custom tents that fit a beachcat or beach cat tramp, though I"d suppose you could sew one up in a jiffy or pay someone.

If you want to cover the boat, I find a mesh tarp is cheap protection from all that UV damage that the sun does.

It is also much easier to keep put when the wind blows everything else loose and off the boat.

It is much cheaper than buying one of those portable garages to protect your boat.

Harbor Frieght is our cheap source for this kind of mesh tarp and it lasts almost indefinitely.

I still have some I've used for ten years (plus) of "baking" in the tropical sun of Mexico or the summer sun of Bear Lake Idaho/Utah.

If you want something for beach cat crusing, well, we've done tons of beach/boat camping and local cruising on a beachcat on Catalina Island and here and there on Mexico's Sea of Cortez.

We've used several solutions. For example:

1. A cheap blue trap from Home Depot suspended over the boom to form very cheap and easily erected open-ended pup tent. The blue tarp is secured on the sides (port and starboard) with short bungies or even nylon lines on the corners and middle and the end of the boom is held up by securing it to the tiller extension, held vertical by the blue tarp. If your boom is too low, take it off the mast and use a PVC pipe tied to the mast at any height you like. You can then tie the other end of the PVC to tiller extension again held vertical by the blue tarp itself.

Be sure to tie the blue tarp at its apex to this ridge pole so it sodesn't slip if the wind pipes up, while you're asleep.

This is a simple solutions and it works great in most condition, especially in warmer climates. It keeps the morning and evening dew off us, our sleeping bags, etc. The open ends keep air circulation going and allows any breeze to help keep things and us cooler, in warm climates.

When you can't buy a breeze, we use a simple spray bottle filled with fresh water to "spritz" ourselves every now and again. The evaporation helps keep us cool enough to get back to sleep, even during the hottest nights while beach cat cruising and tramp camping in Mexico's July and August nights.

It ain't like the motel 6 and their AC, but much better than sweltering all night and staying awake.

2. A dome tent also works great. This solution is a bit more expensive and stowing the dome tent, though not a real problem, still takes more room when beach camping on a beach cat, which requires one to be a serious "minimalist" type camper.

The dome tent is great even in the wildest thunder storms. However, through sad experience, we've found that we still need to string a blue tarp above it as a rain fly, to direct the thunder storm rains off the tent and away from the tramp.

If you don't, the rain will run down the tent sides and then onto the tramp. It will follow the tramp to the lowest point, which is right under where you are sleeping. From there it drip off the underside of the tramp. It will also "wick" upwards and slowly saturate your sleeping bag. That makes for a soggy wet night in your blanket or sleeping bag.

We've used these approaches many times with great success, either on the beach cat, in a quiet and protected cove, securely anchored in the shoals on two anchors. One anchor is tied off the forward beam and bedded in the bottom forward of the boat, The ohter anchor is tied off to the rear beam and the anchor bedded sternward of the boat.

This protects you from reversing tides that can goof up your anchor job.

Before we started using two anchors every time, we once found, when we finally woke up to a beautiful sunrise, that reversing tides dislodged our anchor and we had drifted all night all over the cove.

It was a wonder that we didn't drift into the rocky end or out to sea in the night.

We've also used both approaches after dragging the beachcat up the beach to above the high tide line.

By the way, though we have muscled the boat high up on several beaches, we've found it much easier to use two ABS pipes to roll it like they rolled great stones in building the pyramids.

This takes only two pipes that are just longer than the boat is wide. We use a three inch diameter and four inch so one will nest inside the other when stowed.

End caps keep them together.

We have either secured this set up tied under the tramp when cruising or stowed it like a spinnaker pole, secured to the front of the mast base and just under the apex of the forestay bridle wires. A couple of well placed drilled holes allow you to use nylon line as a means to secure it to what ever and where ever you like, when cruising.

One also can be used to hold up your blue tarp pup tent or blue tarp rain fly, while sleeping, with one end secured to your mast at any level you like and the other end secured to the vertical tiller extension.

When using these ABS pipe to move the boat, one simply lifts the bows and places one under the boat as far back as you can easily get it. The other is placed just under the bows, just aft of the bow tips. Then one goes to the back and pushes.

The boat will "roll" forward over sand or even a rocky shore. The beauty is that it really doesn't matter if the pipes roll over soft sand or stay put caught by some or many rocks.

If the pipes stay put, they are smooth and slick enough to allow you to easily slide the boat forward. When the aft pipe shows up at the boat's sterns, stop and move that one forward to just under and aft of the boat's bow tips.

Repeat as necessary until the boat is where you want to spend the night.

Try it. You'll like it and it will save wear and tear on your boat and back.

Last edited by tomthouse; 06/14/12 09:22 AM.
Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: tomthouse] #249578
06/14/12 01:39 PM
06/14/12 01:39 PM

M
MN3
Unregistered
MN3
Unregistered
M



Originally Posted by tomthouse

When using these ABS pipe to move the boat, one simply lifts the bows and places one under the boat as far back as you can easily get it. The other is placed just under the bows, just aft of the bow tips. Then one goes to the back and pushes.

The boat will "roll" forward over sand or even a rocky shore. The beauty is that it really doesn't matter if the pipes roll over soft sand or stay put caught by some or many rocks.

If the pipes stay put, they are smooth and slick enough to allow you to easily slide the boat forward. When the aft pipe shows up at the boat's sterns, stop and move that one forward to just under and aft of the boat's bow tips.


Didn't Hobie Gary put boat fenders on the ends? Did that work well?

Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: ] #249585
06/14/12 02:08 PM
06/14/12 02:08 PM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 144
Near SLC, Utah
tomthouse Offline
member
tomthouse  Offline
member

Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 144
Near SLC, Utah
Hobie Gary did use boat fenders.

However, I liked how the cat slid on the rigid and somewhat slick ABS surface, as opposed to the softer and much less slick boat fender surface.

Either the fenders or the ABS pipe is much better than trying to push the boat through sand or rock to get it up onto the beach.

I liked how the ABS rolled across the sand or how the boat slid on the ABS if it cuaght on a rock or rocks.

I also like the two pipes that supported more of the boat as oposed to the two boat fenders Gary used.

I didn't like how soft the fenders were or how the boat slid across them.


Last edited by tomthouse; 06/14/12 02:14 PM.
Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: tomthouse] #249590
06/14/12 02:37 PM
06/14/12 02:37 PM

M
MN3
Unregistered
MN3
Unregistered
M



Originally Posted by tomthouse
Hobie Gary did use boat fenders.

However, I liked how the cat slid on the rigid and somewhat slick ABS surface, as opposed to the softer and much less slick boat fender surface.

Either the fenders or the ABS pipe is much better than trying to push the boat through sand or rock to get it up onto the beach.

I liked how the ABS rolled across the sand or how the boat slid on the ABS if it cuaght on a rock or rocks.

I also like the two pipes that supported more of the boat as oposed to the two boat fenders Gary used.

I didn't like how soft the fenders were or how the boat slid across them.



gotcha - good info. i like the idea of 2 diam so they slide into eachother... i hate sailing with beachwheels on my bows... esp in 20-25 smile

Last edited by MN3; 06/14/12 02:42 PM.
Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: soulsailor] #249913
06/22/12 05:52 AM
06/22/12 05:52 AM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 54
S
soulsailor Offline OP
journeyman
soulsailor  Offline OP
journeyman
S

Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 54
WOW thanks Guys for all this Info! Well i wont be rolling my cat on any beach i guess i could if i had to maybe a 8 inch PVC pipe or bigger to hold and support my huge hulls! But yes i need to either buy a Tent and re do it and sew my own design
I do not have a BOOM so i would have to figure out how to hold it in place. But you gave me some ideas now!

Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: tomthouse] #260559
06/21/13 11:56 AM
06/21/13 11:56 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Jake Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Jake  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
tomthouse, [sarcasm] I don't think you've put enough thought into this [/sarcasm]. grin


Jake Kohl
Re: TENTS for boat protection or crusing and boat camping [Re: soulsailor] #260584
06/22/13 11:50 AM
06/22/13 11:50 AM
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 267
Ocean Springs, MS
Capt_Cardiac Offline
enthusiast
Capt_Cardiac  Offline
enthusiast

Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 267
Ocean Springs, MS
They had ABS when they built the pyramids?


Capt Cardiac
Ocean Springs Yacht Club
Sailor
Nacra20 - Flight of Ideas #5

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