How Do You Cover Your Boat When Tied To A Dock?

[RLinNH]

I have had my Sylvan Explorer now for going on 12 years. To say I am emotionally attatched to her would be an understatement. The only rain that she has ever seen is if I am fishing on her. Other then that, she has a cover on her. At my old campground, I had a mooring. So, when I wasn't at the campground, I would wade in and place the cover on her. The straps for the cover are attatched from one side to the other by going around her hull. Here's my question. I have been fortunate enough to get a dock side spot. I still want to keep my boat covered, but wading into the water to put it on is getting old. Think I could have a custom cover made for her? She is a 16 ft. Side Console Aluminum Boat. Anyone here have a boat on a dock? If so, what do you do? I know the first thing I am going to do is to install an automatic Bilge pump. But when it comes to the cover, I think it's either a custom cover (which will coast an arm and a leg) or to wade into the water every Sunday afternoon to place the cover on. Ideas?

[fadetoblack21]

One of the small lakes I frequent has a boat that is NEVER taken out of the water. From what I can tell, he uses some weight on each corner and the sides of the cover hanging over the boat to pull the cover taught over the boat. How well it works I don't know, but it's an idea for you to mull over.

[CWB]

I keep my boat moorde at my dock 8 months out of the year. I bought a custom cover that snaps on the boat and pulls tight and ties in the back. I just put on my swimsuit and walk around it and put on the cover before mooring it. The water is only 4 feet deep. If it's cold, I slip into my waders.

[Al Wolbach]

One of the small lakes I frequent has a boat that is NEVER taken out of the water. From what I can tell, he uses some weight on each corner and the sides of the cover hanging over the boat to pull the cover taught over the boat. How well it works I don't know, but it's an idea for you to mull over.

I have seen 1 gal milk jugs filled with water used this way.........Al

[Long Mike]

I have seen 1 gal milk jugs filled with water used this way.........Al

Food for thought: How much does a gallon milk jug, filled with water, weigh when it is immersed in water, and weighed on an under-water scale?

[Al Wolbach]

Food for thought: How much does a gallon milk jug, filled with water, weigh when it is immersed in water, and weighed on an under-water scale?

Haven't spent much time on a submarine have you?............Al

[J Francho]

Mass is mass. 1 gal. of water weighs over 8 lbs., regardless.

[Al Wolbach]

Mass is mass. 1 gal. of water weighs over 8 lbs., regardless.

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Fresh or saltwater? Take a submarine through the Panama canal you learn quickly fresh water and saltwater do not weigh the same.......But you are correct with fresh water....Al

[J Francho]

I think it's safe to assume that the 16' Single Console Sylvan is bass boat in freshwater, not a submarine :lol:

But, yes, depending on the specific gravity, saltwater would weight more.

[Fishing Rhino]

Weight and mass are two different animals. Mass is constant. Weight varies. On the moon an object weighs 1/6th (I think) of what it does on earth.

A gallon jug full of water is buoyant if the water in the jug is the same as the water in which the jug is immersed. I suppose it depends on the type of plastic, but I've seen gallon jugs full of water at the surface. Disregarding the plastic, the water is weightless.

Any object's weight is reduced by the weight of the water it displaces.

Question

What is the difference between mass and weight?

Asked by: Eddo

Answer

Mass is a measure of how much matter an object has. Weight is a measure of how strongly gravity pulls on that matter. Thus if you were to travel to the moon your weight would change because the pull of gravity is weaker there than on Earth but, your mass would stay the same because you are still made up of the same amount of matter.

Answered by: A. Godbehere, High School Student, Port Perry

Imagine yourself out is space away from any gravitational field, with a bowling ball in your hands. Let it go and it just floats in front of you. Without gravity, it has no weight. Now grab it again and shake it back and forth. That resistance to being moved is inertia, and mass measures how much inertia an object has. Inertia does NOT depend on gravity.

Mass is determined only by the amount of matter contained in an object.

Any two masses exert a mutual attractive force on each other. The amount of that force is weight. A one kilogram mass on the Earth's surface results in 2.2 pounds of force between the mass and the Earth, so we say the mass weighs 2.2 pounds. That same one kilogram mass on the Moon, because of the Moon's lower mass, results in only about 1/3 pounds of mutual force.

Just remember that the weight of an object depends on where it is, while its mass stays the same.

Answered by: Paul Walorski, B.A., Part-time Physics Instructor

[J Francho]

A gallon jug full of water is buoyant if the water in the jug is the same as the water in which the jug is immersed.

No, it sinks. You forgot to add the weight of the vessel. Fill a millk jug with lake water. Drop in lake. Observe. All they're saying is use the jugs to weigh down a cover. Assuming they are in the water is probably wrong anyway. I see it quite a bit up here. Must work. Not sure if it would on the moon - I don't think there's water up there.

[Hamby]

I agree with Jfrancho. Why would it float? For a gallon jug full of water to float, it would need to be less dense than water. How can water+jug be less dense than just water?

I think the plan is to have the water jugs hanging anyway. Not in the water.

[TommyBass]

I agree with Jfrancho. Why would it float? For a gallon jug full of water to float, it would need to be less dense than water. How can water+jug be less dense than just water?

I think the plan is to have the water jugs hanging anyway. Not in the water.

The gallon milk jug filled with water isn't going to hold a cover taunt if its submerged. The only way it would is if the cover pulled back (up) enough to want to lift the jug out of the water where its weight could be applied. In the water the jug would be near weightless (only weight of plastic, which is some cases may actually be less than water). Unless your using some type of water with huge levels of lead in it lol. With the shifting of the vessel in waves etc, it would be near impossible to have all the cord lengths around the boat appropriately sized to have all the same tension on the submerged jugs while the vessel rocks back and forth. Youd have slack and jerking all the time. Way too much effort.

For one thing, I see no reason they even need to touch the water. Use a clip or tiny piece of rope to keep them up high. You'd need several, as well as poles to keep the water from pooling in the tarp/cover.

If that didnt work, the "mooring" covers that use snap clips always work fairly well. They come installed on alot of speed boats from the factory. I don't like the look of millions of snaps screwed to the boat... and most are kind of a pain to put on, but they do their job well.

On another note... if your vessel sits too low to use milk jugs... there are plenty of other "weights" to help hold it down that would actually sink regardless of water. Just be creative... maybe fill ice cream buckets with quick crete or something

[SmokeRise1]

Regardless of whatever method you choose....this was great reading.

It reminds me of a question my dad used to ask: If a man and a half could dig a hole and a half in a day and a half, how long would it take a one legged man to kick the stuffing out of a brass monkey?