It is getting to that time of year again when some of us have to begin thinking of putting our boats away for the winter. in the northern parts the snow load on our boat covers has to be considered. two of my boats had their windshields damaged because the previous owners did not support the cover and the weight of the snow collapsed them. since the windshields on our old boats are hard to come by,expensive,and a fair amount of work to make,i decided i wanted something sturdy,light,easy to assemble and disassemble,compact to store. after a little thought i came up with this.
i made it from 1 1/4 plastic pipe. it is quick to make and inexpensive. it uses two elbows,two tees and 14 to 18 ft of pipe depending on the size of the boat. it has three parts when finished,two leg assemblies and the cross bar.
i usually cut the foot pieces about 1 ft long. the vertical leg i make to be about 6-8 inches taller than the windshield. i make the crossbar long enough to enable the front leg to be ahead of the front seat and the rear leg to set in the middle of the back area. this keeps the cover off the windshield and gives enough slope to drain rainwater. the round pipe also minimizes stress points on the cover and reduces tearing,prolonging the life of the cover. the pipe is sturdy enough to hold up under most snow loads. naturally it is advisable to brush the snow off as necessary. I glue the tees onto the legs and the feet into the tees. the elbows i glue onto the crossbar. the pull of the tie downs will usually keep the crossbar seated on the legs. the elbows should be in alignment to make the support set square.
these have worked well for me for a number of years and i hope this can help you.
