[l008com]

First off, let me ask, who here had O'Magles when they were a kid?? Those things were great!

Moving on... I have what is basically a tent frame that I put on my boat, before I cover it in the winter. The idea is that it holds the structure of the cover, so snow and water will roll off instead of piling up on the cover.

Right now, my tent structures are made of very heavy pressure treated 2x4. The wood structure, aside from being crazy heavy, is going on 10 years old, and it's starting to get wobbly.

So my tentative plan is to rebuild this relatively simple structure in PVC pipes. Then it will be very light. Hopefully it will also last longer. I plan on gluing some parts of it together, and using bolts and pins to hold other parts together, so I can quickly disassemble and store flat.

So the purpose of this thread, is that I'm wondering if anyone experienced in constructing things with PVC have any tips or suggestions, as this is the first time I've used the stuff, not counting my O'Magles.

[residentEvil]

well, aside from plumbing houses...no

side note: most boaters around here, have adapters that fit into their auxiliary and running light connections that are basically poles that their tarps are held up with. usually one in the front (shorter), one near the cabin (longer depending on it's placement) and one near the rear (shorter) if needed. as the blue or white tarp is heat shrinked, around everything the poles automatically creates the pitch that water/ice/snow just falls off. obviously, the poles have a larger round top, if you will, so not to puncture.

is this not an option with your boat?

[l008com]

My boat is tiny. That said, one pole in the middle would work if I was shrink wrapping. But I'm not. And I wouldn't need to, they throw up supports made of scrap wood when they shrink wrap anyway. But that costs over $200 for even my small 15' boat. My boat cover cost me $230 and has a 7 year warranty. The PVC isn't super expensive either. So I can save a lot of money doing it myself, and doing it this way.

[residentEvil]

okay.

and i was referring to do-it-yourself people; winterizing/storage costs are huge at marinas, so those in the area with modest size boats, do it themselves. but yes, those with larger boats at the marina have the marina take care of it all...and those people aren't ones that worry about the costs or what steps needing to protect it.

i assumed you were in the category of the do-it-yourself; and thought you would performed a shrink wrap. enjoy the project.

[sek929]

PVC is actually fairly expensive when compared to, say, galvanized metal pipe. Not to mention, in cold weather it becomes extremely brittle.

[phantomdragonz]

PVC is good for plumbing and potato cannons... nothing else. =)

[boy8cookie]

Originally Posted by sek929 

PVC is actually fairly expensive when compared to, say, galvanized metal pipe. Not to mention, in cold weather it becomes extremely brittle.

This is very true... PVC doesn't do well in temps below 30°f, especially if it's going to be relied upon for structural integrity, and on a boat where the might be motion makes it even worse. Do not use PVC for this.