Cockpit tent

[MarkDarley]

I cannot find any recent posts on this topic but my search may not have been very thorough.

Has anyone ordered or seen one of these? They look promising.....I am currently using my full boat cover with longer shot cord to get it up higher. So far it has worked but I have not really put it to the test in any amount of wind .......rain but not wind.

https://www.habitent.com/product/habitent-sirocco/?fbclid=IwAR3qhac8-ZArjWkC9AnscSg6ep8rqkRDypRyqjyNi-vBaHACAQ8JvXkbRHU

Mark
"Pippin"

[dermot]

Sorry, no experience of the habitent, but if it’s useful, it was fairly easy to fit this to my BR20:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HF5XDZ1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A17Q57Z3F3CQ9M&psc=1

It’s cheap, very small & light, and no modification to the tent needed. I installed pegs for the bungees on the rubbing strake. I’ve only used it on a calm, dry night on Coniston, it should be waterproof, but it might need careful tying down to avoid flapping in windy weather.
One end is open which allows it to fit over the spray hood. The arrangement of the tent around the shrouds could possibly be improved. I’ve tried to attach some photos.

[Graham W]

The yard used to do an official tent for the BR20.  I have one and think it’s pretty good.  It was expensive way back then (2013) and, if they still do it, it must be even more expensive now.  Photos below.

[MarkDarley]

Graham,

Unfortunately they no longer make it hence the search for a solution.  The only advantage of my full cockpit cover (which is canvas) is that the volume inside is huge!  Storing it when damp is no fun....

Mark

[Graham W]

Mark,

MSR still make the Gear Shed, which I managed to make fit on to the back of the BR20 spray hood, in much the same was as the yard's official tent (see below).  No windows and only one door to starboard but someone who knows their way around a sewing machine could probably fix that.

You could argue that when at anchor, a tent is not really necessary as you are always pointing into the wind.  A tarp can provide shelter from the rain (below)

[Matthew P]

I designed and made a tent about 5 years ago, professionally sewn together by Kathy, a local curtain maker.
 
Assessment:

* Robust and Matthew proof - no damage from many nights use on Gladys and another BR20

* Totally waterproof - yes, it has withstood spectacular thunderstorms and high winds. The material is substantial waterproofed PVC and not breathable.  Condensation has not been a problem because I normally sleep with the door open and it's long enough to cover my 2 meters under the sides.  A breathable bivy bag cover also protects my sleeping bag

* Dark for sleeping - yes, even at latitudes with few night-time hours.  It also helps to add a small tarp placed over the sprayhood window. 

* Simple and quick to put up - yes, except for attaching elastic loops to hooks on the rubbing strip which should be easy to redesign but I've not got around to fixing.  May not even be necessary if you are not worried about flappy bits around the boat.

* Access forward to attend mid-night anchoring and other nautical emergencies on the foredeck - could be improved; a bit of a struggle, but possible in a panic.

* Able to fold quickly into the Swallow Boats fitted sprayhood - it has remained happily folded into the sprayhood towed for thousands of miles at 60 mph. 

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[MarkDarley]

Matthew and Graham, 
Thanks for the response and photos.  I know you two are some of the most experienced cruisers with BR20s, so your solutions are usually good ones!
I have one question;
When it rains I assume it falls onto the cockpit floor and hatch covers/ seats behind your tents.  Does that water end up under your feet and traveling down the seats into your sleeping area?  If so that would substantially reduce the number of dry surfaces under the tent....
My current solution is my boat cover with long shot cord to float it higher.  The lack of carbon fibre rod or something else to round it out makes it a bit low at the edges.
It works well as it covers the full cockpit giving lots of dry space BUT it is bulky,  heavy when wet, and takes a while to dry.  I have also not really put it to a full strength wind test though it has been good in rain.  I have no photos of it fully installed with shot cord but the one below gives a good idea of how it deploys. I am reluctant to change it for something that results in water on the floor or locker lids/seats....

[Graham W]

Mark,

I don’t know how lockers are configured on a wooden BR20 but on a GRP one, there are deep channels either side of the locker lids.  These dump any stray water on to the cockpit sole, well before it can spread forward along the benches to the sleeping area.  And the sole is sufficiently angled towards the stern to then channel that water into the sump.  This happens even with my weight up forward.

The only time that I’ve ever got wet sleeping on board was at anchor in a gale.  Heavy rain blew horizontally through the empty bowsprit tube and on to my sleeping bag.  Never again!

[Matthew P]

Does that water end up under your feet and traveling down the seats into your sleeping area? 

Like Graham, I've never had a problem with water flowing forward under the tent from the cockpit on my GRP BR20, although the floor might get wet and so it pays to keep sleeping bag and stockinged feet off the floor. I forgot to bring a sleeping pad on one trip and slept direct on the side bench, so  even i would probably have noticed a puddle.

It's a good idea to keeping a pair of thick-soled crocs handy for midnight-visits requiring walking on a wet cockpit floor to the bailing bucket in the stern. BTW, NEVER pee over the side, I believe the RNLI have a special acronym for bodies found with zips undone... 

I've not experienced wet sleeping bench misery in Bill's Askari, a wood-epoxy BR20, either.  It may be that a largish outboard motor, fuel and other kit in the stern helped slope the side benches towards the stern.  I also had a  thick self-inflating mattress and military grade goretex sleeping bag cover so maybe I just did not notice any damp. Incidentally, after I broke Askari's batten for supporting the sleeping platform we ended up sleeping just on the side benches.  A bit narrow but doable.

Ability to resist wind damage or distortion is quite high on my list of desirable tent attributes for undisturbed slumbers, so I'm not a fan of flimsy tents. 

I've just thought to also mention that it's handy if the tent is not so long it blocks entry to the cockpit at the stern, or has a side-entrance. Otherwise mizzen mast pole-dancing is necessary to get into the boat from a pontoon.

Matthew
Gladys BR20 

[jonno]

We use a 3m square DD tarp.  It's crude, a bit flappy and a bit of a faff to fit.  But it cost £35 and has kept us dry in some very wet and windy weather.

Water doesn't get up as far as the sleeping area - I think Graham's right - any rainwater would get channelled away via the locker lid channels.

Re not having too long a tent which would make entry and exit tricky, the tarp has three hanging loops along the centre line - so it's easy to set up the tarp full length or truncated (in which case one has spare material to fashion a 'door').

John

[tcave]

Here’s my effort on a BRe with no spray hood. There’s an old alloy tent pole in the rollock holes. It’s made from rip stop nylon. Probably not very waterproof, but we only intend to use it on dry days.

[Simon Bright]

I notice that most of the solutions have fixing for the tarp or tent down the sides of the boat. Do you add hooks to the wooden rubbing strakes or how do you tie the tarp/tent down ?

Simon Bright

[Graham W]

On my BR20, small diameter plastic lacing button mushrooms are screwed to the underside of the rubbing strakes.  Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pack-10-Lacing-lushrooms-bungee/dp/B01HEX1JH8.  It’s probably quite important to get the spacing of the buttons right along the strake.

[Llafurio]

As I do not wish to scratch other boats, and do not like the looks of plastic pins I use small plastic hooks on the tarp bungee cords, the hooks filed to a point, and small corresponding holes (rather: indentations) on the underside of the rubbing strakes.

[Graham W]

My mistake - the lacing buttons on my BR20 aren’t mushrooms at all but something with a much smaller diameter, like this https://www.profabrics.co.uk/products/lacing-button-black-plastic.

It just goes to show how long it’s been since I last went anywhere near my boat.