Clearspan Fabric Tension Building Project

[Bluenose]

Enticed by John's Clearspan tension building that he uses for his Alberg 30, I decided to follow suite with a similar project to house Bolero during the winter.



I picked a slightly smaller and a bit of a different shape for cost and aesthetic reasons (I didn't want to dwarf my hosts buildings :) but I was still drawn to Clearspan's quality.



I will posting the building process on my blog and adding links here as they come. And of course entertaining any question should they arise.

http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/20 ... art-1.html

http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/20 ... art-2.html

http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/20 ... art-3.html

Cheers, Bill

[Bluenose]

With the weather cooperating, kind of, I have made a bit of progress on my Clearspan boat shelter.

More info on my blog.

http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/20 ... 4-5-6.html

[Bluenose]

I finished up my Clearspan shelter and I have to say that I am glad to have this project behind me.



Although there was great satisfaction in cleaning Bolero up and moving her indoors, I have to say that building this shed was uninspiring. Here are the final links to my blog plosts with the remaining details.

http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/20 ... leted.html

http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/20 ... o-bed.html

And of course some photos of Bolero in her new home.





The model that I built was perfect for Bolero. There is plenty of room on both side, for future scaffolding, and standing headroom on deck. There was also enough room under the transom for a small, makeshift workbench. I have experienced a bit of condensation but my gravel pad is still quite wet so I am hopeful that when it dries the plastic vapor barrier that I put down will limit the moisture in the shed.

All in all I think that you get what you pay for when you buy these "temporary" type buildings. And I have not complaints about Clearspan's quality. But I don't really see these types of buildings as being temporary. Sure I could move this but I would really hate to.

For my situation I still think that the Clearspan was the best choice. But if I had my own land I would have built something myself. Most likely a Stimson shed.

[Triton 185]

Nice shelter...wish I had one.

Ok - I have to ask. What is the stunning colour and type of paint on Bolero's hull?

I am looking for a colour to paint my Morgan http://www.plasticclassicforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3232

[Bluenose]

Nice shelter...wish I had one.

Ok - I have to ask. What is the stunning colour and type of paint on Bolero's hull?

I am looking for a colour to paint my Morgan http://www.plasticclassicforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3232

Thanks.

You would be looking for quite a shed to house your Morgan with room to work.

Bolero's paint is Alexseal Flag Blue two part that Tim applied. Would look quite stunning on your Morgan. But hey I am quite prejudice.

[Triton 185]

You would be looking for quite a shed to house your Morgan with room to work.

Maybe I should save the money and use it for paint!

Thanks for the information.

[Bluenose]

There is a small part of me that questions my decision to go the Clearspan shed route. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it is the cost. Or the not so temporary nature of these temporary sheds. But having covered storage for a boat rocks. Last night another gale worked its way through the San Juan Islands so I drove over to check things out. The shed was fine. Deflected a little during the gusts but felt solid. Inside everything was calm and dry. My multiple projects were just as I left them waiting for me to dive in again.

Perhaps there is a "best" type of boat shed but I sort of think anything you can come up with that keeps your boat covered and allows winter work is the best.

[Bluenose]

I have been happily enjoying the new boat shed with one exception. The dreaded condensation issue. I knew going in that this was a concern with fabric type buildings so I tried to do as much as I could to alleviate the issue. But so far no go. Here are some recent pictures of what is going on.







The thing that I find interesting is that the condensation is only on the light colored portion of the fabric cover. All in all it has been a bit underwhelming. I had hoped to store my sails and some tools in the boat shed during the winters. But at the first sign of mildew on the sail bag, the sail came home to the house and the tools were moved into an insulated box.

That said I am not completely giving up. First it has been pretty wet since I put up the shed and the gravel has never really had a chance to dry out. We probably got 5 inches of rain which sort of got trapped between the gravel and my moisture barrier. I also was way negligent in installing a gable end vent for better circulation.

So I went after that task yesterday and I am not quite sure why I procrastinated so much. It was easy and fast.





I also hung an inexpensive box fan in front of the vent to really help the ventilation.

I came back today after leaving the fan on overnight and there was a noticeable change. Our weather had changed from dripping fog to damp and overcast, but the shed was much dryer and there were far less droplets on the ceiling. In addition the gravel pad was starting to lighted a bit in color. So I am still hopeful that this will be a workable solution in for our climate.

[Case]

My father had a similar problem last winter.

His solution: Roll up the ends to 1-2 feet above the ground. That took care of the condensation problem immediately - almost zero condensation afterwards.

I doubt this solution will work well for you since you plan to work on the boat inside. My father only uses his Clearspan building for boat storage, period - almost zero work on the boat itself.

- Case

[Triton 185]

Thanks.

You would be looking for quite a shed to house your Morgan with room to work.

Bolero's paint is Alexseal Flag Blue two part that Tim applied. Would look quite stunning on your Morgan. But hey I am quite prejudice.

I found out that the colour on this Morgan (that is the same boat as my 45) has Flag Blue by Awlgrip. What do you think?



I will have to check out the difference between the colour of the Awlgrip and the Alexseal.

I don't want to hijack your thread and will post more pictures at http://www.plasticclassicforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3232

[Bluenose]

Thanks.

You would be looking for quite a shed to house your Morgan with room to work.

Bolero's paint is Alexseal Flag Blue two part that Tim applied. Would look quite stunning on your Morgan. But hey I am quite prejudice.

I found out that the colour on this Morgan (that is the same boat as my 45) has Flag Blue by Awlgrip. What do you think?



I will have to check out the difference between the colour of the Awlgrip and the Alexseal.

I don't want to hijack your thread and will post more pictures at http://www.plasticclassicforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3232

Trick question, right? I think it looks perfect.

[Bluenose]

I returned from a three week trip to some good shed related news. First, in addition to a huge, for us, snow storm we had some impressive wind storms. The shed handled the snow and wind, gusting to 70 kts, with ease. Unfortunately at least two boats broke their moorings in Fisherman bay. One ended up on the beach and an older wooden boat broke apart against one of the local docks.

The other pleasant news was on the moisture front. With the new colder weather the gravel in the shed has dried out considerably and there are no longer any droplets hanging from the ceiling. I am still hopeful that when everything reaches an equilibrium the ground prep work that I did will pay off and keep things relatively dry.

For now it is too cold to do much work on the boat so I am moving everything to the small shop at the house. There will be plenty of time in the early spring to move back into the boat shed.

Not surprisingly I am really, really happy to have a covered and mostly dry, and getting drier, place to store Bolero during our winters. I am sure that there is a "perfect" boat shed solution and equally certain the the Clearspan isn't it. That said I really can't complain.

[Triton 185]

Trick question, right? I think it looks perfect.

Yes - I can convince myself it won't be too hot below.....minimal sacrifice!

[Triton 185]

Not surprisingly I am really, really happy to have a covered and mostly dry, and getting drier, place to store Bolero during our winters. I am sure that there is a "perfect" boat shed solution and equally certain the the Clearspan isn't it. That said I really can't complain.

I was in my Triton taking some measurements today. She is covered by a tarp that is draped over the mast. It is 30 below Celsius. I climbed the ladder and had to knock 2 feet of snow off before I could climb on board. A shelter, regardless of the design, is looking mighty appealing at this point!

[Popeye1865]

you may want to try fixing a layer of thin plastic to the inside of the shed this not only diverts the drip of the condensation away from the boat but helps insulate slightly and keeps the condensation from forming as readily. you may also want to cover the ground with a large tarp and then bringing the boat in as much of the moisture comes form the ground and a tarp helps to keep it there. we do this at our yard and it help quite a bit.

[Bluenose]

you may want to try fixing a layer of thin plastic to the inside of the shed this not only diverts the drip of the condensation away from the boat but helps insulate slightly and keeps the condensation from forming as readily. you may also want to cover the ground with a large tarp and then bringing the boat in as much of the moisture comes form the ground and a tarp helps to keep it there. we do this at our yard and it help quite a bit.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am still hopeful that it won't come to that. There will always be some moisture, the nature of Pacific Northwest winters, but if it stays the way it is now, no inside rain, I will be quite happy. I still want to see what happens to my gravel pad after a full summer of drying out.

The forecase for next week is sunny and temperatures in the 50's. It is starting to feel like sailing weather.

Cheers, Bill

[keelbolts]

Bluenose,
What color is your deck. It looks good in the photo and I keep looking for the right color for Favona's deck. So far, I've used Bristol Beige, Kirky's Wheat, and Sandtone.

[Bluenose]

Bluenose,
What color is your deck. It looks good in the photo and I keep looking for the right color for Favona's deck. So far, I've used Bristol Beige, Kirky's Wheat, and Sandtone.

I believe Tim used a proprietary mix (50-50) of beige and white Interlux Interdeck non-skid paint.

[keelbolts]

Thanks. Now that you mention it, I have some vague recollection of seeing in in the serialized photo essay on the restoration of Bolero. Thanks, again. Favona is do a new coat of deck paint.