Who among us has ever constructed a frame for a winter cover, only to see by Spring a collapse from snow, wind, ice,etc.??? Over the years I have used wood, light pvc pipe, booms. Finally I have come up with a frame concoction that appears to work. I will describe a frame I built for Lulabelle 3 years ago using pvc piping. The frame is sturdy, reusable, and cheap. The pictures come from frames I constructed this past fall for SS23 weekenders being used by the Herresmhoff Sailing School. You can enlarge the photos to see details.

Here are the 2 boats with the frames in place:

The middle vertical post goes down the companionway into the battery well. It is held in place by a removable board bolted into narrow supports screwed into the companionway sides

The middle vertical post is anchored in the battery well using hard foam cut to fit into the battery well with a round hole the diameter of the vertical pipe cut into the center. The tape you see going forward is used to anchor the forward support in place.

The after vertical post is secured to a board attached to the engine support bracket.

The forward post goes down the forward hatch to the bottom of the bilge, and is secured by tape pulling the post aft against blocks in the bunk using the compression post or even back to the middle post:

Three rafters are made of smaller pvc pipe with a line through the pipe thrown over the horizontal ridgepole pipe.

The horizontal ridgepole is 4 inch pic drain pipe, thinner than the 2 inch vertical supports. The verticals are simply stuck into the horizontal pipe. The downward force of the covering tarp and the rafters keep the poles attached.

Materials. This list is for a tall frame. You may want it one to 2 feet shorter. Trim verticals in place for preferred height.

2″ (outside diameter) thick pvc pipe 8′, 8′, and 6′
1″ flexible pvc pipe for rafters 4′ 4′ 5′ 5′ 6′ 6′
4″ pvc drain pipe 3 ten footers
4″ pvc caps for end of ridgepole # 2
3/4″ plywood cut to size for companionway and motor mount supports
2″ galvanized pipe holders # 2
hard foam or other support for battery well
line for rafters
hardware for wood support attachments