found a 16’5" car cover in Wallyworld for $20 today. It’s made of tyvek so is breathable, UV resistant and tough enough for cartopping. The length was perfect for my Tempest.
The cover was laid “inside up” on the ground, and the kayak placed inside.
2.I made six 3" bungees with overhand knots at each end and used a cable tie to attach one end of the bungee to the sewn edge of the cover. Then slipped the knot at the other end under my deck line to hold the covers edge tih to the kayak. I added 5 more bungees at regular intervals along the length of the kayak.
The cover was wrapped around the bottom of the hull, over the deck and cut so it went about 1/2 way down the side of the hull where I started.
I don’t sew, so rolled the cut edge 3-4 times the secured it with small cable ties every 5-6 inches. Then added 5 straps and sets of buckles along the length of the kayak. Sewing would be better yet, but this worked.
It’s a perfect fit, survived being loaded/unloaded 5 times with no problem…though it doesn’t slide as easily onto foam pads as the plastic kayak by itself. It’s highway tested too and works. Total time to make it was 1 hour 40 minutes with a lot of that thinking how to make the cover, and then undoing the work when I found a better way! It works great so far, looks better than I thought, and protects my new Tempest. Time to put it on was 1 minute 30 seconds and that was just puttering around.
Lots of reasons During the summer when we travel our boats are constantly exposed. My wife sews and made a cover for her wooden boat out of ripstop nylon. I know of several paddlers that could benefit from a cover for their boat and the poster was being helpful. Thanks
the cover was made as I paddle 5 miles almost every morning before going in to work, and keep my tempest on top of my van almost all the time. Florida sun is “mucho strongo”, and I wanted to protect it from UV. Hey, I know the boat is “only” plastic, but it’s a great boat for me and I want to take care of it from the get-go.
keeping plastic out of the sun is a great idea (my boats get their abuse while I am on the water, not in storage)! If I decide to replace my cheap blue tarp (allowed to vent and kept off the hull) I’ll consider your approach.