242X home made wind/rain shield

[Julian]

Since we got soaked during last years trip to Bimini on the way over, and once while out fishing, I decided to use an old piece of vinyl I had left over from screening in my porch to attempt to make a temporary screen from the bimini frame down to the windshield. I took the vinyl out yesterday to the boat to see if it was wide enough (it is 2'8") and it is plenty wide. What was interesting was that I was able to stuff the vinyl up under the bimini cover on the bimini and it held in there really well (the strap that hold the bimini on helps to keep it pressed tight). So my first plan is to simply stuff the top under the bimini and then used bungee cords to hold the bottom down to the center of the windshield, perhaps the back edge of the seats, and to the mid ships cleats. I will take this out tomorrow and see if it holds up to a 20mph sustained wind test. Since I've made this from stuff I have laying around...this is zero cost so far.

Here is a photo of the vinyl thus far....the black edge will be the bottom edge. I use gorilla heavy duty gaffers tape along the edge to strengthen it, then hammer in grommets through the vinyl and tape.

My back-up idea is to put snaps along the bottom edge and find the appropriate snaps for the top of the windshield. I may do this later (as I can cut it to fit this approach if need be). First problem I have though is not knowing which snaps fit the windshield....seems there are 7/8s and 3/4 inch sizes. But since this will get very limited use I may just stick with the bungee approach if it works.


EDITED IN Feb 2020>>>
-I have learned that there is no need for any grommets at the top because the bimini itself holds it in place with no trouble at all. Only the bottom edge needs grommets.

 

[Julian]

So I was able to test this on the water yesterday and it worked great! I even got to test it in a nice downpour (like we had on the way to bimini) and I stayed dry (mostly). The video below shows how this works with no rain. I didn't have a waterproof camera with me and didn't dare get my phone soaked when the squall hit. When it did rain, the only way I got wet was from some water flipping of the side ends, and a very small amount blowing up the windshield...but VERY limited....as in a few drops. I think this is as far as I will go with this as I won't use it often and it is good enough for when I will use it. Lastly, when we go to bimini, we will put this on, and stow it up under the bimini frame until/if we need it (see the photo).

(video is still uploading-will link it here when it is done)

 

[Julian]

Here is the video....

 

[Eric Ballard]

I love the overall simplicity of the this! Great job.

 

[Betik]

@Julian this looks very promising. Not as fancy as your old boat, but a whole lot cheaper I bet.

I had a couple of questions...

1. How good is the visibility ? It kind of looked on the camera that your vision field might get distributed. I wonder if it will give you a headache looking through it for 3 to 4 hours.
2. how worried are you about one the bungee cords snapping and hitting someone ?
3. are you worried about bungee cords damaging the gelcoat during a 3 to 4 hour crossing ?
4. Do you cross with the center windshield closed ? Mine was got stuck last year and I am planing on keeping it open in the future.

 

[Julian]

Yes a whole lot cheaper than my last camper cover for sure (as in it cost me nothing but materials I already had laying around the house!) BIG WIN!

1. The visibility was fine. I hope to hell we don't have to drive through 3-4 hours of rain!!! I only intend to use this if it is raining.
2. Not worried about the cords snapping at all - if they do, it would be VERY hard for them to hit anyone.
3. I hadn't thought about this....but the cord is new, and pretty soft....I don't think it will make any marks....and again...I hope this will only be for a short period of rain. If there is rain for the whole crossing, we would likely chose a different day to cross
4. We crossed with the center open, and that would be our preference. If it starts to rain, we would 1) slow down, and 2) close the windshield. Slowing down will eliminate the danger of hull flex and a broken windshield. This is what we did last year...and made it with 15% fuel remaining, without touching our 15 gallon reserve in cans.

 

[Julian]

I love the overall simplicity of the this! Great job.

Thanks...that is what I was going for....simple, easy to deploy and FREE for me to make from what I had around. I was really happy I got to test it in a down pour on Sat....worked like a charm.

 

[props2you]

Brilliant idea @Julian! What do you think about using strong magnets either stitched into the shield or fabricated on the shield? This would allow quick application and removal minus the bungee cords. Could magnet right to the windshield and the cage?!?!

I'm looking for something with a simple application I can quickly install for those days getting caught in the rain or simply to help block wind.

 

[Julian]

Brilliant idea @Julian! What do you think about using strong magnets either stitched into the shield or fabricated on the shield? This would allow quick application and removal minus the bungee cords. Could magnet right to the windshield and the cage?!?!

I'm looking for something with a simple application I can quickly install for those days getting caught in the rain or simply to help block wind.

I'm not sure magnets would hold in the wind while driving. I think this would be fine if you are sitting out a rain storm. With the eseries bimini, it is easy to stuff it under the bimini strap at the top, so all you need to worry about is the bottom, and those bungees took me a minute to attach. I MAY eliminate them and just add snaps to the windshield...they sell the females at home depot....all I'd need would be the male side for the windshield.

 

[haknslash]

@Julian Rare earth neodymium magnets are very strong. You can get a pack of small ones for cheap https://m.harborfreight.com/10-piece-rare-earth-magnets-67488.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided. Do not place your fingers in between the magnets is all I'm gonna say

 

[Julian]

Rare earth neodymium magnets are very strong.

I don't doubt this. The problem is that the windshield is non ferrous....or at least my XM radio antenna wouldn't stick to it...the same with the tower. The only thing I could find that it would stick to was the edge of the Solar Panel frame.

 

[Betik]

I wonder if those strong magnets will mess with the GPS unit....

 

[buckbuck]

I wonder if they will mess with your brain waves....

 

[Betik]

I wonder if they will mess with your brain waves....

what brainwaves ? Judging from my decision I have none

 

[Julian]

I wonder if these strong magnets would stick to something that a weak magnet won't stick to (IE if there is only a little ferrous metal in it, will it still stick?)

That said....I think my current set up will work fine. If it doesn't I can easily add snaps for V2.0

 

[haknslash]

This probably happens under your boat when you use rare earth magnets anyways...

 

[Betik]

What ? I had no idea my Mother in Law was residing in the Bermuda triangle.

 

[Julian]

I neglected to update this thread after Bimini 2018. We didn't need this rain shield for the entire time we were in Bimini, then right as we were pulling into the turning basin at Ft. Lauderdale, the sky opened up!!!! We quickly deployed the shield from scratch (I didn't have it in the "ready" position) and stayed dry!

So this will be my rain shield from now on. I'm not going to bother with snaps to the windshield, I am going to KISS - keep it simple stupid! It isn't elegant, but it works!

I think the other boats that crossed back with us and went through the same rain will attest to how dry we stayed and how soaked they got. Works for me!

 

[Betik]

thank you for the update

 

[robert843]

Did you add the groomets to the vinyl I’m curious to do something like this myself as well but have never worked with at all so not sure how to do that.