More Scamp DIY

[Doug SC]

Scamp bug protection for sleeping on the boat is completed. There were two places on the boat beside the two open portholes that needed attention to keep me from being a bug buffet. The obvious one is the opening where the tiller comes through the transom. The other is where the mast enters the top of the cabana. It also allows water to run down the mast into the bow section of the boat. This is how the water got into the forward section and caused the rot I fixed a couple of years ago. The original builder let it sit for several years unattended and even though covered it collected lots of water in the boat.

I used a scrap piece of lauan to hold the no-see-um mesh in place. It has 5 coats of varnish. I used the leftover head net and masking tape to hold the netting in place. After mounting it to the transom I cut the exposed tape away. The remainder under the lauan will help keep the netting from being pulled out. I used a heavy rubber band for now to hold the netting to the tiller. I may use a scrunchie for this as it may last longer than a rubber band or use a piece of marine grade bungee at some point if needed. I used 1/8" silicon rubber gasket material to keep the water out of the opening for the mast. I think I will make a bigger one that covers the whole block the opening is in and let it overhang all the way around as a drip edge. For now, the proof of concept seems to be working OK.

Gasket for covering mast opening in place on the mast.
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netting in place on the transom
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[Captain Kidd]

Interesting solution. Have you seen anyone else do anything similar?

[Doug SC]

No I haven't. I have done a considerable amount of coastal camping from my kayaks. There are times when the insects can be overwhelming. Since I hope to do some of the same with the Scamp and use it as my camp in the Marsh instead of a tent I wanted the same degree of protection. They aren't usually as bad while on the water as wind becomes more of a factor. However a calm night could become problematic. You do want good ventilation when it is hot. I often carry a small battery powered fan for a more comfortable nights sleep.

[Captain Kidd]

A couple experiences come to mind. We were in St Pete municipal marina. I asked the dock master about mosquitoes. He said "what mosquitoes?" I slept in the cockpit that night. It was heavenly.

When we finished our ICW trip we spent our last night aboard in a marina at Thunderbolt. We arrived at dusk. The mosquitoes were so bad I could hardly stand it. We caught a cab as quickly as we could and got to a restaurant for supper. When we returned to the boat we got inside as quickly as possible.

I have a very large mosquito net that I can suspend from the mast. I weigh down the edges with small footlong sand bags I made for the purpose.

Bugs can ruin a good night!

[Charles Brennan]

Dale, A guy named Eric Leif, in Kansas, made himself a tent with a lot of ideas I intend to incorporate (i.e. shamelessly steal!) when I get my SCAMP far enough along that I CAN hang a tent on it.

Here's the tent closed up.
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And with the door thrown back to illustrate the mosquito screening.
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View inside from the veranda/cuddy, facing the stern.
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Pay attention around the tiller.

Here it is, close up:
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Very good idea and shows attention to detail.

Started out with a cheap tarp and masking tape and kept cutting and fitting and taping and modifying, until the tarp pieces became his pattern.

Another guy in Idaho, named Brent, also made a much better tent than I could have ever conceived.
Started out with a Bimini top.
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And attached four panels with YKK zippers.
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From the front:
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And from the back:
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These are (IMHO) two of the more impressive tents but there are easily over a half dozen tents scattered among the SCAMP forums. Someone in Canada is selling tents just for the SCAMP and Gig Harbor Boats also offers a SCAMP tent.
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Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan

[Captain Kidd]

That view from the cuddly looks cavernous!

What a great little ship!

Those tents are all fantastic. I'm sure you'll come up with a good plan.

One advantage to these Scamp tents is they will keep rain out of your boat. My tent setup will not keep any rain out.

[Doug SC]

CB I hadn't seen those tents. Not sure I have the skill to do them. My tent has just one seam in the tent body where I installed the zipper. It was a bit of a struggle getting the machine tension right to get the stitching right. Some of it I hand sewn which was time consuming. If I do this again I well try to borrow one of the club members Sailrite sewing machine. I think from the experience I gained making mine one I could do one with screens and zippers. The one you are considering looks good. Adding the windows wouldn't be any harder than what I have done.

Captain I also have some large no- seem-um mesh nets one is 12'X12' my mother sewed when I was a teen for hammock camping in FL swamps.no-se-ums can go through a mosquito mesh net and window screens. Before AC my grandfather painted there window screens with oil to keep them out.