Vented Boat Cover Support for Telescoping Poles

This support fits on top of a ¾" to 7/8" telescoping support pole commonly used to support the center section of a boat cover. The support creates a raised peak in the cover, encouraging water to run off rather than pool in low spots.

Compared to the parts typically supplied with telescoping support poles, this design uses a larger-diameter lower plate that does a better job of keeping the cover centered and supported. The outer edge of the lower plate is rounded to help reduce wear on the boat cover fabric.

This design uses three pieces instead of four, making installation simpler while maintaining compatibility with commonly available support poles. The diameter of the protrusion extending through the cover remains approximately the same as that used in commercially available products.

Printing Notes

This print will probably need ASA or better.  I tried PETG and in the hot summer sun it is softening and drooping, particularly on the lower piece that sits inside the boat cover, where it gets pretty hot.  My black ASA prints are doing OK so far, after a few weeks.  The temps have been up to 90F, but my boat is in the direct sun.

In the supplied print profile, the wing nut and the threaded portion of the top cap are configured to print at 0.12 mm layer height to improve thread quality. Everything else is at a 0.2mm layer height.  For simplicity, you could of course just print everything at 0.12mm.