Well, I broke down and purchased a Shroud by Heather for the 17.5. Rob handled the communications and he was very friendly, professional and cared about what I needed. Heather did outstanding work! The challenge was the 17.5" is a single upper ring. However with the right measurements the end product works perfectly!!!! It adds darkness which will improve the contrast as I observe and I am looking forward to using the 17.5" next week at a dark site (hopefully a couple of times).
The shroud is black as you can see in the pictures below. I thought about green to match the focuser but decided to stick to black. The material is excellent and all I can say is that if you need a shroud, THIS IS THE PLACE (to use a Utah term) to get one. I usually don't promote here, but this is the LINK to Shrouds by Heather and again, if you need a shroud this IS the place to get one. I am very very happy with the end product and the entire experience.
Here is the 17.5" in my garage all set up. Fits like a charm and I love how it changes the view of the scope. I'll be using it a lot and I am sure though there will be times I will not use it, especially at a very very dark site. We'll see after I use it next week at the dark site I go to observe at. I am very excited to see the difference.
In addition I ordered a case for my truss poles. The case is made of heavier material than the shroud. It holds the truss poles wonderfully except for one mistake I made. I did not give the accurate measurement so the case only holds 4 of the 8 poles. So I ordered a second one to hold the other four! It is being made and will soon be here. I want to thank Rob and Heather for their great service and product. As always, first rate!
