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Boat cover fabric options?

Joined
Apr 21, 2015
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Location
Livingston, Montana
Help! I have run out of room for storing wood boats inside. I know I don't need them all and plan to get rid of some, but having them outside in the sun and rain is unsustainable. The Montana sun is brutal on boats. I have a canoe rack and a 4-place canoe trailer, so a tarp is probably what I'm looking for. The tarp will be in contact with the boats some of the time, probably not in the winter since I would try to space it above the hulls somehow. The question is: what's the best material. Looking around I think using sunforger treated canvas would be best, it's water repellant, is UV protection and breathable. Most of the time the tarp would be in contact with one of the royalex canoes. Any other suggestions?

Mark
 
I went cheap and used poly tarps for the last 35 years, but my boats are fiberglass, sitting on saw horses, or on racks on exterior walls. I've had to dig them out of the snow numerous times (shovels are hard on tarps). I've never had any effects of the tarps touching the hulls. People have expressed concerns, but I saw no evidence of it. Breathable?? I thought you lived in Livingston--the wind will get through everything!
 
I've never had any effects of the tarps touching the hulls. People have expressed concerns, but I saw no evidence of it.

It may depend on the length, duration and severity of humidity season where you live, and the frequency with which you extract the cocoon-wrapped canoe to summer humid paddle.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, and from there further coastal south, days may run high humidity from May through October, and a (non-breathable) cover resting on a hull will produce bacterial slime.

Hard to scrub off dried slime if the canoe stays enveloped and unused long enough. High humidity is bad enough for brightwork ends and wood gunwales without trapping in in/against the hull.

Maybe breathable Tyvek? It is inexpensive, ubiquitously available and usually white, for less heat absorption.

I’d still want it elevated a few inches above the hull if possibly easy, although Tyvek is noisy as heck when flapping in the wind, so either taut, or at least not right outside the bedroom window on blowy nights.

Anyone tried Tyvek as a canoe cover or shelter? I’m thinking edges folded over and glued, a few strategic reinforced grommets and some guy lines?
 
How about some sort of shade cloth? Not 100% UV and definitely not water resistant but it will keep most of the sun off and allow the breeze through to dry things off. Hull contact shouldn't matter.

Alan
 
There are permiable hay tarps available, I think at tractor supply. If you put one of those over a shade cloth you might get the right ballance between protecting or stewing in juices.
 
I use Vortex covers topped with Tyvek for winter storage. The Tyvek does not last long in the sun. I am exploring the company below for summer. My boats are always under cover. Mostly for UV protection.

Cypress Rowe Outfitters
 
possibly one of those temporary garages with a tarp over frame construction. Maybe even build one yourself with a wood frame.
 
Sadly, wood is insanely expensive at the moment.

FWIW, the cheap camo polyethylene tarps at Harbor Freight are a good deal and have held up for me amazingly well considering the price. Most recently, I have used one to cover a pie of topsoil for the last six months, and during the warm months. I use one to cover off and on whatever boat I might happen to have out, for UV protection.
 
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