Canoe cover for epoxy canoe with no gelcoat?

[Glenn MacGrady]

I've bought a new Savage River Illusion canoe, which cost more money than I ever imagined I would spend. To lighten the weight, which was one of my primary objectives in getting the canoe, it's made of Textreme carbon and Kevlar with an outer layer that is a so-called skin coat—i.e., no gelcoat. The resin used in the laminate is all epoxy, which is subject to UV degradation.

I often leave my canoe on top of my vehicle for weeks at a time during the warm season, such as here in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.



Because I've never had an expensive, skin coat, epoxy canoe among my large lifetime fleet, I'm a bit worried about UV damage for appearance and resale value. I'm therefore thinking about whether a custom travel cover would be a worthwhile investment for when the canoe is on top of a vehicle for several weeks from spring to fall. On the other hand, I wonder whether the UV risk is overblown in my mind for a northeast canoe that's stored indoors when not being cartopped, and which can be coated periodically with a UV inhibitor such as 303 Protectant or marine wax.

Any thoughts, opinions or actual experience with using or not using a travel cover for such a canoe would be appreciated.

 

[Tryin']

The Original Canoe Cover – RedLeaf Designs

Bag Lady premium, double-knit polyester canoe covers have been the standard for over 42 years and have protected the life and appearance of thousands of canoes in that time. Bag Lady covers protect the hull of your canoe from UV damage, fading, bugs, scratches, stone chips, and more when you're...

redleafdesigns.com

Pretty cheap insurance. And a GREAT company.

 

[Neophyte]

I don’t leave my canoe on my car so I’m content with just using the 303. But since you’re leaving it up there, I would get the cover that Tryin linked. Compared to the cost of the canoe it seems like a relatively inexpensive precaution.

Do you take any other precautions leaving your canoe car-topped like that? Loosening straps, locks, ect?

 

[Superdave]

The Original Canoe Cover – RedLeaf Designs

Bag Lady premium, double-knit polyester canoe covers have been the standard for over 42 years and have protected the life and appearance of thousands of canoes in that time. Bag Lady covers protect the hull of your canoe from UV damage, fading, bugs, scratches, stone chips, and more when you're...

redleafdesigns.com

Pretty cheap insurance. And a GREAT company.

I'll second that. While I don't use a cover, if I was leaving my epoxy boat outside for weeks at a time, I certainly would. Other products I've gotten from Redleaf have been outstanding, and they are fantastic to work with.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I have Bag Lady/RedLeaf custom covers for my Morris wood-canvas canoe and my Swift Keewaydin 15 because those covers came with both canoes when I bought them on the used market. However, I've only used those covers for storage purposes and have never used them for cartopping travel. The Morris is not a canoe I leave outside on a vehicle or its trailer. I have left my Kee on top of my car for extended periods, but I don't worry much about UV because it has a gelcoated bottom.

Yes, I'm weighing the cost, weight, travel noise potential, and on-off inconvenience of a fabric cover vs. doing nothing except 303 and more frequent warm season garaging than usual, since I now no longer have a dedicated canoe vehicle that is functional.

In short, it's the cost of expensive insurance vs. the risk. I know the exact cost of the insurance. What I don't know and can't quantify is the risk of actual UV damage over my expected lifetime usage of the canoe, which ain't what it used to be.

 

[sailsman63]

I took a look around, and I couldn't find anything solid.

1. I remember there being some posts here on CTN some years back that talked about people in either the Southwest or Florida (possibly both) losing structural integrity in an unprotected epoxy hull (I think these were strip builds) within a season or two. I could not find the posts, and heat may have been a factor.
2. I found This study on the effects of UV on epoxy, but I'm having a hard time equating it to real-life sun exposure. The test appears to be artificially accelerated, perhaps up to 2x natural UV exposure. Still, it shows what long-term UV does to epoxy. Primarily, it discolors and hardens the upper surface, not doing much to the substrate.

Some napkin math that you may or may not have done: If you assume 8h a day "full sun", 180 days on the cartop will give you 1440h of UV exposure. You are probably better able to scale this to your local climate than I am.

It also makes a difference if SR used a modified, UV-resistant epoxy in the build. (This is probably listed in your correspondence, it's not shown on their site.)

I'm actually more worried that the black hull is going to broil in high summer and degrade from overheating.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Do you take any other precautions leaving your canoe car-topped like that? Loosening straps, locks, ect?

Good points. Yes, I do lock and even double lock my seat and/or thwarts onto my racks when away from home. I never thought about loosening the straps a bit, but that seems like a reasonable precaution.

I'm actually more worried that the black hull is going to broil in high summer and degrade from overheating.

Another interesting point. I wonder if a canoe cover makes that possibility better, worse or no difference.

 

[Alan Gage]

I had bag lady covers for my old racing canoes. Pretty much everyone else at the races did as well. We all traveled with them installed. It took virtually no time to take them on/off and there was never an issue driving with them installed.

Alan

 

[Boatman53]

I think a cover would be a good idea. It might even cut down on the curiosity factor of people intrigued by the layup.
Jim