Do you really need shrink wrap ?

I would love to build a frame but think mine is way too high to make it feasible. BTW, I have never seen vent holes in any of the shrink wrapped boats around here. And yes, a lot of great info Charlie.
 
Without vents, you're sitting on a mold factory. Never saw one done without vents,
 
Vents are VERY important. I always pushed the doors for boats sitting in someone's yard just so they could air it out on nice days.
 
I'm going up tomorrow to check for vents but quite frankly I have had my boat wrapped by three different marinas and don't ever recall vents and not that I disagree with you but I have never had a mold issue. I do have a door so I will open and air out occasionally.
 
I use to take a sheet rock knife and just made slits in various places. This was the day before vents.
 
I think it also depends on where your marina is in regards to wind protection. We have a few guys that would tarp and do it right but the tarp always seems to fail.
I too question my $450 shrink wrap bill but it's the only luxury I allow myself. After winterizing, changing oil, etc, I figure what the heck.

I did buy a roll of wrap a couple years ago, I might attempt to use it one day but every year in the fall, I'm just DONE!

This year it took over a month, I was wrapped beginning of December and this really bothered me since I came out 6 weeks earlier and winterized same day!!

In the end, I would NOT leave a boat uncovered. Try the tarp method if you are so inclined but leaving it exposed sounds like trouble...I'd be afraid even the spider cracks would get worse.
 
quote:
Originally posted by walterv

I use to take a sheet rock knife and just made slits in various places. This was the day before vents.

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That's actually the best way to vent. Those little plastic stick on ones are crap. Cut out a small rectangle about the size of an envelope, put a piece of shrink wrap tape over it, cut diagonal slits in the tale about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, pinch them together so the tape 'slats' stick to each other, then make an eyebrow with another piece of tape so the rain doesn't come through.
 
quote:
Originally posted by WALSHIE

I think it also depends on where your marina is in regards to wind protection. We have a few guys that would tarp and do it right but the tarp always seems to fail.
I too question my $450 shrink wrap bill but it's the only luxury I allow myself. After winterizing, changing oil, etc, I figure what the heck.

I did buy a roll of wrap a couple years ago, I might attempt to use it one day but every year in the fall, I'm just DONE!

This year it took over a month, I was wrapped beginning of December and this really bothered me since I came out 6 weeks earlier and winterized same day!!

In the end, I would NOT leave a boat uncovered. Try the tarp method if you are so inclined but leaving it exposed sounds like trouble...I'd be afraid even the spider cracks would get worse.

Click to expand...


If you decide to wrap it yourself, let me know and I'll write up some good how-to and tips and tricks stuff. I'll just need to a few pics of the boat to tailor it. All you need:
Shrink wrap
Shrinkwrap tape, 2" and 4"
Small stuff like flat woven strapping for banding and tie down
Disposable razor blades
Leather gloves
Long sleeve natural fiber shirt or jacket - you WILL end up passing the gun over your arm, accidentally and intentionally at times
Good shrink wrap gun. Shrinkfast is the gold standard - wouldn't bother with anything else.
Ladders and a stand for the plastic. If it hits the ground and gets anything on it, you'll get holes.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Double D

I've seen guys remove the shrink wrap and frame work .....and use it again the next winter ...cuts cost in 1/2

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i used to shinkwrap in nh I DID A FRIENDS boat November 2003 then moved, he saved his wrap a reused it 8 more times with the help of a few rolls of shrinkwrap tape lol
 
20+ years ago I did not shrink wrap the first two boats that we owned. Over a season or two a few leaks appeared as well as some issues with railing stations and fly bridge furniture cracks that started out very small and grew the second season. This stuff appeared slowly and we were not aware of how they were developing from the freeze thaw cycles taking place with the wet boats.
Since then we have used both tarps and shrink wrap each season on any boat that we owned. The better quality tarps worked OK on smaller boats or boats without large vertical heights but were failed on boats with fly brides and without fairly steep angles - they let water in and were subject to wind issues. If tarps do become loose they can do as much damage ad the ice and snow they are trying to protect from.
Our cover frames have always been built using wood framed supports carrying larger PVC tubes to make up the spine. A wooden base with carpet attached makes each foot and the typical 2 X 6 nestles into it with a wood block attached to the base boards - during assembly on the boat no tools are necessary so the frame goes up quickly. During the first few years when we shrink wrapped most marinas did not have a problem with us doing the wrapping ourselves and Haverstraw was one of those. Lately it has become harder to find a marina which will let you do your own wrap even of you provide the liability insurance that they typically say they need to allow you to do it.
NO matter who shrinks the boat we have utilized plastic eve vents for homes on our boats over the past 20 years. They are available at places like home depot and are about 12" wide and 18" tall all plastic with molded in vents that have small screen type down facing ribs and offer a large vented surface that cane be easily taped into place and re-used each year.

YMMV - but I have found that keeping the water out during freezing weather is well worth the money even if the results of not doing it are less obvious and take a few seasons to completely 'appear'.

Hope this helps
 
I'm reusing the shrink wrap from my boat from last year, I purposely cut it off so I could slip it back on, is there any reason I can't use duct tape to bind the tears and make vents with? I noticed the used shrink wrap doesn't respond to a heat gun to tighten it, does that mean it’s been spent?
 
My 2 previous boats came with canvas covers. Very heavy to put on and off, but canvas breaths.
I reuse my shrink wrap and i am on my 4th year. I know
how to remove it carefully and use the same frame
each year. Works great and brings the cost down to 200/year
so far. You can only do this if you have an express style
boat.
 
Checked my boat and it does not have any vents so drove through three other local marinas and most boats do not have vents. Some did but it appeared to me to be mostly done by just slicing a downward facing flag cut with to additional prevention for water entry. Perhaps done by the owners. Since my boat is very high off ground, the best I could do is mak a cut from the inside preventing me from building a water intrusion system. On a related note, is it best to keep my hatch open to my fly bridge? I keep my EZ2C in place so the fly ridge is failrly sealed.
 
quote:
Originally posted by pstew96

I'm reusing the shrink wrap from my boat from last year, I purposely cut it off so I could slip it back on, is there any reason I can't use duct tape to bind the tears and make vents with? I noticed the used shrink wrap doesn't respond to a heat gun to tighten it, does that mean it’s been spent?

Click to expand...


Depends on the tape. Most actually doesn't shrink much - and a key thing to keep in mind with shrink-wrap (when applying it, at least), is that it shrinks as it cools, not as it heats. Sounds like it doesn't mean much, but it makes everything make more sense when you're working with it. But yes - once it's shrunk, it's 'spent'. That's one of the reasons you need to follow a bit of a pattern as you heat it, so you can push the wrinkles to an unshrunk part. Once it cools with wrinkles, it takes a bit of art and technique to remove them.

I wouldn't use duct tape, but the best reason I can come up with is because I've never tried it and still have a few rolls of shrink-wrap tape in the garage. It only runs $20-$25 nowadays on Amazon Prime, probably can find it cheaper elsewhere. Don't see what harm it could do trying duct tape. Let us know if you do - I'm curious how it works out.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anchor Management

Checked my boat and it does not have any vents so drove through three other local marinas and most boats do not have vents. Some did but it appeared to me to be mostly done by just slicing a downward facing flag cut with to additional prevention for water entry. Perhaps done by the owners. Since my boat is very high off ground, the best I could do is mak a cut from the inside preventing me from building a water intrusion system. On a related note, is it best to keep my hatch open to my fly bridge? I keep my EZ2C in place so the fly ridge is failrly sealed.

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That's strange. Venting is REALLY important. A lot of boats you can be creative and not have to cut vents, but that's not too often on bigger boats. Outboard boats you can wrap back around the outboard and leave a gap on the bottom, under the angles between the corner of the hull and the outboard, to allow plenty of air flow. Works much better than cutting a vent. I've done some boats with some down and dirty creative framework to accomplish the same thing. I had a guy working with me for a couple seasons that was a whiz with framing and prepping boats for shrink-wrap, did some incredible things with 2x4's and foam blocks and/or pool noodle type pieces to set up natural venting. He was FAST, too - carried a screw gun and a small cordless circular saw and brought a shaggy old bathroom floor mat with him - threw it under anything he cut and it caught every bit of the sawdust. Twice as fast as cutting on the ground and going up and down and up and down, and never had to sweep a speck of sawdust up.

As far as leaving things inside open, I'd leave as much open as you're comfortable with. For security reasons some people like to leave the cabin and compartments locked up under the plastic - my personal take on that is if someone goes under the plastic, they're out of sight for long enough to break any cabin locks in their way.
 
quote:
Originally posted by November Charlie

quote:
Originally posted by WALSHIE

I think it also depends on where your marina is in regards to wind protection. We have a few guys that would tarp and do it right but the tarp always seems to fail.
I too question my $450 shrink wrap bill but it's the only luxury I allow myself. After winterizing, changing oil, etc, I figure what the heck.

I did buy a roll of wrap a couple years ago, I might attempt to use it one day but every year in the fall, I'm just DONE!

This year it took over a month, I was wrapped beginning of December and this really bothered me since I came out 6 weeks earlier and winterized same day!!

In the end, I would NOT leave a boat uncovered. Try the tarp method if you are so inclined but leaving it exposed sounds like trouble...I'd be afraid even the spider cracks would get worse.

Click to expand...


If you decide to wrap it yourself, let me know and I'll write up some good how-to and tips and tricks stuff. I'll just need to a few pics of the boat to tailor it. All you need:
Shrink wrap
Shrinkwrap tape, 2" and 4"
Small stuff like flat woven strapping for banding and tie down
Disposable razor blades
Leather gloves
Long sleeve natural fiber shirt or jacket - you WILL end up passing the gun over your arm, accidentally and intentionally at times
Good shrink wrap gun. Shrinkfast is the gold standard - wouldn't bother with anything else.
Ladders and a stand for the plastic. If it hits the ground and gets anything on it, you'll get holes.

Click to expand...


Mike - Is it ever feasible to carefully cut/release the wrap in spring and reinstall the next fall? MacDougall's in Falmouth claims they aren't allowed to do that for some reason, but it seems like a bit of a very expensive waste.
 
quote:
Originally posted by November Charlie

quote:
Originally posted by JVM225

Going with nothing but the canvas up and enclosed isn't a bad idea, as long as you don't get a lot of snow and ice. But living in NY, that isn't reality. If I lived south of DC or so, I'd probably go that way.
I used tarps years ago (80's). Once I made the frame, it was easy to assemble and take apart each year. Storing it was a pain in the butt though. The tarps never lasted more than one season, and they had to be checked regularly throughout the winter. It took some skill with properly placed carpet scraps to make sure they didn't rub through and rip over the winter. Going in and out of the boat wasn't an option.
Too much of a PIA for me.
I like shrinkwrap. Well worth the money IMO.
The only thing I don't like about it is the moisture that builds up under there, even with the vents.
But with the use of small fans, calcium chloride, etc., I work around it.
Being a chronic tinkerer, I like being able to go in and out of the boat through the zippered door all winter too. If I lived on the water, and the boat was in my yard, I'd probably try to leave the zippered door open as much as I could on nice days to help combat the moisture.
My shrinkwrap guy is backed up this year, and hasn't gotten to me yet. That's a good thing this year. I've been able to take advantage of the unusually warm weather to get some upholstery work done, and some other winter projects out of the way, without having to squeeze my tired old butt through that door. The boat is nice and bone dry too.
I'm hoping he gets to me this week though, because I know the storms and frigid temperatures can't be far away.

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If he's cutting good vents and it's still not enough, ask him to tape a second door (don't cut behind it until you're going to actually use it). Shouldn't cost more than another $10-20 for a new door, but he's probably reusing doors that are still intact. No reason at all not to. Still going to cost a few bucks, though, since 4" tape isn't cheap, and 2" will probably cause pulls on a large surface (and is also not cheap).

Opening two doors on a nice day to air it out is WAY better than one door.

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The boat was wrapped yesterday, including the little triangle vents. It rained a lot last night and this morning. The inside of the wrap was damp when I got there late this afternoon. I had a portable heater running in the cockpit, and another in the cabin, while I was working under there, and it was dry by the time I left.
I usually use calcium chloride, along with a couple of those 4" small fans. That usually does the trick.
The fans are the best.
Unfortunately, a second door doesn't do me any good. I live 7 miles away from the boat, and wouldn't leave the doors open unless I was there working.
If the boat was in my yard, I would leave the door(s) open as much as I could.
 
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