Why shrink wrap for winter?
 

Our first full season as boat owners is about to end. We have a 20+year old
33-foot Carver Voyager on Lake Michigan in Northern Illinois. We're
storing it outside on the marina property. Is it necessary to shrink wrap
the boat? What does that accomplish? This is a tall boat with an upper and
lower (inside) piloting station and a very high upper radar arch. Thanks.

Keeps it out of the weather.

"telequest" wrote in message
news:ok11d.35745$D%.5126@attbi_s51...
Our first full season as boat owners is about to end. We have a 20+year
old 33-foot Carver Voyager on Lake Michigan in Northern Illinois. We're
storing it outside on the marina property. Is it necessary to shrink wrap
the boat? What does that accomplish? This is a tall boat with an upper and
lower (inside) piloting station and a very high upper radar arch. Thanks.

telequest wrote in message news:ok11d.35745$D%.5126@attbi_s51...
Our first full season as boat owners is about to end. We have a 20+year old
33-foot Carver Voyager on Lake Michigan in Northern Illinois. We're
storing it outside on the marina property. Is it necessary to shrink wrap
the boat? What does that accomplish? This is a tall boat with an upper and
lower (inside) piloting station and a very high upper radar arch. Thanks.

___________________________
Shrink wrap gives you the benefits of inside storage without the cost.
If you have side decks, it also gives you the chance to work on the
boat over the winter, You need to include a door (zippered opening)
at your swim platform or gate. You also want to have good
ventilation. I have a bowsprite which lets the boat breath very well
(can leave ports open).
The real key is who does the wrap. Some are better at it (done more
boats or understand the needs of the owner better). Have wrapped the
boat for the last 4 or 5 years (on the Chesapeake) and been very happy
with the clean boat when she is unwrapped in the spring. On the
trawler a frame is added from the radar to create a peak (so the snow
slides off). The T-Top becomes part of the frame when it is taken
down to form the peak. Cost is somewhere between 900. To 1100
(depends on amount wrap and time to do). CAP Schipper

telequest wrote in message news:ok11d.35745$D%.5126@attbi_s51...
Our first full season as boat owners is about to end. We have a 20+year old
33-foot Carver Voyager on Lake Michigan in Northern Illinois. We're
storing it outside on the marina property. Is it necessary to shrink wrap
the boat? What does that accomplish? This is a tall boat with an upper and
lower (inside) piloting station and a very high upper radar arch. Thanks.

There are important advantages to shrink-wrapping most boats:

1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;

2) you can't get at the boat to work on it over the off-season - this
saves you a lot of time & money you'd otherwise pee away ordering
doodads from catalogues & installing them out in your yard;

3) your boat will look blue like all the other boats in the
neighborhood - so you will fit in & not be seen as a renegade;

4) you can safely tell your guests many BS stories about how your boat
is outfitted - they won't be able to walk out & see if they are true;

5) if you left any forgotten chow aboard, the mice won't get into it;

6) if you left any booze aboard, the kids won't get into it; or if
they do it will be evident from a distance;

7) you have a convenient excuse at the marina next spring as to why
you haven't done anything to it since it was hauled;

8) it provides some quick & easy cashflow for the marina guys, so
maybe they won't pork you so badly on something else that is more
lasting & useful;

9) any remaining water anywhere aboard will be preserved - conserving
water is important these days you know;

10) if someone stole your radar you'll have an indication right away
instead of discovering it 3 months later;

11) it is good for your marriage or love relationship - neither of you
will go hide aboard the boat during a conflict to get away from the
other, and neither of you will be tempted to use it for convenient
unfaithful purposes;

12) it saves you from having to decorate the boat for Christmas.

1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;

the cheapest, thinnest blue poly tarp lasts well through until spring and
beyond is you put (cheap) rope back and forth over the top of the tarp.

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;

the cheapest, thinnest blue poly tarp lasts well through until spring and
beyond is you put (cheap) rope back and forth over the top of the tarp.


Or even better...if you can get an old commercial type fishing net. If you
fasten that on properly, the tarp has nowhere to go.
I found a 'made in China' canvas tarp on sale at an auto/tool type store.
(about $ 100.00 US for an 18' x 24')

If you can't find old fish net -- use the plastic snow fence
stuff Home Despot sells. I just got 3 years out of a silver
tarp -- probably could have got a few more if I padded the
mast and uprights better.

Don White wrote:
"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...

1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;

the cheapest, thinnest blue poly tarp lasts well through until spring and
beyond is you put (cheap) rope back and forth over the top of the tarp.



Or even better...if you can get an old commercial type fishing net. If you
fasten that on properly, the tarp has nowhere to go.
I found a 'made in China' canvas tarp on sale at an auto/tool type store.
(about $ 100.00 US for an 18' x 24')

On 16 Sep 2004 19:05:16 -0700, wrote:

telequest wrote in message news:ok11d.35745$D%.5126@attbi_s51...
Our first full season as boat owners is about to end. We have a 20+year old
33-foot Carver Voyager on Lake Michigan in Northern Illinois. We're
storing it outside on the marina property. Is it necessary to shrink wrap
the boat? What does that accomplish? This is a tall boat with an upper and
lower (inside) piloting station and a very high upper radar arch. Thanks.

There are important advantages to shrink-wrapping most boats:

1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;
/cut/

I was favorably impressed by a plastic tarp I bought about a year ago.
It was cheap.
It was blue one side, silver the other.
There were evidently reinforcing fibers in it.
It had brass eyelets.

Momma threw it over the work boat on its trailer so it was about 20 X
12 feet, and pulled it taught with elastic straps. The thing was taut
as a drum. I expected it to last a week. but three months and some
rain storms later, it was untorn.
Yeppers!

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Harbor Freight has real tarps for a price not more than about 2x the
blue plastic, though the grommets could stand reinforcing. Anyway, they
also sell a strapping tool and strapping that did a good job on my boat.

HTH,
Courtney

Jim wrote:

If you can't find old fish net -- use the plastic snow fence stuff Home
Despot sells. I just got 3 years out of a silver tarp -- probably could
have got a few more if I padded the mast and uprights better.

Don White wrote:

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...

1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;


the cheapest, thinnest blue poly tarp lasts well through until spring
and
beyond is you put (cheap) rope back and forth over the top of the tarp.




Or even better...if you can get an old commercial type fishing net.
If you
fasten that on properly, the tarp has nowhere to go.
I found a 'made in China' canvas tarp on sale at an auto/tool type store.
(about $ 100.00 US for an 18' x 24')




--
s/v Mutiny
Rhodes Bounty II
lying Oriental, NC
WDB5619

Or, you could just move to Galveston Bay where we don't worry about shrink
wrap and just boat all winter.

Quinton

"Brian Whatcott" wrote in message
...
On 16 Sep 2004 19:05:16 -0700, wrote:

telequest wrote in message
news:ok11d.35745$D%.5126@attbi_s51...
Our first full season as boat owners is about to end. We have a 20+year
old
33-foot Carver Voyager on Lake Michigan in Northern Illinois.
We're
storing it outside on the marina property. Is it necessary to shrink
wrap
the boat? What does that accomplish? This is a tall boat with an upper
and
lower (inside) piloting station and a very high upper radar arch.
Thanks.

There are important advantages to shrink-wrapping most boats:

1) since you can't buy a real tarp anymore unless you are quite rich,
you won't have plastic shreads from useless plastic tarps all over
your property if it has to stay wrapped for more than one season;
/cut/

I was favorably impressed by a plastic tarp I bought about a year ago.
It was cheap.
It was blue one side, silver the other.
There were evidently reinforcing fibers in it.
It had brass eyelets.

Momma threw it over the work boat on its trailer so it was about 20 X
12 feet, and pulled it taught with elastic straps. The thing was taut
as a drum. I expected it to last a week. but three months and some
rain storms later, it was untorn.
Yeppers!

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

"QLW" wrote in message ...

Or, you could just move to Galveston Bay where we don't worry about shrink
wrap and just boat all winter.

Please - I still have my original Maribelle's WharfRats teeshirt
somewhere, proof that somehow I survived the older Seabrook
party/boating scene as a Yankee without alcohol poisoning...g.