"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
In article k.net,
Courtney Thomas wrote:

Last year most of the sailboats [fiberglass] I personally saw [on the
hard]
in eastern Canada were not plastic wrapped, polyethylene I guess, for
Winter, but most I saw in Maine were.

Granted, I didn't see any large number in either area, but what are the
possible perceptions and motives in each case ?

Thank you,

Courtney

Courtney, the joys of shrink wrapping a boat are that almost always it
is done by a yard (one less cold weather project), it holds up great,
looks good, and keeps rain, ice, snow, debris and everything else off
one's boat. OTOH, at $20+ a foot it can be expensive and poly is not
good for the environment.

That's why around here the outfit that intalled the stuff is required
to remove it in the spring and recycle it. Never ends up in the landfill.

The benefit of the alternative of using poly tarps is that it is cheaper
to buy the plastic once -- at least for as long as they last. The
downsides are that if it deforms or rips (which it will sooner or later)
during the season, you have no protection, it creates a storage issue,
and seams can leak no matter how well overlapped (especially in
conjunction with the first downside) and poly is still bad for the
environment when it is eventually disposed of.

This year, I opted for a frame and canvas cover. The idea being that
storage would be easier (more durable and easier to put away then the
poly that often ripped in my basement) and that over four or five
seasons it would pay for itself. The downsides are the upfront costs,
having to store and build the frame each year oneself (to save on
installation to warrant the initial cost).

Up front costs are not a problem. Oops! I almost forgot, we fabricate them
so we like upfront costs

If I remember, no sure things these days, eventually I will post a
follow-up as to whether I think the canvas is better not only from an
ecological perspective, but from performance and cost.

We never use canvas per se. Ecologically, better to recycle of course.
Performance is better, but cost may be a toss up. Probably better in
the long run depending on longevity.

harlan