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Random Quote: Everyday I beat my own previous record for number of consecutive days I have stayed alive
you have a 100k rig and 300.00 is an issue ..... hey it's only exposure the the elements !!!!! Besides how bad can acid rain , sun and freezing rain/sleet/snow be ...........John
That's what I'd do, and in fact it is exactly what I do here in West Virginia. The difference is I don't have a hard top, so I take down the canvas top and cover it, put the curtains away and just let the snow pile up. The fish boxes fill with water and freeze solid but its never hurt anything. Other things that fill up and freeze solid are the bilge pump type hoses that run form my live well and three fish boxes, the sump pump system that blows their drainage overboard, and the boxes themselves. I also tend to get a good bit of ice buildup in my bilge, and it hasn't ever hurt anything either. On top of that we get plenty of snow around here:
I have done shrink-wrap....no more! A tarp makes it a whole lot easier to work on the boat on those good days. No mess to throw away in the spring! No mold that devoloped along the rubrail! No debris that found it's way inside when small holes developed in the shrink!
And best of all, it's re-usable!
Sorry, I haven't been around enough to know if anyone replying is being facetious. But I don't see any winking smilies or anything else to indicate someone's not being serious.
News flash: water expands when it freezes from liquid to solid. If it gets into a crack or crevice, it's going to pry that crack open, or at least try to. Water brings down mountains this way. Pity the 1/8" thick lip of fiberglass on, say, a storage hatch when it does. Plastic that is otherwise pliable at 40 degrees or above, can become very brittle as it gets colder.
All this isn't opinion, it's science. Boats are meant to be outside and exposed to the elements, but frozen solid? I don't think so. If you don't shrink wrap, that's up to you, at least listen to Sea Wolf's advice.
"One would think that the earth was the road Of the body, that the sea was the road Of the soul."
You have to cover the boat. Why shorten the life of your enclosure. Everything Bigdaddy says is true, water will get in places you don't expect and expand. My fishing boat is a 1969 Larson and I cover it with a tarp.
The Carver get's shrink wrap. Do yourself a favor and avoid the possible headaches.
"A boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which you throw money"
You guys are killing me with that white stuff. I remember when I was a young-un in Maryland, we covered our boat. It seemed to make for easier cleanup in the spring.
BTW: I got the hell out of that state as soon as I was old enough!! Too many liberals and that white stuff...
William
1900CC Key West W/ 115 Yammie 4 stroke
Biggest boat that would fit in my garage!
Trafficlawyer-
how do you keep the snow/water/ice from collecting in the bow/pulpit area and also in the deck/transom area?
I've already shrinkwrapped this year but I might want to look at some alternatives next year.
Thanks.
Thanks guys. Guess I'll go for the shrink wrap again. Tried the plastic tarp thing on another boat and could never get the fit right. Besides that the rub fronm the plastic damaged the gel coat on the corners of the boat.
njfishing: The best way to wrap with a tarp is to buy an oversized one and pull it tight! Last week I went to Home Depot and bought two packages of mini-bungee cords. At $2.95 per 8 pack they are a very inexpensive way to accomplish this. With a large tarp I'm also able to cover the winch.And able to protect the hull from the sun.
This is my 2003/4 "Blue Cacoon"!
quote:Originally posted by 160RIPTIDE: ... difference between SILVER and BLUE tarps besides the color?
Yes, usally it is the "ply" or thickness of the tarps. The blues ones are usually one thin ply ... cheap in my opinion. I believe the "mils" or thickness varies too.
I have some slver ones, sold as "heavy duty", that are 3-ply. Silver outside to reflect the sun, dark brown inside, with an off-white middle ply. These "plies" have a pattern to the material that run in different directions. IMHO these make the entire top more durable and I can get 3 or more season from each one.
I like youse guys that use the larger el cheapo blues ones though ... After it only lasts you the one season, I take it from you and put it over my framing first ... that takes the snow load and makes my tarps last even longer. Jay , I'll take yours next Fall - haha!
Hey Reel: This is the second season for this blue tarp! And I don't see any reason to think it won't last at least 5 more. The trick is to have it as tight as possible to prevent it from "flapping in the breeze". And besides, $35.00 tarp is a whole lot smarter than $180.00 or more it would cost for shrink-wrap her. Even if it lasted only one season, I still saved a bunch of dough.
Location: On My 340B SeaVee With Very Big Verados!
Posts: 5,138
To Shrink Wrap or Not to Shrink Wrap
Trafficlawyer-
"how do you keep the snow/water/ice from collecting in the bow/pulpit area and also in the deck/transom area?"
I have a piece of 1/2" pvc going across the bow rail up toward the pulpit,some minimal water collects in the pulpit area but its negligible. Aft area goes from the hardtop stright down over the motors with a pvc 3/4" rib inserted in the rod holders forming sort of a goal post uinder the Tarp. No rain collection problem aft at all. Big news flash this TARP is gray and WHITE on the inside,no rubbing at all amd the grometts are plastic, nothing to scratch anywhere. So far has withstood 20-30 mph wind gusts. Although tomorrow night were supposed to have a major storm, hopefully no tornado.
To Shrink Wrap or Not to Shrink Wrap 
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After it only lasts you the one season, I take it from you and put it over my framing first ... that takes the snow load and makes my tarps last even longer. Jay 
"Life's too short to own an ugly boat ..." 
