shrink wrap for winterizing

[witeagle]

any thoughts on shrink wrap for the winter? I used to srink wrap my smaller boat - however with a tower, outriggers etc, I don't see how it could be done so easy on a 32 open

Thanks for any advise

Justin

[irishrogue]

justin

have a fisher canvas cover made for it. it covers everything from the waterline up to the tower - only thing exposed is the buggy top. ORs need to be removed.

Ours is 8+ yrs old and still looks great. i expect 12-15yrs out of it. im guessing they run around $2000-2500 now based on the quote that a friend just got on a 25' grady. we send our cover back to fisher every other year for minor stitching/repair - repairs average about $50-100. they really do stand behind their work.

boat stays very clean in the winter with no moisture problems. and you can easily access and even work on the boat under cover...

[Esquire]

I have a 36 Convertible that I have put shrink wrap on for the last seven years with no problems at all, everything is covered from the radar antenna on down, bow pulpit to swim platform. I have them put a door and several vents in and I use some moisture absorbing products in the cabin, that I check a couple of times during the winter but that is about it.

[irishrogue]

and what do you pay each year to shrink wrap? i m guessing a min of $500-750 each and every year. Where does all of that plastic go at the end of winter?

[witeagle]

The plastic on my old boat was sent back to the manufacture for recycling. It was put in a special bag and ups picked it up.

I paid about 300 for my 27 foot. I am sure this boat will cost a little more.

[Esquire]

I pay about 700 to have it done, the door is extra and they charge about 5 bucks per vent. The marina I store in has a recycling program, just remove the shrink wrap, take out the door zipper and the vents and pile it in front of your boat and a recycling truck comes around and picks it up for you.

[irishrogue]

ok, good on recycling for both of you....when we used to shrinkwrap our boats from 1986 to 1999, i was agahst at the cost and the pile of material that came from one marina and went to the dump....glad most (all?) marinas are now recycling.

$700 for a convertible is alot of coin each year. i cannot say enough good things about the fisher cover. i believe they also have factory authorized repair centers if you are not near them in NJ.... it is worth checking out. they run boat show special pricing too....

[witeagle]

I just got a quote - 2500. Good deal for a 10-15 years worth of use. They are actually not far from where I live.

I just learned how easy it really is to shrink wrap a boat. Cost wise is actually not bad at all to but the material. The expensive part would be the heat gun (about 700) but I am thinking an electric heat gun would work as well.

[Esquire]

I actually quoted the cost too high, just had to write the check for the cost, it is
$16.50 a linear foot, so it is 594.00 for the shrinkwrap plus 30 for the door and 20 for four vents. How heavy is the Fisher cover? I would think that to it would be way too heavy to manage to cover the 36 Convertible??? Do you have a permanent frame that you use?

[irishrogue]

the fisher cover is one piece. i would guess that it weighs 100-125 lbs. easy to move around on a handtruck. fairly easy for 2 people to pick up and move. you actually roll it in from both ends and place it in the middle of the boat. take 2 people to get it up there. from there you roll forward and roll backward up over the hardtop/tower on the Open. the front gets a center support in the pocket and then we build a frame underneath to support it and keep the support from possibly bowing under the weight. 2 guys start to finish is maybe 1hr+ - the first time will easily take a couple of hours until you know how to lace the sides, how tight to go, where to start tying, etc....

knowing that this cover will last 12-15 yrs really translates into cost savings....and it covers all the way to the bottom paint all the way around.

i would guess that the 36 convertible would weigh around 150lbs...still should be a two man job. I have seen quite a few 35-40 ft convertibles with covers....

[bigbut]

Do you have a picture of the cover on the boat?

[irishrogue]

i dont have a picture....

i think the best thing about the cover is cost savings over the long haul and the fact that it breathes. it is cleaner in the spring than our old boat that was always shrinked...