Shrink Wrap or Tarp

weather · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:05 am

Getting my thoughts together to do my first winterizing and wondering about the method of covering. Shrink wrap will likely run me $500 and last one season, a large tarp is less than $250 and will last for at least more than one season (3-4?). Of course shrink wrap is the best method, but I imagine it hasn't been around for more than 20 years - so many boaters must have used (and maybe still do) tarps. I'm on Lake Ontario and we usually don't get more than 1-2' of snow. I'm also looking at maybe doing the shrink wrap myself.
I'm not trying to be cheap, but if a tarp will do just fine, then I'm willing to spend that extra money on something else. Seems like boating in the winter is more expensive than the summer!
I'd like to hear others opinions and what they have done, particularly with owners of 26+ foot boats with arches.

Thanks,

Steve.

ric · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:19 am

Shrink wrap itself seems to be in the $250 mark and less. If you have all the supplies to do so, all you need is just the material. You don't have to cover the whole boat top to bottom as the hull will be fine.. Mainly you want the white stuff out of the top.

I'd even go ahead and put in a shrink wrap door, they run under $20 so you can check the battery maintainers, animals that found a home, etc.

I hate tarps.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:30 am

We have a Fisher made cover for ours. Cost about $1200 (came with the boat) and can be used outdoors. We do not bother with outdoor storage. After adding up all variables, winterizing each year, cover and or shrink wrap, plus just the thought of our 30' cruiser being stored in the snow, we elected to store indoors heated. No winterizing, no cover, no mildew, no wear and tear from the elements. Just put it in the water in the spring, hook up the batteries, start it and off we go. $1300 to store it for the off season here is worth it IMO.

Partycove2 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:40 am

Indoor storage is for sure the best option, but for those of us who do not have that option, shrink wrap is the way to go.
The wind will cause chaffe damage to your hull from flapping, that is if it actually stays on!! As for using it only 1 season, I am going on season 3 with my shrink wrap...just becareful when you remove it and dont cut the draw string, take pictures of all support posts and strings and put it back the same way the following year and it will work fine..that said, I dont think I will get more than 3 seasons.

As for the door, I dont put one on because it just gives people an easy way to enter your boat without your knowledge (keeps the honest people honest), and I dont have any reason to get in there.

Decision · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:35 pm

If we could store our 328 in heated indoor storage for $1300.00 like Cap'n, it would be a no brainer for us. Our boat would be stored indoors, however, we do not have that option.

We pay about $400.00 a year for shrink wrap and our boat is blocked on site at our marina along with most of the other boats in our size range. When you add in the cost of winterizing, blocking, and outdoor winter storage we would be close to $1300.00.

I considered building a frame and then purchasing a good quality tarp. But I guess I'm a little too lazy to do that and then I still think overall the shrink wrap each year may protect my boat a little better.

Mike.

Technologic80 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:43 pm

Every time I see somebody 'tarp' the boat, the tarp always shreds over a short period of time and the boat is exposed.

$500 for shrinkwrap seems kind of high. To shrink my 26' boat it cost me $150. For an extra $75, my guy winterizes the engine too.

Decision · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:44 pm

If you do go with shrink wrap, you can carefully cut yourself in a door in the spring and then duck tape both sides of your new door shut when you leave. We typically do this while we work on our boat for a couple weekends (ie: bottom paint) in the spring before we take the shrink wrap off and put the mooring cover on before launch.

Heck, my wife and I have enjoyed some nice nights sleeping on the boat under the shrink wrap. We plug the shorepower in (yep, cut a hole in the shrink wrap for cord) and use a little electric heater and were good to go. This way you can work on the boat, have dinner and a couple drinks on the boat after your work is done and not have to drive back home.

Mike.

nhprinter · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:42 pm

One nice thing about owning a small bowrider is that I picked up a 12' x 24' ShelterLogic portable garage a few years ago for under $300. Since we pay $15 - $20 per foot to shrinkwrap up in these parts...I payed for it the first year I had it and this will be my third season. It also keeps my trailer out of the weather all summer while my boat's on the mooring.

Here's a pic of it with my 180. It's a little tighter squeeze, but I get my 190 in just fine.

240 Joe · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:52 pm

I shrink wrap my 2006 240 every year at the dealership. $150 sounds like a real steal, think I paid around $350. I covered my old boat for 14 years with tarp and it was full of mold in the spring when I uncovered it. The shrink wrapped boat has no mold in the spring- not sure why.

wkearney99 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:59 pm

Shrink or get a real cover. Tarps don't hold up and look like crap.

I went with a canvas cover from Fisher and have been very, very pleased with it and their service. Not cheap, but it'll pay for itself in about 5 years, and likely last at least ten years. The downside to a canvas cover is it's weight. They generally require a fairly sturdy frame underneath. Shrink wrap is much lighter and usually only requires a single beam of wood down the center. So you either trade the expense/waste of shrink with the ease of having someone else do it, or you front the money for a canvas cover and frame and muscle it into place yourself. It's a two-man job for about 3 hours. But then I've got a larger boat with a lot more canvas cover over it! For a smaller boat it'd be a lot easier and no doubt cheaper!

Winter Sux · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:23 pm

This will be my first winter with the Vista and she's in fantastic shape in and out, so I'm hunting down indoor heated storage. I will winterize in case there's a power outage for a prolonged time period. Plus the antifreeze and system conditioner I use is good for the water jackets, impellers and manifolds. I also want storage that I can enter when I want and get everything done during the crappy winter cold.

But back to the original question, in my opinion, tarps are a waste of time and many agree. If you go with shrink wrap, have vents installed too. They're only a few extra bux and allow any accumulated moisture out on warmer days. In the spring, you'll have a nice dry boat with no mold. I always threw in some mothballs on the aft deck to keep the critters out too.

Gawd,,,all this talk of winter layup makes me want to barf!

John

ric · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:29 pm

It's still 95 degrees here, ya'll need to move south

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:07 pm

If you use a tarp, you have to build a frame, that lets you use a ridge beam and let it stay open at the front and back. That way it can be lashed down tight and leaving it open will let air circulate. That the only way to use a tarp, any other way is a disaster.
I have a custom cover for my 200 and I built a supporting frame for it underneath. Each year I tweak it a bit, but it holds up pretty well to snow. I also put two moisture absorbing buckets inside and open it up when weather permits to dry things out and charge the batteries a few times over the winter....
Most bigger boats here get shrinked. It does have its advantages for sure. Holds up to snow and ice the best, but expensive because you have to re- do it each year. The cover I paid 270 for and have used it for 5 seasons already...

Lakebum · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:13 pm

I would try for shrink wrap if at all possible. It just seems that every tarped boat I've seen after a few months has flapping corners, rips, or just collasped and collecting water. I had an old duck hunting boat for a while and every year I would wrestle with get the framing just right and layering tarps to cover each other. Finally sold it to the guy I hunt with and he has to deal with it.

Sorry to hear about you folks talk about winterizing. Down here most of the lakes clear out after labor day and some of the best boating is coming up. Only major confict is football season, but I can live with that. Actually if NCAAF and NFL would push their seasons back a month, I might be more willing to stay home and watch a few more games ........ alright maybe not.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:40 pm

Shirnk wrap is the best, but with that too, a frame must be built. I bought a fitted cover from Taylor, cost was about $300.00. I generally get 4 or 5 years out of it. I also build a frame from 2" pvc pipe and and reuse that from year to year. Inside storage for me is too costly and I like having the boat in the driveway. On the trailer, the boat is 13'4" tall and about 31-32' long. In March and April, we have had 70 degree days. So its nice to be able to walk out of the house, and work on it.

www.iFourWinns.com

Shrink Wrap or Tarp

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