Last year I got a set of trailerable hull covers for my boat from Salty Dog. They're quiet nice and made from blue sunbrella material. The only concern that I have is that during the summer, if the boat is left in direct sunlight, the covers get quite hot. Most of the time, this isn't an issue because the boat is kept in a shady yard, but if I take the boat somewhere unshaded, it quickly heats up. I usually take the cover off the deck if it looks like this will be the case.
I've considered spray painting the top of the cover with white paint, but haven't done so yet. Any ideas? Has anyone ever experienced hull damage as a result of over heating?
I also have blue trailerable covers from Salty Dog (pretty sure they are Top Gun, not Sunbrella though). My boat spends most of its life under the Nevada sun with no other protection. Never noticed any problems from heat, and I've had the covers for five years now.
My wife made a set of covers out of brown Sunbrella material to hide the boat from the homeowners association Nazis. I haven't noticed any problems after a year.
My boat covers are always light grey to keep the thermal heating down.
I dont think a dark blue cover will ever get hot enough to damage your hulls, but you could always put a thermometer under them and measure it and report back.
Uncovered under the hot sun is bad too, so unless it gets above 200 under the cover, I wouldnt worry about it.
Leaving boat parts in the car on a hot day is way hotter than something left outside. I worry more about about stuff in my car than stuff sitting under a cover in the sun.
I have always been curious whether a boat is more likely to get mildew on it when it is covered as opposed to uncovered. And whether that depends on the material of the cover -- like vinyl or canvas.
>>>I dont think a dark blue cover will ever get hot enough to damage your hulls, but you could always put a thermometer under them and measure it and report back.
>>>Uncovered under the hot sun is bad too, so unless it gets above 200 under the cover, I wouldnt worry about it.
You may be right, because now that I think about it, there are boats that have been made of dark colors, so I guess it's probably ok. But the blue cover definitely gets quite hot when left out in direct sun light in say August. I may try to measure the surface temp this summer. It's definitely hot to the touch, but it cools off quickly once the white hull is exposed.
On the flip side, virtually all good surfboard / windsurf board bags have one side that is made of silver reflective material for the sole purpose of reflecting sunlight and minimizing heat gain. Boards are essentially made of the same materials as my Hobie.
I have always been curious whether a boat is more likely to get mildew on it when it is covered as opposed to uncovered. And whether that depends on the material of the cover -- like vinyl or canvas.
Canvas will breath. Vinyl will hold moisture. Look at the condensation under a plastic tarp.
Canvas will breath. Vinyl will hold moisture. Look at the condensation under a plastic tarp.
That's what I figured. Once we had a barbecue grill that came with a vinyl cover, and someone told us that it will rust out faster if you keep that vinyl cover on it, due to holding the moisture in.
The problem we have had with canvas boat covers is that in our yard the covers get very stained with bird droppings and tree droppings, and mold; it is impossible to clean them, so the covers literally started looking like [censored]. We decided it is a lot easier to clean that stuff off the boat than off the canvas cover. It's probably not a problem out in an open area in the direct sun.
In my experience and sun aint really a problem here in bonny scotland ! is that UV "eats" trampoline stitching ,which left uncovered will start disintegrating apart in a couple of seasons the trampoline material degrades too , but will last about twice as long .
I have no hull covers but I do cover the tramp.
friend of mine had ideal overall cover made of goretex - breathed and was superb.
Breathing covers are essential on epoxy boats too as holding moisture against gel coats can cause osmosis and bubbling when it hits the impermeable epoxy , as for a polyseter boat I guess the moisture heads on into the substrate .
My hulls are epoxy and I hope that anymoisture that gets into gel coat will burn back out on the occaisonal day when the sun does pop out , or dried out by the wind .
When I bought my 5.5 in 1995, I bought the exact same blue trailerable covers from Salty Dog. I have still have them, still use them in hot TX sun. I much prefer the UV damage to the covers & zippers than to my gelcoat, lines & tramp stitching. 2-3 times taken to sailmaker to repair zipper or whatever. Hulls still looks great. The material breathes, so no mildew, heat is not a problem. , imho.
Jim Casto NACRA 5.5 & NACRA 5.7 Austin TX Lake Travis
