Advice please - shrink-wrap for winter?

[jfm]

Has anyone done it? Recommend any firms? I assume they come to your boat and do it with massive flamethrowers or something, right? Would need a zip door to get access to boat. Approx cost for a 42 foot flybridge? What do you do with the skip-load of stuff at start of next season? Worthwhile or big waste of time IYO? Thanks.

 

[paulineb]

Had a car shrink (shrunk? shrunked?) wrapped and transported in a container across from the US. Trouble was they didn't managed to form a complete vaccum, so the car 'sweated' throughout the trip and there were tiny blisters all over the paintwork when it arrived. Yukky.

Pauline B

 

[BarryD]

There's a boat in Eastbourne all sealed up on the hard, it looks like its been vacuum packed. Can't see how it would work as a zip would prevent a good seal being formed, and you still might need to get heat in and water out.

Perhaps a carcoon type idea might be suitable - these do work by putting the car in a plastic bubble and then drawing dehumidified air through.

So for boating IMHO great expense and not worth doing.

 

[Guest]

i did this one winter in the med. The winter *after* the boat had a bad time in the UK and no shorepower. The boat came back exactly as it went in, which is ok, but I wanted it to be better!

This isn't vacuum packing of course - just flame throwers etc, with placky and they usually (always, I've seen) leave a little hatchway to get in. So it's a one-shot winter cover, which I you could stanley knife off and then special sticky back plastic back for the next year if u have large empty garage and slightly skinflinty nature, like me (skinflint, not large empty garage). Usually they chuck in skip for you, else mebbe more flamethrower until squidgy mess in skip.

Forgotten prices now (i never look attem if pos), obv a big (the main) factor. If keeping boat a while, praps better to getta nice proper cover made. I think I will do this, so need to steal several spinnakers.

Stuart Mearns (?) at Port solent, used to be PJyachts, now marine sales, a good chap fairliniewise. He says quite good idea to slap a load of polish over the thing, rub a bit, leaving it all smeary, gives gelcoat barrier against sunlight. Also for fingerprints I spose. Clear it off in the spring.

 

[Guest]

Aah a bit like the one we saw on the hard in "£5.90-for-an-hours-stop- thieving-bloody-Cowes" eh. BTW sod em and their 6 knot speed limit, I reckon people break the speed limit just to get away from the place, but I digress.

That wunnerfool US site, www.westmarine.com, have got all the gear for this and doesn't look too pricey. Just type in "shrink wrap" in their search column and there's the info. Only thing worries me is under accessories that you need is "flame thrower". Get that too near emveetoo's filler cap and it could cure all Barry's delivery problems;-)

 

[Guest]

I tried this 3 or 4 years ago on a small sports cruiser, something went wrong and the seal was broken. When I did open it up in spring there was massive amounts of mould everywhere. Now I just throw some cheap plastic sheets over the covers and leave a couple of fan heaters aboard.

 

[adarcy]

Hi,
Perhaps you would like to look at the earlier thread named "Tube Heaters" for a bit on fan heaters and ? no dehumidifier.

Anthony

 

[petem]

Agree re Stewart Mearns. Lovely chap. Nice lady at PJ told me Stewart knows EVERY F'line from Brighton to Plymouth. I could believe it. He'd rumble that dodgy Phantom in Majorca.