Tarp goes poof!

[brian.cunningham]

I unwrapped SWIFTWOOD the other day and found water got in my neatly wrapped boat.

As I took it apart I found out why, the tarp had actually crumbed apart. Seems the tarp wasn't UV proof.

Just thought I'd pass it on since it's getting to be rainy season in most of the country.

[wolfietuk]

Thanks Brian for telling people. I have been using a silver tarp for over a year now, its still good. It is one of those covers from lowes. Comes with a frame and makes a great building shed for 165$. You can buy the tarps seperately. They are a little more expensive and supposedly block out the sun (not UV proof but last longer) to protect what is under and make it cooler.

Rick

[Classic Boatworks - Maine]

No tarps are UV proof - neither plastic nor canvas. Canvas is better and lasts for many many years it also has the advantage that it breathes and helps keep the boat dry.
Whoever invented plastic tarps killed a good many wood boats.

[Billy Bones]

Originally posted by Classic Boatworks - Maine:
No tarps are UV proof - neither plastic nor canvas. Maybe not, but the old FEMA tarps ("I got the blue roof blues") are pretty close. I still have some from hurricane Marilyn in 95. Imagine a piece of rubber sheet with a filament grid like ripstop nylon, only as thick as canvas. Cool stuff, only you have to go through a disaster to get it. And I have it on good authority that the newer FEMA tarps are not up to the quality of the old ones. Too many people fixed their roofs with the 'temp' tarps for over 5 years and bought new cars with their disaster relief $.

Regular blue tarps stink.

Try looking at Northern Tool for tarps that may stand the test of time at a good price. They even have those trucker tarps which withstand a sustained 70mph wind for months at a time.

Brian, hope your contents are alright.

[Concordia..41]

www.snapcanopy.com (http://www.snapcanopy.com) and

www.farmtek.com (http://www.farmtek.com)

Snap Canopy is where we got ours and also has bungies - which are not all created equal, but that's fodder for another thread.

Farmtek has really cool stuff, including full enclosures with roll up doors, etc.