Short version:
My boat came with three covers from the prior owner. None work well. Two are cotton canvass that I spray with a standard fabric waterproofing spray from time to time. The third is a lightweight acrylic synthetic fabric that had a coating on the insider (probably urethane film, IDK for sure) that was all moldy, so I pressure washed it and it got stripped off.
What can I use to restore the waterproof film layer to the synthetic cover?
Long Version:
The first cover (lightweight one) is a cockpit sleeper cover that snaps at the top of the windows and has vent ports where the poles go. It's a 1 pole setup like below. Apparently the vent was not effective as I inherited it with a mass of mold stains which pressure washing removed, along with the waterproofing.
The second heavy canvass cover seals the cockpit below the windows and all the way back to to swim deck with 2 poles. I use this as my mooring cover when the boat is docket. It looks like below. The problem with the canvass "mooring" cover is that at the step down from the cockpit to the deck, the water flows down on to the deck edge, which slopes back to the stern. At the point the cover juts down to the edge of the deck (you can see a similar "notch" in the image) the water on the deck edge just goes under the cover and seeps back into the engine compartment.
Third cover is also heavy canvass cover that I'd call a trailer cover. It covers the entire cabin and deck and extends below the water line with a cinching rope and zipper that hold it in place, along with strap loops that secure to the trailer. Its a 4 pole deal, and really a pain to set in place. I use it only for winter storage, with rubber gaskets cut from bike inner tubes on the pole grommet holes, it is, unfortunately, the ONLY one of the three that keeps the boat 100% dry. To get it on requires wife's help and step ladder, plus access to underside of the hull.
During the active season, I'm getting a fair trickle of water in the cabin when it rains and constantly buying damp-rid. I fear the wood will rot pretty soon. The covers apparently come from "custom" cover shops, not sold with the boat originally (boat is 15 y.o.). Before the second owner went and got all these covers, the first owner apparently had some type of tarpullan he wrapped the thing in. I am third owner.
My boat came with three covers from the prior owner. None work well. Two are cotton canvass that I spray with a standard fabric waterproofing spray from time to time. The third is a lightweight acrylic synthetic fabric that had a coating on the insider (probably urethane film, IDK for sure) that was all moldy, so I pressure washed it and it got stripped off.
What can I use to restore the waterproof film layer to the synthetic cover?
Long Version:
The first cover (lightweight one) is a cockpit sleeper cover that snaps at the top of the windows and has vent ports where the poles go. It's a 1 pole setup like below. Apparently the vent was not effective as I inherited it with a mass of mold stains which pressure washing removed, along with the waterproofing.
The second heavy canvass cover seals the cockpit below the windows and all the way back to to swim deck with 2 poles. I use this as my mooring cover when the boat is docket. It looks like below. The problem with the canvass "mooring" cover is that at the step down from the cockpit to the deck, the water flows down on to the deck edge, which slopes back to the stern. At the point the cover juts down to the edge of the deck (you can see a similar "notch" in the image) the water on the deck edge just goes under the cover and seeps back into the engine compartment.
Third cover is also heavy canvass cover that I'd call a trailer cover. It covers the entire cabin and deck and extends below the water line with a cinching rope and zipper that hold it in place, along with strap loops that secure to the trailer. Its a 4 pole deal, and really a pain to set in place. I use it only for winter storage, with rubber gaskets cut from bike inner tubes on the pole grommet holes, it is, unfortunately, the ONLY one of the three that keeps the boat 100% dry. To get it on requires wife's help and step ladder, plus access to underside of the hull.
During the active season, I'm getting a fair trickle of water in the cabin when it rains and constantly buying damp-rid. I fear the wood will rot pretty soon. The covers apparently come from "custom" cover shops, not sold with the boat originally (boat is 15 y.o.). Before the second owner went and got all these covers, the first owner apparently had some type of tarpullan he wrapped the thing in. I am third owner.
