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Does anyone SHRINK WRAP thier own boat?


theGrant

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I did my boats for years not doing it now as I have indoor storage.  Realistically you would want a torch with one or two heads. Run from a BBQ propane tank. But electric heat guns do work but will require ten times the time. I use  one for tight places. It takes some experience to get good with a torch but they are fast. You will likely burn some holes the first time you do this but they can be closed easily. I bought my wrap from a distributor, Many sizes are available. You need enough to drape well over the sides. You should get a roll of wrap tape, and they make a fiber ribbon for anchoring. You can get venting and doors if you like. Venting is I think a must!  I have used the top half of a gallon jug cut in half an weld it on with scrap wrap with holes in the wrap it covers. Do it in an area that slopes down so you don't get water in.  Google kits a lot of things out on the market some quite pricey but it depends on what you want.  The way I looked at it was I did many boat over many years and in the end it was cheep for me to do it. 

 

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We do our own. We buy the wrap in bulk, also need the tape and strapping. There are tons of you tube videos on it. Make sure to watch a few or get a friend over to help that has experience. You need the torch. Heat below the rub rail first and work your way up. Heat slowly and give the material a chance to shrink before heating again. Choose a very calm day as far as wind goes. I can't remember where we got the wrap the last time, its been about 10 years since we bought any.

Also, just shrink your cover so it's tight, it doesn't need to be tight as a drum. If you set it up right, you can carefully take the cover off and reuse it a couple times. My last cover I was able to get 4 winters out of. My current cover is on year 2. You just need to think about how you are running your strapping so that you can take it off without damaging it.

 

 

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If you're worried about snow on your cover, when we stored outside I just bought this huge camo tarp that wrapped the boat over the tower & covered the tires.  Still left normal cover on but we used bungee cords on the tarp to get everything nice & tight, snow wouldn't even stick, it would just fall right off.  Of course if this isn't what you're doing you can ignore me  

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1 hour ago, racer808 said:

If you're worried about snow on your cover, when we stored outside I just bought this huge camo tarp that wrapped the boat over the tower & covered the tires.  Still left normal cover on but we used bungee cords on the tarp to get everything nice & tight, snow wouldn't even stick, it would just fall right off.  Of course if this isn't what you're doing you can ignore me  

Keeping the snow off is what I am trying to accomplish. This is definitely a cost effective idea that I will consider.

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1 hour ago, Raimie said:

We do our own. We buy the wrap in bulk, also need the tape and strapping. There are tons of you tube videos on it. Make sure to watch a few or get a friend over to help that has experience. You need the torch. Heat below the rub rail first and work your way up. Heat slowly and give the material a chance to shrink before heating again. Choose a very calm day as far as wind goes. I can't remember where we got the wrap the last time, its been about 10 years since we bought any.

Also, just shrink your cover so it's tight, it doesn't need to be tight as a drum. If you set it up right, you can carefully take the cover off and reuse it a couple times. My last cover I was able to get 4 winters out of. My current cover is on year 2. You just need to think about how you are running your strapping so that you can take it off without damaging it.

 

 

As far as I can tell, with shipping and start up cost I am looking at about $2000 after taxes to startup here in Canada. This will of course depend on the width of roll that I require. Do you happen to know the width of your roll?

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1 hour ago, theGrant said:

As far as I can tell, with shipping and start up cost I am looking at about $2000 after taxes to startup here in Canada. This will of course depend on the width of roll that I require. Do you happen to know the width of your roll?

We have local shops that let you buy it by the foot. I believe I have 16' wide and a 20'. The 20 was for our pontoon.

Here is another option, but you might have to look around to find it in stock...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKD601E/ref=twister_dp_update?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I am currently using one of these. I was fortunate to find it at a west marine on some super clearance for $50. It didn't line up quite right with my tower so I folded the tower down and built a 'tower' with 3" pvc pipe. I like these covers because of the felt liner. I do not leave my mooring cover on underneath. You will still need the strapping with this cover to tie down to the trailer and will also need the tape.

$2000 seems really high. You could also contact a shrinkwrap company and ask them if you can buy 30' of wrap from them. Look for the torch on craigslist or ebay. I have heard that Harbor Freight has them, but I can't speak to the quality. Also maybe you can get some buddies to go in on it. Originally when my dad bought everything 20 years ago, 5 friends all bought it together. They still pass the torch around between them but everyone has their own material now. Back then they split the cost of a 200' roll and it would cover all their boats.

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Its been some time but I think I was in the three / four hundred dollar range. That was the torch fuel lines and regulator gloves cutter maybe some other small things. I bought the wrap from another source. As said it comes in many sizes. one thing to consider would be how far down the boat do you wish to cover. If you wish to reuse for some time it may be beneficial to go low down the haul. I kept my shipping cover and can reuse it if I wish It goes into the running surface.   

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I bought a 100' roll, tape, torch, for $250 about 10 years ago. That has lasted me through this year. You can re-use the covers if you do it right. Now I've bought rope and lumber for center supports a few times over that time as well.

Do you need the torch? I would say yes. You can get them at harbor freight though for $20. Just look for a weed torch (I know, I know). If you use something too small, you do not get even heating and can easily tear the plastic and just not get a good shrink. 

I use 14' wide material.

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