Protecting Wood From Sun and Weather

[Chel]

Q1: how can wooden components of a 13-footer be protected from the sun and weather while the boat is moored in a boat slip?

Whatever is suggested must be able to be easily undone by a 13-year-old female; my daughter takes out the 13-footer alone, and she will not be diligent with any method that is hard or complex to unrig. Also, the boat is used probably five times in seven days, making a suggestion of using a full-boat cover not a good solution.

[Jefecinco]

Sunbrella wrap around covers with heavy duty Velcro straps would be easy to install/remove. A storage bag for the covers could be taken along or, if you have a dock box at your slip, stored there. Assuming yours is a Sport model the forward thwart-console cover would be slightly more complex.

[MarkCz]

A Bimini top may provide some protection for the interior wood from the elements and sun but not for every piece of wood on the boat. The front hatch would still need some protection. Can you provide more details on what year and .model interior you have on your 13?

[jimh]

The best protection with regard to introducing the least amount of delay between wanting to use the boat on the spur of the moment and having to be delayed by needed to remove protective canvas from all the wood is to provide all the wood components with a very good layer of varnish. Varnish will reduce the effect of sunlight on the wood, and it will shed rain water. Augment this with a mooring cover that you can put on when you see the weather will bring three days of rain, or your daughter goes off to camp for two weeks.

A good mooring cover that has a center pole to keep air under the cover will protect the wood and the cockpit gel coat. Check with Wm. J. Mills & Co. to see what they have available. Mills used a very crafty system with a sewn-in elastic drawstring in the cover and upside-down loop hooks under the outside gunwales to hold the mooring cover in place.

[Chel]

Thanks for the replies.

[The boat I am asking for advice on who to protect its wood from sun and weather is a] 1981 SPORT [13 that has] side railings [but] no bow railing. [The wood on this 1981 SPORT 13] currently has ten coats of varnish.

[MarkCz]

A canvas shop would be able to make a custom cover that only covers the middle of the boat and would cover the two main seats and console and go over the side rails. You most likely would need a cutout in the cover for the throttle lever as those usually protrude up. A cover that size should not be too hard to take off and put back on.