DIY shrink-wrapping?

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
Have any of you shrunk-wrapped your own boats? Seems easy enough, and it'll save money after 2 years after buying the propane torch thing. Any ideas on where to get a torch for less than $250 though? Is there something special about the ones that are sold for this? How long would it take to do it with a heat gun (27 foot boat). And how wide should the plastic be, about 25 feet?

Thanks,
Nate
 

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
How about the ice-melter propane guns you can get at home-depot for about $30? Would that work, or could it be modified to work?
 

tdtrimmer

Member II
DIY Shrink Wrap

I shrink wrap my E38 every year. With two people, it takes about 6 hours. A heat gun will not work. You need a torch that will blast a hot flame. I use a roofers torch. It has a shaft about two feet long which is good for reaching the top of the plastic. If you live in South East Michigan, I suggest you purchase the shrink wrap at Ross Coatings in Hamtramick. A roll 20 by 80 feet will cost you about $110 and will be enough material for two years. Ross Coatings also sells the torch, strapping, shrink tape, vents and door. Shrink wrapping is easy and relatively inexpensive once you understand the process. I can document the process I use if anyone is interested.
Tom
 

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
I'm in Massachusetts, but I managed to pickup a 28x140 foot roll of shrinkwrap, and a roll or tape, and woven strapping for $150 from someone on craigslist, so that should do me for half a decade.

Tell me about your roofers torch. Is that the Ice-Melter type torch I've seen around here? Long staff with a soup-can shaped thing on the end where the flame is?
 

Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
You might find a good custom canvas cover to me more economical (and kinder to the planet) in the long run. I bought my Fairclough for $2,000 nine years ago and it is still going strong. A friend is still using his 20 year old cover.
 

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
Unfortunately I can't justify that expense on this boat, since we probably won't keep it for more than 5 years. Additionally I have a lot of winter work to do on this boat, and it would be difficult to light the deck with a canvas cover.

I do hate all the plastic waste though. Maybe at our next place we'll put up a boat shed. :)

Nate
 

tdtrimmer

Member II
You described the torch accurately. It has a soup can size nozzle on the end and the shaft is about 2 feet long. It has a pilot flame, pilot starter and trigger on the handle for shooting the flame. Be sure the one you buy has these features. A long hose is also essential.

Here are some other tips:
1. Take off the life line stantions. The shrink wrap, the wind and the snow put considerable stress on them otherwise. I've seen boats with the stantions pushed into the deck.
2. Keep thick leather gloves handy at all times. On occasion I have burned a hole in the plastic and it has caught fire. It can be easily extingished with the gloves.
3. For your first year at it you will probably need two rolls of 2 inch tape. It is amazing stuff. When you tape up a hole and hit it with the torch, the tape is as strong as the plastic.
4. Small melt holes are good for vent holes. Just cut an equalateral triangle of plastic about a foot on a side and tape two sides leaving the bottom open and bowed out over the hole.
5. Keep the torch moving slowly and start at the bottom and work your way up.
6. As you unroll the plastic, mark the center line with a black marking pen. This will make it much easier to center the plastic on the ridge during initial installation.

With regard to shrink wrap and the environment; our yard provides recycling shipping bags. In the spring, we cut off the shrink wrap and stuff it into bags for mailing to a recycler.

Happy shrinking!
Tom
 

ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
Tom, I would be very interested in a detailed description of how you do this. I too have a 38 and would love to do this to the boat for the winter. Mine will saty in the water with a de-icer pump. I have never looked into having someone do this for me but maybe its worth it? Not sure how hard it is to do yourself.
 

NateHanson

Sustaining Member
Yes, by all means a detailed description!

Ted, to get you started, do a google search for the Mr.Shrink website. They supply the materials to West Marine, and have some pretty good how-to overviews on their website. They also sell a DVD, but I have to admit it doesn't sound all that hard to me.

Prices to have it done professionally (up here) are about $12 per foot. For my boat the materials would cost about $80-100 per season at west marine and it sounds like the torch can be had for about $30. (I recently bought at least 5 seasons worth of materials on craigslist, so for me it's clearly cheaper to do it myself, even when accounting for the few hours it will likely take me to cover my 27 footer.)
 

tdtrimmer

Member II
Shrink Wrap - how to

OK here it goes. I do my E38 in about 6 hours with one person helping and 8 hours by myself. I also shrink wrap my son's E28 which takes the two of us about 4 hours.

1. Materials -
a. Shrink wrap - An E38 will need a piece about 50 ft long and 24 ft wide.
b. Flat tape - This is a flat nylon tape (twine?) about a half inch wide which comes in a spool and is very strong.
c. Shrink tape - This tape comes in 2 and 4 inch widths and melts to the plastic shrink wrap when heated with the torch. Go for the 2 inch width. I use about a roll and a half to do the E38.
d. Door - This is zippered plastic and is taped on once all shrinking is complete. It makes for easy access.
e. Vents - I make my own by cutting an one foot equalaterial triangle out of the scrap plastic but you can buy them also. Figure at least six vents.
f. Torch - A roofers torch does a great job.
g. Permanent marker, knive, scissors, tape measure, heavy leather gloves

2. Preparation -
a. Remove all lifeline stantions and roll up the lifelines to the bow.
b. Use the flat tape (twine) attached to the halyard shackles to run the halyards to the top of the mast. This protects the halyards from the weather. I run several lines in case one breaks over the winter.
c. Use the flat tape wrapped around the mast to pull all lines tight against the mast. This is so you can get a pretty tight fit of the shrink wrap around the mast.
d. Cover the fuel vent with a piece of shrink tape so you don't create unwanted fireworks with the torch.
e. Cover any sharp edges with a piece of foam of a tripple layer of shrink plastic.

3. The Frame - I usually leave the mast up on my E38. I use the boom as the center beam aft of the mast. Prop the boom with a 2X4 or 2X2 from the boom to a 2X4 placed on the cockpit floor to spread the load. Center the boom and secure with a dock line running from the starboard cleat, around the boom and to the port cleat. I use a whisker pole for the center beam forward of the mast. Secure the pole to the forestay and the mast. I have also used double flat tape from the mast to the forestay with a few supports to the deck. This also works well. Some years I have run flat tape from the stantion base, over the boom to the opposite stantion base to support the shrink wrap. This is not really necessary unless the boat is in a very windy area.
If you store the boat with the mast down you can fashion a frame with some 4 foot poles (2X2s will work) for uprights and the flat tape for the backbone and side supports. This is easier and cheaper than making a frame out of electrical conduit and it works just as well.

4. Hull band - Hang about 3 feet of flat tape with a loop on the end over each side about mid ship. Hang a 6 foot piece over the bow. Tie the end of the roll of flat tape to the bottom ladder bracket and run the tape around the boat going through the hanging loops. The loops hold the tape in place. It is best if you run the tape with no twists in it. Once around the boat, tie the other end of the tape to the other ladder bracket. Make the band as tight as possible.

5. Fitting the Shrink Wrap (mast up) - On the E38, I use a 26 foot piece of plastic from the mast to the stern and a 23 foot piece from the mast to the bow. As you unroll the plastic, draw a line down the center. Be careful not to allow the plastic to touch the ground as it will attract dirt which will create hot spots when you are shrinking. Hot spots lead to melt holes, not good. Let's do the bow first. Drape the plastic over the center backbone and spread it out. The marked center line will make it easy position the plastic in the middle. At the mast, slit about a foot along the centerline and wrap it around the mast. Hold it in place by wrapping the plastic/mast with the shrink tape. Be careful to not have the tape come in contact with the mast as it will leave a residue in the spring which is difficult to clean off and cuts into sailing time. At the bow, slit the plastic and wrap it around the forestay and secure with shrink tape. You will have a lot of excess as you wrap it around the bow; just cut it off. Next cut around the shrouds and secure with tape. Now the fun part. Shrink wrap will weld to itself when heated. Tuck the plastic under the hull band and hit it with the torch. Then tap the warm plastic with the back side of your gloved hand. This will weld the shrinkwrap and thus wrap it securely around the hull band. Follw the same procedure with the aft section of shrink wrap starting at the mast and working back. This will give you a double layer of material around the shrouds. If the wind is blowing, you might want to tack the plastic down to the hull band right away.

6. Final fitting - Tuck and weld the plastic under the hull band all the way around the hull. At the bow, cut off the excess plastic, tape it together and weld it. The bow, the shrouds and the stern require the most fitting and take the most time.

7. Securing the hull band - Run flat tape from the hull band, under to boat and to the hull band on the other side about every 6 feet along the hull. At the keel, tie from the hull band to the craddle. Cut a small slit in the plastic above the hull band and run the flat tape through it and tie it. This will hold the band and the shrink wrap in place for the winter.

8. Shrink the shrink wrap - Starting at the hull and working your way up, hold the torch about 2 feet from the plastic and heat it . This will cause the plastic to shrink. You will be surprised at how much it will shrink. If you have a crease in the plastic, typically around the stern, where the plastic is folded over on itself, simply blow the flame into the crease and then tap it to weld it together.

9. Patching the holes - You are bound to melt some holes in the plastic, at least I always do. Two+ inch holes can be used as vent holes by taping a triangular piece of plastic over the hole with the bottom flared out. Larger holes can be fixed by taping a piece of scrap plastic over the hole and heating it. Smaller holes can be fixed by taping over them.

10. Vents - If you are a pro and don't have any holes for vents, simply heat the torch so the end is hot, turn the torch off and pierce the plastic where you want a vent. You will have a perfect round hole for the vent. I suggest 6-10 vents for a 38 foot boat. Tape a triangle over each hole and you have vents. You can also purchase plastic vents that pierce the plastic and are secured with tape.

11. The door - Once the shrinking is complete, tape the door on to the plastic. Carefully heat the shrink tape thus securing the door. Unzip the door and cut the plastic to the desired hole size.

12. Remove the tape from the fuel vent.

13. From inside the shrink "tent", be sure the two pieces of plastic are will secured to eachother at the mast and around the shrouds. Patch any other holes with tape.

14. Take a long winters nap. Spring will arrive in less than 6 months.

Wow, this ended up longer than I thought; hope it helps.
Tom
 

gareth harris

Sustaining Member
Geoff - would you be able to post a picture of your canvas cover?
I may be faced with leaving my boat for quite a long time in New York, and had been looking at plastic until I read your post. I would imagine the worst weather problem in snow country is water freezing in the places sealed with caulking - is the canvas good at keeping the boat dry as well as keeping the sun off?
Can you recommend somone to make a cover? Connecticut is not too far away.
Gareth
Freyja E35 #241 1972
 
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ted_reshetiloff

Contributing Partner
Tom,

Thanks for the details. I keep my boat in the water and am wondering how tough its going to be to do myself, or with a helper. It sounds pretty doable provided I can find a calm day to do it. I may also make some calls and get quotes to have it done too...
 

marid22

Junior Member
DIY Shrink Wrapping - now canvas cover

Gareth
We had a canvas cover made by Patino Canvas located at the Haverstraw Marina on the Hudson. I believe it was $1,500 for our 27 footer. It did seem to keep the boat clean and dry. It was installed by them last year and taken down by us in the spring. I am interested to see how difficult it will be to install it ourselves this year. If this might work for you I can supply the contact info.
Margaret
E 27 Vega
Hudson River
 

Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
My canvas cover takes about 6 hours to install on my 32-3, soup to nuts. I like it because it extends all the way to the waterline to protect the hull and is breathable. Also, it is not necessary to remove the lifelines (because the cover is supported independently by a 1 1/8" steel tube frame that extends beyond the lifelines), so it is easier to move around under it than with plastic. Another drawback of plastic, it cannot be used over an Awlgripped hull. The plastic traps moisture causing the paint to bubble.
 
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NateHanson

Sustaining Member
I believe you can use the shrink over awlgrip if you use some foam standoffs, that keep the plastic off the hull (and will also provide extra ventilation)
 

gareth harris

Sustaining Member
Margaret - please give me the info. Sounds like it would be cheaper than one season of inside storage.
Do you leave the mast up when the covers go on?
Gareth
 

tdtrimmer

Member II
Ted,
I would think you could shrink wrap while in the water without to much trouble. You will probably need to use your dingy to do the hull band and welding of the shrink wrap around the hull band unless you have a dock on both sides of the boat. I know of several live-aboards who shrink wrap thier boats in the water.
Tom
 
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