I am purchasing my first canoe, an OT Charles River in Royalex with aluminum gunwales, and need some advice. I have no room in the garage or elswhere for storage, and plan to construct a rack in a shaded area of my backyard, where I can store the canoe upside down and covered with a tarp.
If I cover the canoe with a tarp will the Royalex discolor? (I read an article that recommended “tenting” the tarp so it does not touch the Royalex surface).
The winters here in S. Ohio can get quite cold at times, with temperatures dipping to -10 degrees for limited periods. Will this be a problem?
Yes and No "If I cover the canoe with a tarp will the Royalex discolor? (I read an article that recommended “tenting” the tarp so it does not touch the Royalex surface)."
Yes. If you build your rack, ideally you should put a hard roof on it especially if it is next to the house. Ice and snow coming off the roof can do a lot of damage. If you do use a tarp make sure you “tent” it. Also make sure that the tarp will protect against UV light. The cheap, blue, poly tarps do not.
“The winters here in S. Ohio can get quite cold at times, with temperatures dipping to -10 degrees for limited periods. Will this be a problem?”
No, it shouldn’t be. I live in Minnesota where it gets even colder and my royalex canoes make it through fine. The only issue is if you have wood trim. It can cause the royalex to crack. General wisdom says it’s a problem with wood gunnels. However I’ve had it happen to me with wood decks (and aluminum gunnels). It looks like you have aluminum gunnels and presumably plastic decks, so it shouldn’t be an issue at all.
yes, it will discolor royalex whenever my tented cover became sagged a little and came in contact with the royalex, it discolored it a darker color. The discoloration went away in a little while. But, I never allowed a tarp to touch for very long before correcting the situation.
I wouldn’t want to cover a royalex cane without tenting it. The results may be unpleasant.
I used 2 x 4s to make a long cross, and angled the ends to 45 degrees. I laid that on top of the canoe before putting a tarp over it. This has worked well for years, as it keeps the tarp from contacting the flat area fully, and there is some air between most of the tarp and the canoe bottom. Tarp should be secured with straps not to blow off.
Covering a Royalex Canoe Thanks to all for the advice. If I roof my canoe rack and simply put a canvas cover under the overturned canoe (to keep out varmits and debris) I am now thinking I wouldn’t even need a tarp to “cover” the Royalex hull. Does that sound alright? Thanks again for the input
Yay Glad I stumbled upon this. I’m in the same predicament where my canoe is sitting in my garage and my car is outside. This is not a permanent situation as I want to build something out back for my canoe as well.