When they're not riding the water, my two yaks, Acadia II, and Pungo 120 Sit out in the back yard on their own Thule J-Cradles attached to saw horses. That part works great. I wipe the boats down every two weeks with Formula 303 UV protectant. I then cover the boats with packing blankets, and cover that whole thing with a huge clear-plastic construction-grade tarp. The packing blankets are for extra UV protection, the tarp is to keep everything dry in our frequent afternoon thunderstorms
Question:
The main problem is that the tarp and blanket idea generates a LOT of heat. Is there a UV protecting covering, tarp, etc. that anyone knows of that reflects or resists heat transfer.
OR
am I going overboard worrying about UV?
Ventilation? Even something like a Space Blanket would build up hot air if there is no gap between it and the boat(s). It would be great to rig a cover with a vent so that convection would keep the inside temperature more or less equivalent to the outside ambient level.
tent… You could get some poles to lift the tarp up off the kayaks, that would provide ambient air circulation while keeping the yaks out of direct sunlight.
There are fancy carports that are like a glorified tent, but a tarp tent would work OK, if you’re not worried about trying to hide the kayaks from theft.
They say very little about the fabric used for their covers, so ask before buying.
There are also numerous sources for car covers made of waterproof, breathable fabrics. Most car covers are white, so should reflect solar radiation and avoid the greenhouse effect of clear plastic. A standard car-sized cover would easily accommodate two large 'yaks or canoes; a van-sized one would probably fit four. Like anything, you get what you pay for, but it seems a medium-quality cover can be had for around $70-80.
I suppose one could even buy such a car cover and then custom cut-n-sew it to fit one’s specific boat.
I was thinking about the same thing. I would try a Sunbrella tarp, with a ridgepole to keep the tarp off the boats. Sunbrella is a UV resistant fabric commonly used to make (you guessed it) patio umbrellas, outdoor seat cushions, bimini tops, spray panels, etc. It should work perfectly for your application.
Incidentally, I was thinking about trying to make a very lightweight polyester or nylon “sun tent” for my kayak. Something to be used when it would lay out for more than an hour or two, to keep my kayak from heating up to much while it lays on the beach during summer outings, and also just to limit any UV damage. Ideally, I’m gonna try to keep the thing weighing in under 5lbs, highly packable, and easy to set up. A small arched pole at either end with some guy lines to keep it taught should create a nice low profile tunnel to keep your boat out of the sun.
Tyvek makes a great tarp for covering my kayaks which are also stored outside. It’s inexpensive, breathable so it doesn’t get hot, protects against UV and you can buy it by the foot at many lumber yards. I just wrap the tyvek around the boat and secure the wrap at each end with a bungie cord. Tyvek can also be washed in the washer and dryed in the dryer on low heat, which makes it much softer and more cloth-like and therefore easier to work with.
Choices OK. So we have moving blankets, car covers, purpose-produced units, etc. I want a cover that is made for the purpose of outdoor storage. Seems like the prices run from about $75 for the Cabela’s cover to $300 or so for the custom fit jobs. Danuu’s at $150 looks reasonable. Since I’m not looking for a cover to travel with, primarily want to cut UV do any of you have experience specific to any models on the market? $285 and up is rich for my blood. At the same time I don’t want to cobble something together out of stuff from my basement and garage.