Shrink Wrapping R25 Hull?

[AlanSutton]

I understand that the heat used to shrink wrap a boat is damaging to Imron type paint. Can you tell me what type of paint is on our 2010 R25? And do you have any cautions or concerns in addition to your Winterizing posts?
Thank you!
Patti Sutton

 

[scross]

The factory uses a polyester gel coat on the exterior of the boats. Back in 2010 I believe they were getting their gel coat from Revchem. If your boat has been refinished since leaving the factory it could be one of several products - AwlGrip, Imron, Petit Easy Poxy, etc...
If you do shrink wrap make sure there are an adequate number of vents to avoid high humidity and mold growth on the interior.

 

[MarcoArias]

Hi!

If the boat has the original paint, then it should be gelcoat; you are okay to heat shrink wrap. Before shrink wrapping, I would recommend making sure the boat is completely dry and clean. As scross said above, vents will help with ventilation and prevention of mold growth. This is especially true if the boat will be wrapped for an extended period of time.

Feel free to reach out for any more questions, thanks!

 

[Catch22]

A tight shrink wrap will deflect precipitation in outdoor situations. However, changing temperatures and sun/shade will create the opportunity for moisture to condense on the inside of the shrink. To avoid this, if you have constant or periodic access to the boat, some have a "hatch" cut(velcrow edged closure) where they can place commercial drying agent products or an electrical dehumidifier if electric hook up is available. I had moisture problems with shrinking in Wisconsin many years ago, and finally opted for indoor storage. Best of luck .......

 

[scross]

My bias: Black mold grows quickly and made a mess in my last boat, a 24’ I/O cabin cruiser. Shrink wrap had vents and I had several 5 gallon buckets of desiccant in the cabin. Required lots of new mouse fur, mold killer and hours of elbow grease to fix.
Will never shrink wrap again!
Like our shore power with a/c powered automatic heaters and dehumidifiers to get my boat through the winter.