Canvas...I hate it!!

[rhodyboater]

I have all the SR brochures and every express cruiser shows the boat without any canvas attached above the windshield,
which we all know, is rarely done.
So what happens if you leave the canvas off and it rains on the helm?
That can't be a good thing...no matter what!

So, is it fair to portray every single express crusier this way when I have to assume, no one ever runs it this way?
I think I tried removing it once and it was REALLY a chore.
It's bad enough I have to deal with the cockpit canvas and recently just broke a zipper as well

 

[HUMPH]

I leave it up above the windshield always. If I want air flow I unzip the middle panel...

 

[rhodyboater]

Right, I do the same thing. But you never see them portrayed that way int he brochures!

 

[billnpat]

I have all the SR brochures and every express cruiser shows the boat without any canvas attached above the windshield,
which we all know, is rarely done.
So what happens if you leave the canvas off and it rains on the helm?
That can't be a good thing...no matter what!

So, is it fair to portray every single express crusier this way when I have to assume, no one ever runs it this way?
I think I tried removing it once and it was REALLY a chore.
It's bad enough I have to deal with the cockpit canvas and recently just broke a zipper as well

HA. I HATE IT ALSO.....:smt013

BUT THE SEA RAYS BROCHURES ARE MADE TO SELL BOATS..
The canvas PITA is a learning experience...:smt009

 

[billnpat]

I leave it up above the windshield always. If I want air flow I unzip the middle panel...

We have a U zip on the driver side...i will not dare take down the front panels:smt009

 

[Greg]

What about getting a mooring cover to go from your windshield back over the cockpit. (under the arch) Then you can keep the windows out, helm area is covered. The cover won't have any windows so it would be easier to roll up and stow.

 

[billnpat]

What about getting a mooring cover to go from your windshield back over the cockpit. (under the arch) Then you can keep the windows out, helm area is covered. The cover won't have any windows so it would be easier to roll up and stow.

Funny you should mention that, this pass weekend we did some serious cubby hole exploring on our boot...and we found tucked away under the cabin seating area way in the back a black canvas bag, we took it out on the dock and spread it out..
to our surprise its a brand new mooring cover :thumbsup:

My only worry about using it is in case were out in the water and its starts to pour rain,..we would have no protection till we got back to the slip...:huh:

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

I leave it up above the windshield always. If I want air flow I unzip the middle panel...

Really??? I take my canvas - including the front and side windows - down as soon as I get to the boat for the weekend! I HATE running with canvas up unless its cold or rainy out. Even if there is just a threat of storms but sun in between, we take it down and put it back up if necessary. If I'm doing it myself I can get my canvas up in probably 5 or so minutes. At night it might take a bit longer but ours is rarely up at other times. Same for most people on our lake. Hopefully, if the weather is good like this past weekend we only put it up at night to keep the dew and the bugs out.

When I wake up, I wait for the sun to dry it then I take it down again. Why is yours so hard to remove?

 

[ChuckW]

Really??? I take my canvas down as soon as I get to the boat for the weekend! I HATE running with canvas up unless its cold or rainy out. Even if there is just a threat of storms but sun in between, we take it down and put it back up if necessary. If I'm doing it myself I can get my canvas up in probably 5 or so minutes. At night it might take a bit longer but ours is rarely up. Hopefully, if the weather is good like this past weekend we only put it up at night to keep the dew and the bugs out.

When I wake up, I wait for the sun to dry it then I take it down again. Why is yours so hard to remove?

+1 to that...:thumbsup:

And yes, I hate the canvas, too.:smt013

BTW- I have the mooring cover and the full camper canvas. The mooring cover is just as much of a pain as the isenglass over the windshield. Takes up time and space:smt089

 

[billnpat]

quote:


Why is yours so hard to remove?



its not all about removing, thats part of it, getting it back is the headache.
Maybe his is like mine, its old...Not shabby, but old in areas, a little stiff, stubborn, and
temperamental..NO, were not talking about our admirals

CANVAS :smt021

 

[Half Off]

+1 to that...:thumbsup:

And yes, I hate the canvas, too.:smt013

BTW- I have the mooring cover and the full camper canvas. The mooring cover is just as much of a pain as the isenglass over the windshield. Takes up time and space:smt089

Ditto. (saved myself a lot of typing....)

 

[Dasch Boat]

I do the same as Cincy, when underway the only canvas up is the Bimini. I want the wind in what's left of my hair. I keep the isenglas sections on board rolled up in terrycloth and stored in the sunbrella duffel bag. I only bring the back drop when planning on staying overnight. At home I always use the cockpit cover.

 

[chumbley]

I guess it all depends what the weather is where you are boating. It gets hot here, and it doesn't rain that much in the summer. I leave the bimini top and sunshade up, and put the mooring cover on when I'm not on the boat. I almost never put the rest of it up. Maybe if my glass was sparkling new and I had u-zips I would put it up and leave it - I don't know. During summer I don't even take the camper top out with me (leave it at the house). Though I would like to have it with me - if there was a decent place on the boat to store it. If there is, I haven't found it yet (been looking for 9 years).

I still like the feeling of being out in the open. I was commenting to the Admiral this weekend while we were looking at a 48DA (just admiring, not trading) and I'm not sure I would like being surrounded by glass that doesn't open or anything. Though, I'm sure I could learn to live with it... ;-)

 

[Tonka Boater]

As you see in my signature pic I don't use any canvas. I run bare naked as they are shown in the brochures. I can get my mooring cover on or off in 3 mins or less.

 

[JimT]

I use camper top during the colder months and the mooring cover exclusively during the warmer months. I put all of the eisenglass away at home during the summer.

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

I guess it all depends what the weather is where you are boating. It gets hot here, and it doesn't rain that much in the summer. I leave the bimini top and sunshade up, and put the mooring cover on when I'm not on the boat. I almost never put the rest of it up. Maybe if my glass was sparkling new and I had u-zips I would put it up and leave it - I don't know. During summer I don't even take the camper top out with me (leave it at the house). Though I would like to have it with me - if there was a decent place on the boat to store it. If there is, I haven't found it yet (been looking for 9 years).

I still like the feeling of being out in the open. I was commenting to the Admiral this weekend while we were looking at a 48DA (just admiring, not trading) and I'm not sure I would like being surrounded by glass that doesn't open or anything. Though, I'm sure I could learn to live with it... ;-)

I'm with you. As much as I like those BIG boats I'd feel I'm missing something with not as much free air flowing. I don't want to feel like I'm in a car.

We definitely use ours canvas alot because it seems like its always popping up a shower. So, I'm pretty efficient with getting it up . . .. TWSS! Seriously, I tell people all the time, you have to become ONE with your canvas. I don't like when others try and help because it never goes well. I have to do the front and sides alone. The back are kinda idiot proof so that's ok for others to do.

My glass shows the effects of being up and down but I don't really care. I polished them once and they came out good. I'll probably do it again in the fall.

 

[Groucho]

I dislike it as well. I take mine off and on each trip. I figure it is about all the exercise I'm gonna get so I just deal with it...:lol:

 

[Dave S]

The brochures don't show the canvas because the boats look better without it. But the practical side of things makes it awfull nice to have canvas whether that be while cruising or while being moored. In the cooler and rainy climates, the camper enclosures come in real handy. And I sure bet that guys like Mike (Turtle) would not have wanted to make his just completed Florida to New York run in his 450DA without his camper canvas in place.

In the south the bimini canvas provides a respite from the hot sun. If you don't have it a day on the water can become quite uncomfortable. In the north, it means you can be out in the cooler weather or in the rainy weather with camper canvas in place. And in the south I can be on the water in the dead of winter with temperatures outside in the 40s and have solar heat under our camper canvas that warms everything to the 70's :grin:

So I like canvas ! :smt038

Dave

 

[tobnpr]

Just a point of fact...
It's a boat...it can get wet without damage.

I gotta ask- how in the world do you guys clean/rinse down your boat, without getting it wet?

The only way to get salt off everything at the end of the day is with- OH NO!!- water...

 

[ziekman@cox.net]

Along the same lines as never seeing any advertising with canvas up, you also never see a life preserver, there are multiple folks up on the beam, laying out, under full power, and nobody is wearing a hat, ever. Now, that's reality...not!!!

As for the canvas, I only go with all of it off, except the small bimini on the arch...and, put it up every night we are on the boat, unless the forecast is crystal clear. It really isn't hard to put up/take down...I think it's already been said, that you just get used to it.