protecting boat on a long haul

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moabarch

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The fellow I sold my 22 to in Alaska will be having a relative haul it up there for him in September. What are the best and brightest ideas for the protecting the hull from road rash on the way up? It seems I read some suggestions long ago......but that was long ago.

Thanks all.
 
moabarch":38esh39n said:
The fellow I sold my 22 to in Alaska will be having a relative haul it up there for him in September. What are the best and brightest ideas for the protecting the hull from road rash on the way up? It seems I read some suggestions long ago......but that was long ago.

Thanks all.
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I think one of the solutions was covering the front surface areas with old carpet that was being tossed after a new install.
 
To Prep "Thataway" for a road trip on the interstate, we put a coat of heavy wax-not well buffed out over the bottom and exposed frontal parts of the hull. We also put a heavy coat of "RainX" on the forward glass.

We had done the AlCan with an RV--and our decision was not to tow a car, but to carry a motorbike on a rear carrier. I would want a mesh screen on the front of the trailer. I have seen the "shade" cloth obtained at Home Depot, electrical tied to PVC pipe to act as spreaders to keep gravel off the front of the bow, from the road. I have seen folks shrink wrap boats--but then dirt gets under the shrink wrap--and abrasion occurs. I have also seen cardboard cut to the size of the windows, and duct taped in place.

We took Frequent Sea over the road to Prince Rupert and only used a heavy coat of wax--no evidence of damage. But if we had gone on gravel roads, I would have used the mesh to protect from gravel thrown up by the rear truck tires.
 
We wrapped the front of our CD with bubble wrap for one long haul. It worked well.

However, the residue of the duct tape was hard to remove. (I assume that there must be a product for this purpose.)
 
Trailering cross country I taped cardboard on the boat's front windows, expecting a few thousand miles of fine grit to be hitting them.

Dave
 
moabarch":2v9qu7t2 said:
The fellow I sold my 22 to in Alaska will be having a relative haul it up there for him in September. What are the best and brightest ideas for the protecting the hull from road rash on the way up? It seems I read some suggestions long ago......but that was long ago.

Thanks all.
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You really should pm Jack in Alaska as he frequently tows boats across the border to Alaska from his winter home in Arizona for C-Brats that bought a boat in the lower 48. Knowing him, I'm sure he would provide you with all the information you need.
 
BTW, I differ with Bob on the shrinkwrap idea. Most of the brand spanking new boats I see going on a trailer up to alaska are shrinkwrapped to prevent rock chips from the areas of construction and gravel. It must work really well and keep boats in new condition. Otherwise, I can't imagine them investing the money into if it did more harm than good. I see Bob's point though if dirt got in it would mar the surface as the dirt rubbed between the shrink wrap and the boat. Before I built my 27x42 foot garage for the motorhome, mustang GT, and the boat, I had my boat shrinkwrapped and would take quite a bit to really get too much dirt into it. Heck, I could hardly get the shrinkwrap off in the spring. That commercial grade stuff is thick and very tough.
 
I towed a 22' Cruiser to Alaska in April. It was totally shrink wrapped and the owner said it looked like new after taking it off. The shrink wrap was pulled down within 6" of the trailer frame and then tied down to it all the way around so it protected the front of the hull also. THe shrink wrap guy put a small rope in the "hem" all the way around and then ran tie-downs from the hem to the trailer frame. All made it to Alaska in good condition. Even the engines were covered completely.
I was highly impressed by the quality of the wrap. It was heavy and tough. It cost $250 to do it including a zippered in clear port hole for inside inspection. Well worth the cost IMHO.
Make sure the TIRES ARE NEW OR VERY YOUNG. Carry a spare tire.
The wrap makes it all tapered like a turd so it goes through the wind easily..
I came up the Cassiar Hyw. which was in excellent condition. 165 miles shorter trip.
I will be looking for another boat tow next spring, approx. mid-April, from the Pacific NW if anyone is interested. I am also looking for a tow south from Anchorage to the PNW in mid-October.
This will be Ak. Hyw. trip no. 68 so we know the road.
 
If the shrink wrap is tied down as described, that would be better than standard. I had a boat sent from great lakes in the middle of the winter. Salt& grit got under the plastic. There are mixed reports on the solid full flaps. If I am on gravel, I take it off my R V. Some have better luck with the brush type.
 
For what it's worth -- Les recommended that we shrink wrap our new Marinaut for the 3,000 mile journey to the East Coast. We agree with him. Not only does it help protect the outside of the boat from damage, but it also conceals its contents from prying eyes.
 
I could never see the motors on the boat I towed. Did not have any idea what they were as they were covered so well.

Bob...we towed in the winter/snow/some gravel/salt etc. w/o any bad effects.

Jack
 
Wayne McCown":1iy8e46h said:
We wrapped the front of our CD with bubble wrap for one long haul. It worked well.

However, the residue of the duct tape was hard to remove. (I assume that there must be a product for this purpose.)
Click to expand...
"Gaffer's Tape" might be the hot ticket for this purpose. It is duct tape with adhesive that does not leave a residue -- originally developed for the motion picture industry.

Warren
 
What I used for taping was Dr Shrink, something Les recommended. I guess it is shrink wrap tape. It has the virtue of being easy to remove, with no residue. Great stuff.

Dave
 
Don't want any "flapping". I would think that bubble wrap secured w/ "Saran" or plastic wrap would do the trick; easily installed and removed, light, tough and inexpensive. Just an idea.
 
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