working boat tarpaulins

[mykaskin]

Regentex is what I went for - looks good, handles nicely, but it isn't water proof and does fade unless you coat it in Solignum (best to use the black colour):

 

http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/t/TORSOLASB/

 

It is more expensive, and some just use cheaper lorry tarps, but are quite heavy and never look old - but as people have said last forever and look OK.

 

BTW - let Regentex breath or else I understand it will eventually rot.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

Edited March 12, 2012 by mykaskin

[dove]

Regentex is what I went for - looks good, handles nicely, but it isn't water proof and does fade unless you coat it in Solignum (best to use the black colour):

 

http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/t/TORSOLASB/

 

It is more expensive, and some just use cheaper lorry tarps, but are quite heavy and never look old - but as people have said last forever and look OK.

 

BTW - let Regentex breath or else I understand it will eventually rot.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

 

Mike, as you know we have the same, Regentex and it is water proof. In the heaviest rain, it's still bone dry under cloth.

[Tim Lewis]

 

Mike, as you know we have the same, Regentex and it is water proof. In the heaviest rain, it's still bone dry under cloth.

 

We had always used black Canvas on Fulbourne but at the time of our last change we could not find black canvas for love nor money and as we sleep under the cloths we were not prepared to make black cloths the traditionsl way!

 

After much research we picked on Regentex for their replacement and had them made up by DH Load controls who now trade as Rhino Cargo Control.. The cloths are very waterproof but we have found that they 'thin' after a few years with what look like pinholes in them but without affecting the waterproofness.

 

Tim

Edited March 13, 2012 by Tim Lewis

[mykaskin]

 

Mike, as you know we have the same, Regentex and it is water proof. In the heaviest rain, it's still bone dry under cloth.

 

Water sitting on them definitely does go through:

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[Derek R.]

Blue tops anyone?

 

See the first item in this list: Boiled Linseed Oil - but you might not like the smell!

[dove]

Water sitting on them definitely does go through:

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

 

A bit extreme Mike

 

Andrew

[Tim Lewis]

is it possible to obtain proper tarpaulins in this day and age?.

 

Second questions

 

I think every working boat photo I have seen employs Tarps. Was anything else ever used?, and were some boats ever boarded/planked instead.?

 

Just happen to be watching 'Narrow Boat' on Quest, seems that the cloths for Dover were bought here.

 

Tim

Edited March 17, 2012 by Tim Lewis

[Paul H]

Just happen to be watching 'Narrow Boat' on Quest, seems that the cloths for Dover were bought here.

 

Tim

 

but they seem to have faded to a rather odd purple colour!

 

Paul H

[Speedwheel]

but they seem to have faded to a rather odd purple colour!

 

Paul H

 

And they didn't fit.

[alan_fincher]

And they didn't fit.

Would they, if the "top plank" were a sensible width ?

[pinkoi]

Hi,

 

I'd recommend regentex purchased from Tony Beal in Glasgow- we made our tippit and topcloth from that ourselves and got a satisfactory result. You just need a couple of days booked in a village hall, a couple of sewing machines and some denim or leather machine needles...

 

It is entirely waterproof in our experience.

 

The only things are.

 

1) It does shrink very slightly (1 inch over 30 foot) at first.

2) There are often joins in the sheets (which is fine in our case as the topcloth is made in several sections to allow windows to open).

3) The colour fades very slightly - not a problem if you put on all your cloths at once, we did ours in two batches so it took a while to catch up with the colour of the first sheet.

 

I can live with these for the amount of money it saves...

 

[larkshall]

Hi,

 

I'd recommend regentex purchased from Tony Beal in Glasgow- we made our tippit and topcloth from that ourselves and got a satisfactory result. You just need a couple of days booked in a village hall, a couple of sewing machines and some denim or leather machine needles...

 

It is entirely waterproof in our experience.

 

The only things are.

 

1) It does shrink very slightly (1 inch over 30 foot) at first.

2) There are often joins in the sheets (which is fine in our case as the topcloth is made in several sections to allow windows to open).

3) The colour fades very slightly - not a problem if you put on all your cloths at once, we did ours in two batches so it took a while to catch up with the colour of the first sheet.

 

I can live with these for the amount of money it saves...

 

 

Actually thats what we went for, regentex, though in a reddish colour. The covers were made up in Goole. Simulates the original tarp hatch covers well. PS Nice looking boat !

Edited May 11, 2012 by larkshall

[mykaskin]

Use Solignum wood stain (I suggest the black coloured one, but up to you) It stops the fading, and helps water proof it.

 

http://www.decorate4less.co.uk/brands.cfm?brandid=21&topcat=6

[Chop!]

We bought a set of 12 sheets in green cotton canvas duck for our pair, they cost about £1100+vat from Union Industries they all have treble re-inforced corners and heavy duty brass eyelets, they are treated to be waterproof and rot-proof but we want to give them some extra proofing and protection, an ex working boatman told us that they always laid them flat, painted on a proofer which had to dry and go clear before re-fitting.

 

Looking for such a proofer I have found :-

 

A popular choice seems to be Thompson's waterseal which is cheap, easy to apply and dries clear. We already have a gallon that we've been using to treat the bits of scrap oak that we are using to replace the rotting softwood strips that were holding the bottom Regentex sheets in place in the workshop

 

Or Granger's fabsil which claims to also protect against mildew and UV.

 

Or Storm waterproofer which says it works better because it isn't silicone based.

 

Anyone have any experience of any of these? Also what is the best way to clean fruity bird crap off our sheets?

[carlt]

Or Granger's fabsil which claims to also protect against mildew and UV.

I made my tarps using canvas from unissued army catering tents (£140) and a Singer 201K sewing machine (fiver from Daventry tip).

 

I used Fabsil to proof them and they kept the weather out for 5 years and were still like new until fire destroyed them.