Besides the normal storage preparation checklist, we have a few big projects to do before we leave for the US. The exterior sunshades that I made back in May are blue and really absorb the heat. During past boatyard layups, we have put black plastic (also absorbs heat), reflective mylar (doesn't last), and reflective bubble wrap type insulation (also doesn't last) under the sunshades to keep the heat from building up inside the closed up boat. I was disappointed that the old sunshades only lasted 8 seasons so in order to extend their life, my goal is to make new shades out of a lighter color that will be used temporarily during times of storage to keep the tropical sun from ruining the 'real' ones.
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| Making the Tan Sunshades |
We bought 2 Shade Sails, basically triangular pieces of shade cloth 12 ft per side with D-rings during the window replacement project to keep the sun from expanding the plexiglass while the adhesive was drying. They came in handy this past season and we have plans to make more and larger Shade Sails to keep the boat cooler. We bought some of the tan colored shade cloth at a hardware store in Maryborough but they only had 5 meters left on the roll. I made window covers out of that but still needed more. We picked up a small roll at Bunnings (like Home Depot) to finish the project. Bunnings also had some reflective Wall and Roof lining plastic that will be fitted under the new Sunshades. I expect this to also fail from the UV but something is better than nothing.
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| Tortuguita with the new 'temporary' Sunshades |
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