Things You'll Need:
- Garden Hose
- Fresh Water
- Silicon Spray Lubricant
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Step 1
Store the cover indoors or fold it up and cover it with canvas when it's not in use. The archenemy of a vinyl boat cover is the sun, not because the cover won't stand up to the sun, but if the canvas has seams that are not heat- or adhesive-sealed, or if the seams are made with thread that isn't UV-resistant, the seams will break down and the cover will fall apart. The key here is preventative maintenance. Only buy a boat cover that uses UV-resistant threads.
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Step 2
Cover those plastic windows, because they're being damaged by the sun even more quickly than the vinyl cover. With constant exposure to the sun's UV radiation, the plastic in the window panels will stiffen and, or at least limit their exposure to sunlight.
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Step 3
Give a fresh water rinse from a garden hose to your boat cover's hardware, regularly. Snaps, zippers and fittings will freeze up if they're exposed to salt air for long periods. The salt from spray or splashes will work its merry way into these simple devices, causing them to jam at inconvenient moments. Protect the fittings from corrosion with silicon spray lubricants, applied several times a year.
