34 LRC Window Shades / Awnings

[Capn Craig]

Now, that the boat is resting comfortably under shrink wrap and out of the river for the long hard Iowa winter, its time to dream of projects to work on before spring. I have begun the teak refinishing project on the outside wood. I have many pieces at home to refinish over the winter. Most of the rest has been heated and scrapped. The end is at least in sight. The thought of having decent looking brightwork brings with it the desire to keep it good. I know the value of keeping the UV at bay. I'm considering window covers knowing the protection they offer both exterior as well as interior. But I fear the time they would take to put up and take down, would result in me leaving them down when I'm in a hurry. I know I'm lazy.

So I have an idea. It seems so simple that I am guessing that it has already been done. I am thinking of covering the salon side windows with a one piece roll-up window shade on the outside. They would be rolled up window shade style when not in use. The alternative to rolling them up would be to support them awning style to cover the side decks to provide shade in the salon to help the air conditioner out as well as provide rain protection on the side decks.

I am thinking that the roll-up would be something along the line of 2" PVC pipe. 2" PVC pipe would have an OD of 2 3/8" ~ 2 1/2". that would roll the approximate 34" length in about 4 wraps. The lower edge might have a fiberglass bar inside a pocket to stiffen it. That way it would only need to fastened in a few places in the down position. The awning standoff arms would be stainless tube, with gas cylinders holding them out.

That is is very general I understand. I am not sure if the roll-up should be at the bottom or the top. I can see advantages to both. I might have to design and build my own, but before that, Has anybody seen such a setup? How did it work? How well did it work?

 

[Edelweiss]

I have white Sunbrella side curtains and windshield cover. Each side is one piece except for the side door. The windshield is one piece and wraps around and covers the first side window on each side. They're held on by stainless standard snaps.

When I am just visiting the boat or spending the day on it, I unsnap the top half of the window covers and let them hang by the bottom snaps. That way, when you leave it takes two minutes to snap them up and you're gone.

With the wood framed window, it is a good idea to keep them covered when you're not there.

Larry B,

 

[FlyWright]

I have the same windshield cover as Larry described in canvas and see-through sunscreen material. My side window covers are sunscreen which are also held in place with SS snaps. When dry, they're easy to see through and I can leave them up when cruising. But it's a bit difficult to see through them when they get wet as they cling to the windows and cause distortion. Taking them down involves 8 snaps. All the windows can be covered or cleared in less than a minute.

If I didn't have a boat shed, I'd have full teak covers for rails, windows, doors and flybridge. In the long run, it might be cheaper than the extra I pay every month for a shed. I agree that it would take some effort to remove and replace each time, but that wood looks so great when it's kept up. It's part of what gives our boats the character they have.