Restore. Repair. Protect.
This is my maritime mantra. You can spend years of your life dedicated to bringing a beautiful old boat back from the brink - but if you don't protect the work you've done, you'll have it all to do over - only you won't have the time or energy left in you. So Restore - Repair - and then - PROTECT!!! Maintenance is good character-building exercise, but you don't have to run yourself ragged or overdo it. Take for example nice strong teak handrails. They're a pain to varnish - all curves and low-profile undersides and so much prep involved - but they are an absolutely necessary element of your safety system on-deck. And they are in constant use and always in view. Make them pretty and then keep them that way. Cover them. This is the first canvas you should have done after your sail covers.
Speaking of sail covers: a good boom cover - one that fits your boom And your sail (if you keep it on the boom) will add Years of life to your sail. If you decide you'd also like a boom tent, take care to pay attention to points of friction that will lead to wear. I know sometimes it seems like a tarp is the easy, most reasonable answer. But be careful - you could use a cheap plastic or old army tarp and think you're being super smart and then after a while you notice that your economical option has just worn through the stitching on your well-made cover - or worse - worn a hole clear through that expensive boom cover and started to wear against your sail. There are enough things to attend to on your boat already - don't go making new problems to solve.
Speaking of sail covers: a good boom cover - one that fits your boom And your sail (if you keep it on the boom) will add Years of life to your sail. If you decide you'd also like a boom tent, take care to pay attention to points of friction that will lead to wear. I know sometimes it seems like a tarp is the easy, most reasonable answer. But be careful - you could use a cheap plastic or old army tarp and think you're being super smart and then after a while you notice that your economical option has just worn through the stitching on your well-made cover - or worse - worn a hole clear through that expensive boom cover and started to wear against your sail. There are enough things to attend to on your boat already - don't go making new problems to solve.
Marine Canvas Gallery
