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Exhibit A: Boat Canvas Windows |
Ah, beloved boat canvas.
If you haven’t yet had the pleasure (and want a good laugh), check out
this article on the joys of dealing with boat canvas.
Today’s tale is a cautionary one, and one I was forced to
learn the hard way. You see, boat canvas
is arguably more delicate than a newborn’s tooshie, and canvas needs tender
love and care throughout its use, cleaning and storage.
Apart from developing unsightly folds, scars, scratches and
blemishes, canvas windows also have the delightful property of burning when resting
against hot metal. Praise unto the
geniuses who designed boat canvas to fit tightly against metal bimini
poles! Let’s hope these Mensa graduates
aren’t the same people who design our airplanes.
Essentially, when hot metal and canvas windows touch each
other, the metal burns into the plastic window until ugly, irreparable scarring
appears (see Exhibit A, above).
You can’t scrub, spray, buff, or otherwise remove this
chemically-altered blemish from your canvas, so don’t even try. And, what’s worse, the reaction will
eventually lead to structural decay and could result in rips, tears and holes
developing. Yippee.
You could use these handy plastic pieces that stand the
canvas off a few millimeters from the metal, but you’d need a lot of them to be
effective:
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Canvas Plastic Window Savers |
By the time I got around to
using them it was too late for my windows, which had been neglected at length
by the previous owner. Poor plastic
windows!
The one and only method you can use to stave off this terrible
plague is to use Sun Sox. These cheap,
clever little devices will keep your canvas off the hot metal and clear as an
autumn day in New England.
IF you have newer vinyl windows and have NOT employed
the use of this device, PLEASE purchase it NOW and begin to use it
IMMEDIATELY. Once it’s too late, you’re
in for a new set of canvas whether you like it or not.
As for me, it’ll be time in the next year or two to bite the
bullet (zinc?) and get new camper canvas windows. And you can bet your burn that I’ll be
getting matching Sox to go with them.
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