H16 TopGun Cover

I have been protecting my Hobie 16 with a TopGun cover for many years now (I think I am on my second or third cover). Anyway, my latest cover turns my hands blue. It also is leaving blue stains on my hulls (some of the stains are hard to remove). Has anyone experienced this problem? And if so, what did you do to correct it?

You could always try washing it at the laundromat in one of thier large washers. I wouldn't even use soap, just plain water.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

I am not familair with the "top gun" cover, but if it is made of canvas you can machine wash it ok (use a big machine if you can). Also, you will need soap but use only a little bit of mild dish soap like "Palmolive" or "Dove". Most important, do NOT put it in a dryer, just lay it out to dry.

I have been doing this every 2 years with the canvas on power-cruisers I`ve had. The technique was recommended by both a professional and the manufacturer of the canvas itself (Sunbrella). It has worked well. If the colour still bleeds after all that, you may find that waterproofing the canvas helps. I prefer a silicon (not wax) based spray specifically for waterproofing canvas. Westmarine has this stuff - not very expensive either. Both Starbrite and 3M make a good product.


Dave

Hobie Nick, Captain Dave (is this the same Captain Dave that sells the 26M?) Thanks for the washing tips. I had thought of that but wasnt sure if that would solve my problem. Living in FL, the cover has already been pelted by a few hurricanes (should be pretty close to a rinse cycle) and stills bleeds blue.

Nope,

I`m not the salesman you`re refering to.



Dave

I saw the Top Gun covers online and in catalogs but they're pricey. In Chicago, I called a sailmaker and had him custom make a 3-peice blue cover out of sunbrella - both hulls are completely covered as is the tramp AND the best part is that I can trailer the boat with the covers on - helps keep the road grime and nicks off the hulls.

The boat sits outside all summer (inside in the off season) and I haven't even had any fading after 2 seasons.

If anyone wants the contact info for this guy I'll post it.

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Thanks for all the input. I tried washing my cover in my laundry room tub, which didnt help at all. Both my hands and my tub ended up blue.
I contacted Salty Dog Marine (company that makes the cover), and they told me that they have never had this problem with any of their covers (that they are aware of). They told me to send my cover back and that they would make me a new one. I'm now waiting for my new cover. I thought about having a custom cover made, but havent had to go down that path yet.

Dolfan,

Kudos to you and and SaltyDog on getting a replacement. I`d say you definitely came up with the single BEST solution to your problem.

I too have never heard of the extensive color bleeding your are experiencing - only minor color problems on brand new canvas. Could you imagine if this happened on a big white motoryacht? There`d be some pretty ticked-off skippers out there - to say the least!

Dave