Could Reusing Boat Shrink Wrap Save You Hundreds?

Indoor storage is a premium luxury in Minnesota. It doesn't matter how big your garage or pole building is; it will fill up, and then you're left with storing some toys outside. Unfortunately, that's the case with a boat I purchased this summer.

We already have a pontoon at the cabin, a fishing boat at home, and a couple of other old boats that I've inherited over the years. Some people's yards are full of old junk cars. Mine is full of old boats. How Minnesotan is that?

Anyway, I got a fantastic deal on a 77 Crestliner Commander. Besides the fact that it guzzles premium non-oxy gas (at over $5 a gallon this summer), it's been a wonderful addition to our cabin life. It's perfect for pulling the kids on the tube, and it keeps the hours off my Etec on my fishing boat.

I was planning on having it shrink-wrapped this fall after I winterized it and stored it at the lake. But here's the thing: shrink-wrapping a boat costs hundreds of dollars.

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Why do people shrink-wrap their boats? The material is very durable, and when done right, it seals off the boat completely. It's better than a tarp that can blow around in the wind and rub and wear on supports.

I bought the boat from my wife's stepdad, and he gave me the old shrinkwrap cover from last year. He explained that he can get 5 to 6 years out of a cover if you are careful.

I was a little skeptical, but I went ahead and tried it. Online searches show I'm not the only one to do this. It's relatively common for people to reuse them in their own way. It's such a huge expense to just throw away in the spring.

I have a couple of 2X4 supports with clover-shaped plastic rope holders at the top. I ran ratchet straps from the bow to the stern and got them nice and tight. I did the same on side to side over each of the supports, creating a rope grid for the cover to rest on.

Next, we pulled the cover tight, especially over the interior. There were a couple of holes near the bow, but it's not an open bow area, so I don't really care if it gets a little wet.

Once it was secure, I ran a rope around the gunwale and got it as tight as I could to seal it off. It worked pretty well. So far it's the best home-made cover job I've done.

Of course it isn't as good as sealing it up with a fresh shrink-wrap. I'll be going back to check on it after our first snowfall to make sure it holds up. With everything costing so much these days, it's worth a shot to save hundreds of dollars.