How to maintain and assemble my boat tent

Assembly

Assembling a boat tent can sometimes seem very complicated. Keeping the right order when mounting makes this job a lot easier. We recommend the following steps for installing a spray hood and rear tent:

Mounting spray hood

Start at the front of the tent with the buttons securing or feeding the tendon into the rail
Lay the spray hood over the frame parts
Attach the covers to the frame by closing the zippers
Attach and tighten the side tie-down straps until the rest of the knobs are near the attachment points
Secure the remaining buttons

Do you want to disassemble the spray hood? Then follow this step-by-step plan in reverse order.

Mounting rear tent/harbor tent

Attach the coupling zippers between the tube hood and the rear tent. Close the zippers to the corners
Set the frame ready on the foot hardware
Place the rear tent over the frame and close the cover around the frame with the zipper
Attach and tighten the rear tension straps so far that the knobs are near the attachment points
Close the buttons
Close the zippers

Disassembling the rear tent? Then follow these steps in reverse order, placing both sides and back on the roof after opening the zippers. Then, after loosening the zipper around the frame, you can roll up the rear tent to the spray hood and place the rear tent on the roof of the spray hood. This will give you a neat and compact package.

How do I maintain cloth, stitching, zippers and windows?

Everyone wants to enjoy a spray hood or boat tent for as long as possible. You want it to look nice and last a long time. We would like to give you the following maintenance tips:

Cleaning and maintenance of cloth

Remove light soiling and dirt with lukewarm water and a soft brush. Never use ordinary soaps (nor green soap). This is not necessary; it does more harm than good.

You can treat heavier soiling with a special tent shampoo. Wet the spray hood thoroughly by immersing it in lukewarm water, and apply the shampoo. Rinse it well. After treatment with such a shampoo, it is necessary to impregnate the spray hood with a special impregnating agent for tents.

After every 2-3 years, it is recommended to have the tent professionally cleaned and impregnated. This will give the canopy a major overhaul and the tent will last longer and be really clean again. By impregnating, the raindrops will roll off again. During this service, we immediately check the seams and repair them where necessary.

Protecting stitching

In particular, the stitches that are often and for a long time in the sun, under tension, are the first to break. When that happens, it is advisable to bring the hood to the sailmaker's shop. We will look at the hood in detail and assess it. Probably several stitches are broken, we can often re-stitch them. Do this in time to avoid greater damage.

Making zippers move properly

Zippers basically require no maintenance other than keeping the zippers clean and corrosion-free, especially when sailing on salt water. Zippers that are not used for long periods of time (such as the zippers on the frames) should be used at least 4 times a year by pulling them back and forth a few times. This is to keep the zippers flexible. If necessary, zippers can be sprayed with Teflon or PTFE spray (without oil and without silicone!).

Boat tents in the winter

To enjoy your canvas materials as long as possible, the advice is to take them off board during the winter and keep them clean and dry. Make sure the window film does not buckle, this can damage the windows. Do not put weight on the tent or canopy and if possible, place a blanket between the windows.

Prevent white haze on windows

Nice, bright and clean windows provide a fresh and neat appearance. The windows in a tent are fragile and should therefore be treated with care. You are probably familiar with the "white haze" on windows in a boat tent. How do you prevent this?
There is a protective layer on the outside of the window. Unfortunately, the UV in sunlight damages this layer. Once the protective layer is affected, the plasticizers in the film come to the surface and create a haze on the window. If this process continues even further, the window plastic becomes brown and hard and brittle. Unfortunately, this process is irreversible. Once the protective coating is gone, new windows are the only real solution; unfortunately, cleaning or polishing does not help.

So it is very important to maintain the protective layer! You do this by wiping the windows at least twice a season with a slightly damp clean cloth, dry and spray with Vuplex. Polish the Vuplex spray with a non-fluffy, soft cloth. This will keep your windows sparkling clear and you will also extend the life of your windows because the plasticizers stay safely trapped.

New tent does not fold down

After assembly, a new canvas product must first take a few weeks to settle into shape. It is preferable to leave the canopy/tent up and not fold it down, so that it can set to its proper shape.

New tent leaks? Don't panic!

During the first rain showers, the new tent may leak a little, this is due to the stitching. After a short period of time under the influence of weather conditions, the stitching holes close up and will no longer leak.

We wish you much boating fun!