The Heat On The Boats

[Andrewcook]

As the weather is getting Hotter each yeat Due to Climate Changes does this do any Damage to  fibreglass and Wooden Boats with this excessive Heat  wave we are now experiencing  like this weekend Coming . 

 

[Ray]

UV rays can certainly cause damage, I'm not sure about heat per se though.

[Cal]

The sun cracked the dark blue dashboard on the Sealine S23 we had.

 

It certainly can do damage. Just look at boats when they are brought back from the Med how dull they are and how faded the upholstery is. 

 

The gel coat polishes up again easily enough but the UV damage to trims cabinets and upholstery is more difficult to repair.

[Cheesey69]

No but it kills me

[Turnoar]

I’ve planned a barbeque for this weekend, if it gets rained off I’m going to be really cross with Andrew lol

Roll on 1976! Many boats surviving still from that and other weather extreme eras...

[Andrewcook]

Hi Turnoar Yes I remember  1976  a lovely Hot  Summer as I was on the Broads . The Weekend will be excellent for your BBQ I wish you a Pleasant BBQ Weekend. 

[Maxwellian]

We were on the Caledonian Canal that year. Lovely time. 

[ChrisB]

1976. We built our SeaWych from a complete set of components and mouldings.

The resin was "going-off" as you looked at it! He is me encapsulating the steel stamping balast in resin. Bonding the superstructure to the hull in that heat was a nightmare.

 

[Ray]

Great photos and memories Chris!

In the summer of '76 I became engaged to be married... something to do with the heat and going out in the midday sun 😉

[Timbo]

11 hours ago, Andrewcook said:

As the weather is getting Hotter each yeat Due to Climate Changes does this do any Damage to  fibreglass and Wooden Boats with this excessive Heat  wave we are now experiencing  like this weekend Coming . 

 

The short answer to your question is 'yes', Andrew. Temperature and UV light effects both wooden and fibreglass boats in different ways over both a long period of time and a short period of time.

Doug, Dave and Vaughan will be the experts on this. The different materials used to build boats react in different ways to temperature. Wooden boats dry out, gaps can appear between the planks and the sunlight can damage the varnish. With fibreglass its usually the plastic and foam cores used inside the fibreglass for rigidity that gets 'cooked' and eventually warp. Once distorted, the cores cannot be repaired.

[BroadAmbition]

UV damage - yes it affects woodies, being in a wet shed when not being used helps tremendously 

Griff

[MauriceMynah]

Hot weather wears out boats because they get used more !

[ranworthbreeze]

The summer of 1976 we were on a 10 berth 56 foot Narrow Boat on the Trent & Mersey Canal. The lock gates were locked overnight to conserve water. Because of the hot summers of 1975 & 1976 the Ladybower and Derwent dams were so low that the ruins of Ashopton the flooded Derbyshire village could be seen in the receding water as the water levels dropped.

[grendel]

summer of 76 i was sitting O levels, we were allowed to take our ties and blazers off while we were sitting our exams, (in the school hall where one entire wall was glazed and in full sunshine) I can remember it being silly hot in there.

[YnysMon]

I had my O levels in '76 too. I was lucky though. In Anglesey the really hot weather didn't start until the day of my last exam and then continued through August. The week after the results came out my Mum took me to Norway as a post-exam treat. I remember thinking how parched and yellow England looked as we returned home by train. Wales was slightly more green but not as much as Norway.

[SteveO]

Summer of'76 I had finished my finals and decided to hitch-hike over to Whitby for a few days with friends. I took my tent, a light sleeping bag, cooking gear and a spare t- shirt. When I arrived the sea fog had rolled in and it was freezing. I distinctly remember shivering in my sleeping bag whilst being kept awake by 2 loud fog-horns which sounded off all night. I came home after 2 days.

[StillCruising]

Ahhh the summers of 75 & 76. I got made redundant in the spring of 75 with a decent package that allowed me to fit in a broads holiday and spend all the summer driving about in my MG with my then girlfriend. In the autumn I  joined London Transport as a vehicle electrician and was obviously affected by the heat in 76 and got engaged getting married in 77.

[eddybear]

3 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

Hot weather wears out boats because they get used more !

But if you have a layer of the green stuff keeps the UV off 

[Wonderwall]

Any type of weather will have an effect on a boat. Or , change the word boat for any object.

The summer of 76, I broke my collar bone at school sports day, so spent the hottest summer on record, wrapped in a figure of 8 bandage over both shoulders. 🥵