It’s time for a winter maritime image to remind everyone that the right place (for me, now) is the Down East coast of Maine.
Here you see some summer vessels that have become winter mummies. They gather in the shoreside snow and, sometimes, are joined by an unwrapped sister who is for sale and needs to be accessible to potential buyers.
The concept of shrink-wrapping a boat appears simple, but the task takes skill and special equipment. Stated another way: It’s probably a job that should be left to professionals. As for the basics, from what I’ve seen and read, a backbone support (or posts) is (are) first installed atop the vessel along the centerline. A previously measured sheet of industrial-strength, shrinkable plastic is then draped over the entire boat.
Then, the plastic is secured by straps and bands, especially at the bottom. Working from that bottom up, a powerful heat gun and tension tools are used to shrink the plastic tightly over and around the boat’s contours, pulling and tucking as progress is made. Excess is trimmed away. And vents and access passages are added as needed.
(Image taken in Surry, Maine, on February 25, 2025.)