How long will the UV resistance of Sunbrella last?

[Sailshabby]

Rep at the recent boat show">Annapolis boat show told me 5-6 years. Thrown in the Universal Fudge Factor of 1.5 and you get... let's see... Carry the nine... times Pi...

[senormechanico]

In the PNW, the biggest enemy of Sunbrella is bird crap.
Keeep it clean and it will last forever.
+100 for Tenara thread also known as GoreTex.
Get it from sailrite.com it's expensive, but worth it.

[hellosailor]

The UV resistance lasts as long as a piece of string is.


Applying 303 or similar protectant is a good idea, even the maker (of genuine Sunbrella) will recommend that. And typically red and yellow dyes tend to embrittle fabrics, as well as fading fastest from UV light. But again, ask the maker for their specifics.


One or two years in the tropics can burn things up faster than ten years in more temperate climates, so the length of your "string" will vary.

[jmschmidt]

Obviously it depends on where the boat lives. Sweden, probably a long time. South Pacific, not so much. Depends on color. Its counterintuitive but I'm told the dark colors last longer, dark blue and burgundy are the best. My burgundy covers have lasted so long I don't remember. Had a white leach cover on a genoa once, didn't last but three or four years. And the stitching does go first.

[roverhi]

My dark colored Sunbrella sail cover is going on 10 years with 5 of that in Hawaii. Still looking good. The Dodger is of unknown age but had been restitched and the windows replaced before I bought the boat 9 years ago. Don't leave it on the boat unless making a passage so it hasn't seen a lot of sun under my ownership.

It's really not how long the fabric is UV resistant but how long it will last in real life before it disintegrates or fades to uglier than you can look at. Biggest issue with SunBrella is it's not very abrasion resistant. Wear areas need to be protected with leather if you want the longest life from it.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Sailshabby

Rep at the recent Annapolis boat show told me 5-6 years. Thrown in the Universal Fudge Factor of 1.5 and you get... let's see... Carry the nine... times Pi...

Metric or imperial?

[J Clark H356]

My Dodger and Bimimi out of navy sunbrella sewed with Goretex thread has been 13 seasons. My rear panel of the Bimini shows signs of aging, but will last a few more years. My enclosure side and rear panels stay on around 6 months per year and don't look bad at all.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Ostinato

If there is no abrasion or other physical damage to Sunbrella, how long will its UV resistance last? I had one sail maker claim it lasts only 5 or 6 years. Does anyone know?

As you can see from the above answers, it's not easy to answer your question completely. estarzinger is quite experienced and aware of testing of *stuff* , and he may be right.

I don't know how to measure the UV absorption properties of our 10 yr. old dark red sunbrella, and I do not understand how the properties of the various colors interact. It seems that the light colors let more UV in onto your sails. Friends of ours had the taffeta lining, but it was not light as Evans suggested, and that sail failed young from UV damage. The color was light grey. It seems to me as if we're talking about two different effects here, one being the absorption of UV and the other of being physically degraded by UV.

Our 10+ yr. old dark red, PTFE thread sewn mainsail bag is on its last legs physically, but there was no observable UV damage on the sail it had covered when we replaced the sail coming up on 3 years ago now. 8 yrs. for the sail, and it was blown out, not fragile of cloth. We spend maybe one third of our time in the tropics, maybe a little less.

If I were the OP, I'd suggest that to get the best longevity out of the Sunbrella, it be the old Pacific Blue color, [I still have some floatation cushions I recovered with the blue, and they still look decent and are over 20 yrs. old] and possibly lined with the light taffeta as Evans suggested. The combination of the best UV resistant cloth, and the lining should protect your sails very well. If you can live with the color.

When the sailmaker asks you what color you want for the sacrificial covers, the return question should be, "which color lasts the longest?" if your prime value is longevity for your money. As we all know, their may be other considerations driving color choice.

Cheers,

Ann

[Virginia Lee]

Originally Posted by travellerw

Everyone keeps mentioning thread, but I haven't heard anyone mention Tenara yet. All my new covers are sewn with Tenara thread made by Gore (the Gortex people). They gaurantee the thread will outlast the fabic is sewn to. Its not made of natural fibers, but Teflon. Really good stuff, but kinda hard to sew with.

If you are thinking of getting anything new made, I would insist on Tenara thread.

Thanks. PO of our boat said he had the canvas sewed with "neoprene thread" and I haven't found a source of it; it's probably the Tenara you quote. Our tan bimini is starting to fail - not sure exactly when the fabric was replaced, likely 6-8 years ago, but the thread is OK. Covers for teak that I made about three years ago have already had to be resewn. The one furling gib that was not redone then had failing stitching. The sailmaker recommended replacing the faded fabric, but it was not falling apart. I suspect that a year or so from now I will be doing a lot of sewing. So, I concur: the thread is weaker than the fabric.

I also have had good luck w/ 303.

[barnakiel]

This tafeta stuff: can someone PLS link to a sample material?

What is it made of?

THX,
b.

[Kestrahl]

Taffeta i.e. polyester taffeta isn't very resistant to UV.
A Sunbrella cover lined with something like Weathermax LT or Stamoid light would block all UV but be very heavy.
A truck curtain PVC cover would block all UV and last maybe as long but they are also very heavy and not very nice to handle. There are so many variations of PVC and they all look the same so its risky you get the right stuff.

When people say UV thread it normally means polyester thread which will only last a few years and need restitching.
PTFE thread is the one to go for - Tenera, Helios, Solarfix

[Jim Cate]

A Sunbrella cover lined with something like Weathermax LT or Stamoid light would block all UV but be very heavy.

Kestrahl, if this is true, why wouldn't you just build the boombag out of Weathermax to start with? I know their warranty is not as long as Sunbrella's, but we have had good success with it for awnings so far. I ask because our sunbrella boombag is nearing its useby date, and we're considering what to make its replacement from.

Thanks for any info here...

Jim

[Kestrahl]

Weathermax seems to do extremely well for what it is - a coated polyester. It is also really cheap so good value for money but may not have the same ultimate life of dark Sunbrella. I haven't seen enough of it to really know.

[chouliha]

We second the use of Tenera thread. Everything outside is stitched with it and it never has to be re sewn. Even the Sunbrella sun shield on the roller furler. When we have a new headsail made in a few years will spec out the use of Tenera thread there too. Our dodger is stamoid seen with Tenera thread and its 12 years old. Still going strong. 11 of those years have been in the tropics and 4 summers in the sea of cortez which eats everything up in short order.

We have had terrific use from the Sunbrella called Hemlock Tweed. It's a dark green with black flecks in it. But we are very careful with the cover on the main. Usually a couple times a year we hold it up to the sun to see if light is shinning thru. That usually means it's time for replacement.

One thing that has not been mentioned unless I missed something is Sunbrella breathes. Critical for reduction in mold and mildew. Be careful of other products that consist of a coating like the truck covers mention in an earlier post. These type of tarps will not breath and promote trapped moisture to mildew.

Cheers




www.jacarandajourney.com

[Franziska]

Kestrahl,

very useful info.Thanks. While the weight is surely an issue, the handling seems not to a real one for a permanent boom cover or stackpack.

Will look into the difference in price and weight.

Many thanks,

Franziska