Shade

During the summer months in the Keys, the temperature very rarely drops below 90...even overnight! Shade becomes very important. Walking through the marina I always choose the shadiest route, but what do you do out in the mooring field when there is no shade to be found?
You just have to make your own!
Or in our case, you hire a great canvas guy to come out and measure and fit the boat with customized shade. This is Garth from Custom Canvas and he did some work for us [new black vinyl cushions inside the boat] when we first arrived in Marathon. So, he was the person we called when it was time to shade the boat.
For the most part, we had been using tarps for shade...draping them over the booms and securing them with bungee cords, but the tarps degrade quickly in the harsh UV rays and start to flake and make a huge mess. Plus, they never fit just right and can make quite a bit of noise flapping around.

The new awning is made of a material called STAMOID and is supposed to last for at least 10 years. It is highly durable, light-weight, UV resistant, extremely waterproof, and easy to clean. The awning is 2 peices that zip together on either side of the mast and the sides have flaps that drop down to keep out the rising and setting sun.

Keeping the sun off the deck keeps the boat from heating up inside and keeps it much cooler.

If you look closely at the cockpit, you'll noticed we added shade to that as well with a black, mesh fabric that blocks out 60% of the sun's rays yet lets the breeze pass through. It runs through a track on the bimini top and snaps in at the bottom for a neat, snug fit.

We're really enjoying our newest boat improvement because now we've got it made in the shade living in the Florida Keys ...and we'll just leave all that sun for the tourists.