Mix a weak concentration of household detergent (1; 20) in lukewarm water. The detergent must not contain solvents.

Apply the detergent and water mix to the fabric using a soft cloth, sponge, soft bristle or soft mop. After cleaning rinse off ALL residue with plenty of fresh clear, cold water.

Always check with manufacture beforehand. Truck wash, car wash, or mineral turps should never be used on any of canvas, clears, vinyl or leathers. As harsh chemicals can take the protective UV coating off, and this will lessen the life of the materials.

With your boat being shut up for weeks or months at a time, you can start to get mildew or mould inside the cabin of your boat. If you can’t leave a hatch window open, due to water getting in when it rains. Leave a couple of moisture absorbers around the cabin, preferable down low. This will help to get some of the moisture that builds up, and make sure you put a plug in the sink, and leave the toilet lid shut. You can pick plugs from any supermarket, or hardware.

There are two alternative methods of maintaining carpets.

The first one is for dry carpets; the best way is to regularly vacuum. Preferably with a power head vacuum or a normal vacuum can be used as well. If the carpet is loose laid, vacuuming the backing side is also recommended.

The second method is to hose the carpet with fresh water. Using warm water and mild household detergent.   Soak the carpet with the solution for a few minutes, and then rinse thoroughly with clean water on both front and back of the material. It’s important when using the wet method; carpet should be left in open air to dry.

Never hang your carpet over the side of the boat or a fence, or use fabric softener. Never use a pressure washer on your carpet, as this may stretch the carpet pile and it will not fi t properly. For removing stains, it is always important to act quickly to remove efficiently.

If the carpet is able to be wet, use some mild household detergent or some very mild bleach solution and water, lightly rise through with clean water. If the carpet cannot be wet, use either a branded carpet spot cleaner (as directed). You should always check with the manufacture before using any chemicals on your carpet.

When towing your boat, you should remove any clears, and covers. There is a lot of wind pressure on your clears and covers when towing boat. With late model cars having more power, it is not uncommon to see someone going down the highway at 110kh with the boat in tow. This will in time stretch clears and any covers.

The bimini canopy and clears will act like a parachute; this puts a lot of pressure on the stitching and fittings on your covers. You should roll your clears (never fold your clears) and place them in the boat where they will not get damaged.

For your canopies and biminis you should fold them down if possible and secure them from moving around. You can get a sock made for this by your local marine trimmer. It is a cover with a zip you put over your bimini or canopy and zip together when the cover is folded back. By doing this, your covers will last a lot longer.

Custom Marine Trimming has its own in house wood shop, vinyl welder and carpet overlocker facilities. We now also do flexible solar panels. If you need extra power and you don’t have a frame to take ordinary solar panels, flexible are the way to go. They can be zipped on to new covers or clipped on to pre-existing covers and come in various wattages.