Sometimes it’s the simple things that make the difference. In New England our boating season is so short I never thought I’d be concerned with overheating in my Parker 2520 cabin. However, In July and August it can get fairly hot here. While she’s at rest in her slip during the week with the cabin locked up for security and sun blazing through the windows, overheating is a big problem. I would imagine down South its way worse. :shock:
The heat was drying up and cracking my vinyl upholstery, but the last straw was when my Yamaha digital fuel gauge in the dash cooked to the point where it “washed out” the LED display. I could no longer see the numbers on the face of the gauge. Not sure what the official name for this phenomenon is, “LED bleaching”? :?:
So after replacing the Fuel gauge, I put a layer of smartphone protective adhesive film on it that is supposed to have UV blocking. But I knew I also needed to cool down the cabin. 8)
I tried several versions of those flimsy silvery, foam filled, folding windshield sunshades they sell for trucks.
Some worked once, some twice. It was tough getting a light-tight seal inside with the Parker windshields and they just all looked crappy. What I wanted was an easy to install, rigid, light-tight shade that would hold itself in place without straps and snaps, and could be deployed and recovered very quickly.
I wound up with ¼ inch Melamine panel board. Not sure what it’s called in your region, but its that white plastic composition board that sometimes winds up on bathroom walls and backsplashes. It’s reflective, waterproof, rigid and easy to work with.
I first cut cardboard windshield templates out for each window. These Parker windshields (especially the older ones like mine) are cranky parallelogram-shaped units that need to be traced and trial-and–error fitted.
The goal was to cut a shade that would fit into the aluminum channel surrounding the window, which would hold the panel in place. Placing a piece of rubber tubing in the bottom of the window channel and compressing the tubing during insertion of the shade, adds lift to the shade once it’s “popped in” and keeps it in place.
I wanted a fit that allowed quick removal by pushing down and pulling the top out. Setting in the shades is the reverse process. Very tight, but not too tight …..fussy. It took a couple of tries with a few cardboard patterns on each side.
Then it’s just tracing the cardboard pattern and cutting them out of the panel of Melamine. The leftover material makes great dry-erase note boards.
When they are installed, they look great. Clean, neat, not silvery-trashy. Obviously there is the added benefit of security.
To further reduce heat I also installed a set of curtains along each side window, with Velcro tabs to hold the bottom corners in place for security.
For handles I just ran duct tape up each side with tabs in the middle to grip. When they are removed they stow neatly behind the pedestal seat.
Be sure to label which side they go on, otherwise you will spend several frustrating minutes rotating, inserting, rotating, swapping sides…
Drops the inside temps at least 20-degrees on a hot summer day, and my new upholstery should last longer this time.
The heat was drying up and cracking my vinyl upholstery, but the last straw was when my Yamaha digital fuel gauge in the dash cooked to the point where it “washed out” the LED display. I could no longer see the numbers on the face of the gauge. Not sure what the official name for this phenomenon is, “LED bleaching”? :?:
So after replacing the Fuel gauge, I put a layer of smartphone protective adhesive film on it that is supposed to have UV blocking. But I knew I also needed to cool down the cabin. 8)
I tried several versions of those flimsy silvery, foam filled, folding windshield sunshades they sell for trucks.
Some worked once, some twice. It was tough getting a light-tight seal inside with the Parker windshields and they just all looked crappy. What I wanted was an easy to install, rigid, light-tight shade that would hold itself in place without straps and snaps, and could be deployed and recovered very quickly.
I wound up with ¼ inch Melamine panel board. Not sure what it’s called in your region, but its that white plastic composition board that sometimes winds up on bathroom walls and backsplashes. It’s reflective, waterproof, rigid and easy to work with.
I first cut cardboard windshield templates out for each window. These Parker windshields (especially the older ones like mine) are cranky parallelogram-shaped units that need to be traced and trial-and–error fitted.
The goal was to cut a shade that would fit into the aluminum channel surrounding the window, which would hold the panel in place. Placing a piece of rubber tubing in the bottom of the window channel and compressing the tubing during insertion of the shade, adds lift to the shade once it’s “popped in” and keeps it in place.
I wanted a fit that allowed quick removal by pushing down and pulling the top out. Setting in the shades is the reverse process. Very tight, but not too tight …..fussy. It took a couple of tries with a few cardboard patterns on each side.
Then it’s just tracing the cardboard pattern and cutting them out of the panel of Melamine. The leftover material makes great dry-erase note boards.
When they are installed, they look great. Clean, neat, not silvery-trashy. Obviously there is the added benefit of security.
To further reduce heat I also installed a set of curtains along each side window, with Velcro tabs to hold the bottom corners in place for security.
For handles I just ran duct tape up each side with tabs in the middle to grip. When they are removed they stow neatly behind the pedestal seat.
Be sure to label which side they go on, otherwise you will spend several frustrating minutes rotating, inserting, rotating, swapping sides…
Drops the inside temps at least 20-degrees on a hot summer day, and my new upholstery should last longer this time.
