Caring for Strataglass

How to care for Strataglass Vinyl Window Material used on Sailboat Dodgers and Enclosures

I get asked a lot about this issue, what is the best way to take care of Strataglass Vinyl material that is subject to the UV damage that occurs outdoors in South Florida.

It's a good question. I have seen dodger material that is so damaged that I could put my fist through the material. It's Crispy, Brown, Dry and almost completely opaque after just a few years from installation. When I asked the owner what they had used to keep it clean, the reply was Dishwashing Soap. Others had used Pledge type waxing products.

Why not use those domestic cleaners / polishers?

Simple! They remove the plasticizers from the surface of the Vinyl. Now just to be clear, the plasticizers are removed by UV rays, good old South Florida Sunshine. As those plasticizers degrade, so does the surface of the vinyl and the transparency. The vinyl become ridged and opaque, almost impossible to clean, they turn brown as they prematurely age. This can happen in just a couple of years here in SoFla. 

The answer is to protect your Strataglass and other brands often referred to as Isinglass.

When I purchase Strataglass, normally #40 gauge,  it comes in a 5 sheet container and that container includes mulitple warranty registration documents for the material.

Proper maintenance of Strataglass is essential not only for clarity but also to keep the manufacturer's warranty in effect. The recommended care routine relies heavily on products from the IMAR line.

Routine Maintenance Schedule

Frequency	Action	Procedure
After Every Use	Rinse	Thoroughly flush vinyl surfaces with clean, fresh water to remove salt and abrasives. Air dry or use a high-quality chamois or microfiber towel.
Every 1–2 Weeks	Clean	Use Strataglass Protective Cleaner. Spray directly on the surface or a soft cloth and wipe gently.
Every 1–2 Months	Polish	Apply Strataglass Protective Polish. Use small circular motions with a soft cloth, let dry briefly, then buff to a shine.

Best Practices for Longevity

• Immediate Spot Cleaning: Keep a bottle of protective cleaner on board. If sunscreen, insect repellent (DEET), or other chemicals touch the vinyl, clean them off immediately to prevent permanent clouding.

• New Enclosure Care: New vinyl is soft and "impressionable." Keep panels installed and fastened as much as possible to help them stabilize. If you must stack them, place a soft fabric (like a bed sheet) between each panel.

• Temperature Awareness: Avoid rolling up vinyl when the temperature is below 15°C (60°F), as the material can become brittle and crack. Ideally, only roll them when it is above 21°C (70°F).

• Storage: Never store panels wet. If they develop clouding from moisture, exposure to sunlight or a hair dryer (used cautiously) can usually clear it.

Critical "Never" List

Using the following products will damage the vinyl coating and void your warranty:

• Harsh Cleaners: Never use Windex, Rain-X, Pledge, Plexus, Simple Green, or Orpine.

• Waxes: Avoid car wax or "wash and wax" combo products.

• Commercial Products: Do not use cleaners or scratch removers designed for standard commercial-grade vinyl or plastics.

Note: For the best results, ensure your hands are free of sunscreen before handling the panels, as the oils can cause permanent marks that are nearly impossible to buff out.

That pretty well covers the best practices for keeping your Strataglass vinyl windows clean and clear, however I go a step further. COVER the windows.

I recommend that all Strataglass vinyl windows are covered when the boat is at the dock.  The covers should be UV resistant, and should have a soft material where the covers touch the vinyl. It's best if the covers are attached along their top edge with a material flap that covers a zipper the full width of the window. This reduces the risk of rain drizzling down the inside of the covers and any rain borne chemicals leaving a streak on the Strataglass.  When I make the covers, I use that method of securing the top edge of the cover and Twist Lock Fasteners along the lower edge. If needed, I'll use additional Twist Lock fasteners along the vertical sides of the covers. 

Now, when I get asked " What's the best way to protect my vinyl windows " I'll just say - it's complex but read my blog.

Thank you.

I hope this all helps. 

May your vinyl's stay bright and clear.

Paul

Upgrading the Boom Vang on our Catalina 34

It was past time to fix the Vang

The Boom Vang on Eximius was probably 39 years old. We had replaced the line just recently ( months ) but it was still virtually impossible to make an adjustment other than completely releasing the tension or increasing the tension in significant jumps, ie. no subtle adjustments possible.  Yes, I lubricated the blocks but that barely made a difference.  So! Time for a new Vang.

Catalina Direct sells the replacement kit, just a couple of blocks and some line. 

It's a simple piece of rigging but what a difference! It's now easy to adjust but I did find a method of rigging a cascade pull to make the adjustment even easier! We'll see how that goes later in the season.

Meanwhile, it's time to get some canvas done and the new solar panels installed.

See you on the water.

Paul

Final fix of the Propane System

Fixed - Propane system is now working - correctly

We left the project alone for a few months, we were not planning on using it and other things snuck up on us demanding attention.  So it floated to the top of the ToDo list.

The problem:

After replacing the propane connectors, pressure gauge, regulator and Solenoid, the system was not working as expected. The solenoid was not shutting off the gas flow and pressure gauge was showing zero.

I purchased replacement gauge and solenoid but life happened, so the bit sat on the boat waiting on calmer weather.  That happened this week!

It turns out that the issue was with the new setup. The solenoid was before the regulator and the pressure gauge was on the low pressure side of the regulator - that just didn't work.

I took it all apart and rebuilt it. Now the Supply tank is connected to the top of the stack and the output of the stack is at the bottom.

With it this way, the Pressure gauge reads the pressure of the supply tank: That now works.

The Solenoid controls the flow from the output of the regulator: That work now too!

With the control system setup this way, the Pressure Gauge reads the Tank Pressure ( never worked until now.), the Solenoid controls the propane delivery almost instantly, if the stove is on and then the Solenoid switch is opened, the gas pressure drops immediately and the flame is extinguished.  

The tank valve is normally closed until we need to light the cooker, so we turn off the gas controls on the cooker, turn off the solenoid and then turn off the tank control valve is we do not anticipate needing it again within an hour or two.

It's such a relief having the system working. Not because we use the propane system often, but knowing that it's working and the gas is shut off is a big stress reliever.

Cross that one off the list.

Installing New Solar Panels

 Another Solar Panel Upgrade

As mentioned in my article about replacing our Standing Rigging, I have to alter the Solar Panel install on Eximius.

Currently, we have 600W of Bougrv Solar Panels mounted on top of the Bimini laid out with the single panel athwartships in front of the Backstay bridle and two panels on either side of the backstay bridle. 

Because the new standing rigging's Backstay bridle extends higher from the Bimini, I need to change the panel layout and that involves replacing the 3 existing panels.

The new layout will be as shown below.

The gap between the panels is due to the angle of the Backstay Bridle as can be seen in the lower image.

The panel dimensions are slightly larger than the area taken up by the old panels, I figured that out after completing the previous upgrade.

It looks like I'll be able to install a pair of approximately 435Watt panels giving a total of 870Watts of Solar Power. I know, that's not going to happen, but it should be much better than the Max 0f 600Watts we have presently. I would expect to get at least 700 watts. when the batteries need it.

The panels I'm looking at - next day delivery by Amazon, are about $540 for the pair. 

STAR 870 Watt Solar Panel, 2PCS 435W 48V/24V Solar Panels. 

Update: Because those panels would hang off of the stern by way too much, it would be easy to damage them when docking. So I selected these instead:

Renogy Solar Panels 2PCS 320 Watt Solar Panel 18BB N-Type Solar Panel 12 24 Volts Monocrystalline On/Off Grid Solar Setup 640W Over 400 Watt Solar Panels 25% Cell Efficiency for Homes Rooftop RV Boat They are $599 for the pair. :(

From the specs of those panels, if connected in Parallel, the max output would be around 36v and 50amps. Well within the range of my Victron 100/50amp controller.

But if connected in series, the output would be more like 72v at 30amps and that's a better case for the MPPT controller.

For the wiring, I could keep the existing wiring from the panels to the controller, however, those wires are only 6awg and were only installed 3 years ago, they have suffered UV damage, so I'll replace them but with larger cables, 4 awg and I'll run those inside plastic conduit. Basically, I'll install a connector box beneath the solar panels with a terminal block inside, then wire inside of conduit down to the deck and into the side of the combing and to the area where all of the Victron equipment is located beneath the Nav Table. 

Doing that should minimize the voltage drop between the panels and the controller.

Ok, that's the plan. Now I have to decide "Do I repair or replace the Bimini" before installing the new solar panels.

Now, I do have to comment on the whole issue of Solar Panel sizing and installation. From my experience over the past 11 years of boat ownership, I conclude that it's best to go big!  I have purchased 2 Victron MPPT solar controllers a 100v/20amp and 100v/50amp. I should have purchased a 100v/70amp controller or two 100v/50amp controllers.

OK, back to the design of the Solar Panel mounting.

I like the idea of using 4040 Aluminum Extrusion, and wondered if Google Gemini could come up with a plan. Here's what I asked Gemini:-

design a solar panel mounting frame that attaches to a 1inch tubular Bimini frame using 4040 aluminum extrusions

( The text of  the response is at the end of this post ) Here's the result: I made up this image using the suggested plan for the mounting frame. ( I use Google workspace drawing for most of my diagrams. )

Mounting Frame Connection to Bimini Frame

Solar Panel Attachment to Mounting Frame

Frame Construction.

Basically, using a Stainless Steel Hinged Bimini Rail Clamp on the Bimini Rail, use a couple of Nylon Ferrules as a stand off to allow the stainless bolt to pass through the Bimini Canvas and hold the whole thing together with a M8 T-Nut and bolt.

Gemini suggested I make a rectangular 4 sided frame using the 4040 Aluminum Extrusion, joining the Corners using Inside Corner Brackets.

This should result in a nice looking and substantially rigid frame on which to mount the two panels. I could put rubber washers between the Extrusion and the Hinge Clamp to add a bit of wiggle but I think I'll see how it comes out first.

Parts list

2 x 4 Pack of 4040 48 Inch Black Anodized Aluminum Extrusions

8 x Spartan Power Black Solar Panel Z Bracket Mount

8 Straight Line Connector Joint Brackets ( to join the 48" extrusions )

4 Stainless Hinged Clamps

4 M8 T-Nuts & Bolts

8 Nylon Ferrules ( 1/2" OD 1/4" ID)

I feel that this is coming together nicely. I'll go down to the boat on Monday and double check the dimensions of the panels and frame.

With that, I'll end this post, but here's a link to the Gemini response.  

Stay tuned for the next phase.

Meanwhile, I hope to see you on the water.

Paul

Replacing the Standing Rigging. Completion

Completed the Standing Rigging Replacement.

Just about every muscle in my body is aching and I didn't do a fraction of what the Rigger did !!

A quick intro to the Rigger - Dam Rigging, Inc.

Christian ( Chris ) Dam, from Denmark, gave a quote for the job estimating 16-18 hours of work @ $150ph.

We set the work date for March 9th. 2026 starting around 09:30, he arrived on time. Just a quick note here: "HE ARRIVED ON TIME". This is South Florida - that's unusual in two ways - #1 He turned up, @2 He turned up on time!  Good start.

By the time Chris had arrived, I had laid out all of the new standing rigging cables and connectors etc. All by the new Forestay as Chris had initially intended to do the Forestay on Day 2.

After a quick review of the work, Chris got his gear together including his climbing gear  -  that's a 4:1 purchase block and tackle that he used to climb the mast almost unassisted. Neat bit of kit. It had a jamb cleat on the lower block so he could hoist himself up the mast unaided. To climb down - more like just lower himself down - he just held the line out of the jamb cleat and eased it out as he quickly, but controlled, descended. 

Nice setup.

He soon had the lower shrouds on the dock and measured the old and new shrouds. After making up the new Shrouds to length, Chris was back up the mast and installing them.

That's how the day went: Secure the mast in order to remove one or more shrouds, measure up, make up and then install. Despite it being the 2nd week of March, it was hot enough to have us both sweating. 

Then it was time to work on the Forestay with the Furler. This is the longest stay and the most challenging but it was obvious that Chris had done this many times. It really went very smoothly. I was surprised that we got all of the Shrouds and the Forestay completed and was able to wrap up for the day by 5pm. I helped as much as I could but Chris did most of the work.

Tuesday, start was at 10am, time to work on the back stay. 1st snag. Our backstay has the Delta Plate ( the triangular plate where the split backstay bridle joins the main backstay that connects to the mast head) is about 6" above the Bimini and the bridle wires pass through a gap in our two aft solar panels. Well, the new Backstay seems to be for an adjustable backstay, the Delta Plate is about 8' higher and so the bridle cables are much further apart. The old backstay bridle was 6" wide at the Bimini, the new is 33" !!! In order to install the backstay I needed to remove the two aft solar panels. While I did that, Chris worked on preparing the rigging for tuning. Once the solar panels were out of the way, I made a hole in the Bimini canvas where the new backstay bridles would pass and we completed the install. Chris had his Loose Gauges out and diligently went around the boat adjusting the rigging.  We were done.

Everything was wrapped up by 4pm, so a total of 14 hours. Chris originally quoted 14 - 18 hours but I guess my help cut some of that.

Total cost of the work, new spreader boots and travel time came to $2,400.40. The stress of someone that knows what they are doing and able to work around the issues that most likely happen on every boat, all made sense and I slept really well that night.

Catalina Direct for the Rigging supplies: $3,824.95  - Catalinadirect.com

Dam Rigging Inc. for the installation: $2,400.40      - damrigging.com

Total cost $6,225.35 Plus sandwich lunches for two for two days.

Value: ENORMOUS ! Pease of mind - invaluable.

To continue, I'm going to reorganize the Solar Panel install. probably going to replace the 3 x 200Watt panels with 2 x 300+ panels, perhaps a total of 800 wats. I have to measure the area available over the Bimini, it's going to be just two panels, one in front of the Backstay bridle and one astern of the bridle.

I'll have to do a significant rework of the Bimini canvas, it's due! Move that job up the priority list.

We could take the boat out right now, bit of a make shift condition, but should be done in a couple of weeks. But hopefully we'll see you on the water.

Paul 

Replacing the Standing Rigging. P iii

 

Replacing the Standing Rigging. ( Part 3 )

( Here's the link to Part 1 )

Having fixed the issue with the Mast Mate, and had it tested by a sailing buddy that has a Catalina 36 - same spars as Eximius, I removed the mainsail slugs from the mast track and hoisted the Mast Mate. Then the weather decided to offer a challenge, it got cold - in the 40's and windy - in the 20+ knots in February 2026. I'm not going to commit to climbing the mast 16 times in those conditions. So leaving the Mast Mate setup on the mast, I took a those couple of weeks off waiting on a weather window. 

Good weather returned mid February - and with it I came down with the flu ! Argggg! That took me out of the picture for another two weeks. Now we were within our next sailing club event, it's a big one - the Change of Command Circle Raft Up February 28th 2026. So I pulled the Mast Mate back down and put the mainsail back up. We participated in the Circle Raft up - rotten weather, so no actual circle rafting but we still had a good time with sailing friends on Lake Boca.

Now Peggy was getting a bit antsy about preparing the boat for the Insurance Survey that needed to be completed before renewing our Marine Insurance early May, this Year!  So I bit the bullet and hired a company to do the standing rigging change out. It's going to cost around $3000 for the work. I do have all of the rigging, so this should speed things up.

So, yesterday, Thursday March 5th, I went down to the boat and removed the Genoa from the Furler and withdrew the Furling line from the Furler drum. I also removed the shoddy horizontal support brace that was connected to the lower end of the Back Stay above the Bimini that connects to the Radar Pole on the Port side of the Cockpit. Not sure how I'm going to replace that brace but it will not be Aluminum nor will it connect to the Standing riggings.   

Today I'm taking all of my standing rigging supplies from Catalina Direct. I'm not certain of the ETA of the Riggers on Monday but I'll be down there by 07:30 unless I hear from them to be there earlier.

While down at the boat I checked each piece of the new rigging just one more time. The only thing that is slightly different from the OEM rigging, is that the Original Back Stay has a single turnbuckle just above the split ( which is just above the Bimini ) and the new rigging has no turnbuckle above the split but has a turnbuckle on each leg of the split. So when the backstay is put together, the length of the Stay is fixed and each leg of the bridle are adjustable. Not that we'll ever need to adjust them.

I also checked that the Dock 11Ov Power supply was working - we never use it as we have our onboard supply that easily meets our requirements on the boat.

On Monday, I will take Gasoline to run our Honda eu2000i generator just in case shore power goes out.

I think we're ready. No pressure - right!

Servicing our Exhaust Muffler

Servicing the Exhaust Muffler on our Catalina 34

In July 2016, our Aqualift Muffler had an issue and I serviced it (Here's the link), at that time, I repaired cracks that had formed between the Muffler body and the Inlet & Outlet tubes using a 2 part Marine Epoxy.

Well, I thought those cracks had reappeared, so I pulled the Muffler out to bring it home and inspect then repair.

I released the hose clamps from both the Hump tube and the Exhaust pipe and then gave the hump & the hose a sharp twist to break their hold on the tubes.

There's barely room to pull the hoses off of the muffler - I think that is due to the fact that when I last did this repair, I added a 1" piece of ply beneath the Muffler as the new Exhaust Riser reached further to Port, the 1" made all the difference.

With the hoses off, next I released the 4 screws that held that Muffler to the new piece of ply.

Struggling to get the Muffler out from the area beneath the aft berth, I was able to move the muffler out of the way of the screws that held the new piece of ply to the original and then slide that new piece out of the way. Then I was able to slide the Muffler aft and towards the center. I did touch the PSS ( shaft seal ) so some water came it, not much.

This shows the original ply base for the Muffler. the dark patch is probably from the Diesel leak we had last year. I'll clean up all that area before putting the serviced muffler back in place.

I added that ply back in 2016 and will replace it with a 3/8" ply base. That should mean that it will be easy to replace the muffler.

The new piece of ply will be fully sealed with epoxy before that gets installed over the top of the original ply.

With the Muffler out, I brought it home to service it.

Servicing the Muffler

Step 1: Wash it down with soap and water. I'm pretty sure the leak was from the Inlet side of the muffler but not where expected. Now I'm pretty sure it's from the Malformed Inlet Tube, it looks like it has a fold along the length of the tube, one that cannot be closed by just using hose clamps on the hose.

Step 2: I dried of the outside of the muffler and filled it with water, all the way to the brim of the inlet and outlet tubes. NO WATER LEAKED!

Step 3: Using a Dremel, I cleaned up the fold in the tube so that I could fill that fold and thus ensure that the hose clamp can fully close the Hump Hose around that tube. Then I sanded down the entire surface with 60 Grit paper, and use the Dremel to remove any lumps in the surface of the tubes. I did the same for the area around the drain tap.

Step 4: After the sanding, I washed the entire surface with Acetone, got out some Marine 2 part epoxy and filled all of the dings that needed it. Then let the Epoxy cure overnight.

Step 5: Second wash down with Acetone and time to paint the entire surface of the Muffler. ( A new one cost around $700 ). I am applying 2 or 3 coats of the Petite EZ-Poxy Modern Polyurethane Topside Paint, Med White, same as what I used on the Propane Cylinder holders last year.

This is after the crack repairs, sanding and the first coat of paint.

Looking good. Should be really easy to keep it clean. 

Another coat this evening after a light sanding with 600 grit paper.

Using this paint is really a pleasure.

Not sure I'll need a 3rd coat.

Hoping to go to the boat in the morning to do the clean up of the under sink area and re-install the Muffler.

I decided on flipping the Muffler upside down and applying a coat of the epoxy paint to the underside and adding a 3rd coat around the outside of the base, just to complete the job.

I'm really not sure why the lower edge is 'shaped' as can be seen here on the far right surface of the edge.

The Muffler was originally installed onto a piece of ply just about the same size as the outside edge of the muffler, it's FLAT, so why that weird cut on the underside of that edge.

The Drain plug is missing from this image as I removed it before starting the refinish process.

The drain plug is showing it's age, but is still functional. So I spent a few minutes cleaning it up with a handheld wire brush and a piece of 600 grit paper. Scrapped off some of the heavy build up and removed as much of the old Teflon tape as quickly possible.

It looks like a tapered thread but I'll still add several wraps of tape.

Finally washed it down with some Acetone and put it back in place in the Muffler.

Turned out pretty good. 

I really wish that the area beneath the head sink was as nice as the refinished Muffler. But I'm not going to spend much time cleaning it up. 

It will have to just enjoy the soap and water wash down and a bit of scrubbing before I reinstall the Muffler.

Current Schedule is to install it on Friday. Hopefully is not still freezing down here. I know it's SoFla but... Dang! it's been as low as 29ºF this week.  That's too cold to go up the mast to work on the standing rigging, but not too cold to work in the cabin.

Ok, install complete ( bar the shouting ) just need to screw the muffler to the base but my right angled cordless screwdriver battery was flat and spare was at home grrrrr.

It took a bit of maneuvering, but I got it done.

We ran the engine and a small leak showed that the hoses, both input and output were not quite tight enough. It only took a few minutes to fix that. But then we found ( ok, Peggy found ) water dripping from the Anti Siphon valve in the hose that leads from the heat exchanger to the exhaust riser nipple.

I removed the valve cover and the birds beak valve, all looked good and clean, it's not that old. So put it back and tightened the cap and the two hose fittings. Ran the engine again, this time for about 10 minutes while my leak sleuth checked everything again and it all looks good.  Plenty of water gushing from the exhaust. 

Cross this one off the list once I screw down the muffler, that should only take a few minutes than I can put the Aft Berth back together. Oh, refit the door too.

See you on the water --- soon!

Paul