You can bring your hood, sail or boat tent awning to us during our opening hours and we will ensure that the hood can be picked up fresh and clean after a few weeks.

If a repair is needed, we can repair it in our own sail making workshop

With our handy price list you can see exactly what it costs, which is great!

1. Extension of lifespan. Dirt, algae and moss can accumulate on the surface and lead to discoloration and deterioration of the tent canvas. This contamination is removed by having your boat cover cleaned regularly. With an impregnation treatment we apply a protective layer to the cloth, so that new contamination has less chance.

2. Protection against water, moisture and UV radiation. By having your boat cover impregnated, it is protected against external influences such as water, moisture and UV radiation. This helps to strengthen the material of your boat cover and extend its lifespan.

3. Reduction of discoloration. Regular cleaning of your boat cover can help prevent discoloration, so your boat always looks neat.

4. Easier to keep clean. By impregnating the boat cover, dirt is less likely to be attracted and the tent is easier to keep clean.

5. Improvement of hygiene. By regularly cleaning the boat cover, life on board becomes more hygienic. This is especially important when living on the boat often (with food or drinks).

Step 1: Pre-cleaning

We rinse your boat cover in our car wash under reduced pressure, this removes all surface dirt.

Step 2: Soak

We then place your boat cover in a soaking bath for 10 to 15 hours with a cleaning agent specially developed by ZONklare. The temperature in the bath is a maximum of 20°C, making the soaking process 100% shrink-free.

Step 3: Rinse

We then spray your boat cover again under reduced pressure. With this action we remove all loosened dirt.

Step 4: Special soap treatment

After the soaking process, all normal dirt has been removed. Only stubborn dirt residues such as rust deposits, petrol or oil stains and mold require extra attention. We remove this last contamination with a special misting process in which we brush your boat tent with special soap products.

Step 5: Rinse

The boat cover is now completely clean, we briefly immerse it in a bath with a special agent that removes all previously used agents neutralizes. We are now hanging out your boat tent to dry.

Step 6: Impregnation and drying

After your boat cover has dried properly, it goes to the coating location via a smart transport system. Here we impregnate your boat tent with a special hydrophobic coating. We have had this coating developed to enhance water-repellent properties without harming the environment. The aim is to limit the moisture content in the cloth as much as possible and to prevent or limit mold growth as much as possible. This dirt- and water-repellent coating provides optimal protection against, among other things: algae, green deposits, (rain) water, fungi, weather stains, UV radiation (more colorfast), atmospheric dirt, salt water and spider droppings. The coating protects the cloth and extends its lifespan. Of course, your hood is 100% waterproof again after impregnation.

Step 7: Polishing and an optional check-up

When your boat cover is dry, we polish any plastic windows by hand. Our Window Spray contains protection for the plasticizers in the window film. Even the finest scratches disappear after polishing. After polishing we assess the cleaning result. If repair is not necessary or desired, we proceed to step 8. If a repair is desired, this can be done in our own sail maker.

Step 8: Packaging and Returns

Your boat cover will be packed and prepared for shipping. After arriving at Bateau Bootservice you will receive an email and you can pick up your boat cover during opening hours .

You are usually unexpectedly confronted with a leaking tent and loose seams. And that is an unpleasant surprise. Especially when your tent is still young and you still have it professionally cleaned and impregnated on a regular basis. Where does that leak come from? In many cases, dissolved stitching is the culprit.

Sailmakers generally use mixed yarn: this consists of a polyester core and a cotton sheath. When moisture comes into the area, the cotton swells and closes the small holes in the stitching. The cotton will dissolve within about five years. With an increasing risk of leaking seams.

Alternatives to cotton

Aren't there more sustainable alternatives to using mixed yarn? Unfortunately that is not the case. Stitching thread that consists only of polyester is very strong, but will cause leaks without the use of cotton. You must therefore regularly rework polyester seams with a seam sealer or finish with tape. Then we have the nylon thread as a possible alternative. This is used very little, and for good reason: nylon is not UV-resistant and only lasts a year.

Checking the stitching

The stitching sometimes seems to be in good condition when you take the tent to be washed. But appearances can be deceiving. You can check the condition of the stitching yourself by carefully pulling on a piece of thread in a number of places with tweezers. If it comes off easily, the tent will need to be re-stitched.

It is impossible to completely protect stitching during washing. Especially because the bottom edges often contain the most algae and dirt. Loose stitching regularly surfaces after the cleaning process. Stitches that are no longer in good condition come loose or fall apart when checked. If it appears that (part of) the stitching needs to be replaced, we advise you to have it professionally topstitched at our sail maker.

There is nothing more annoying than a fresh, clean tent that no longer fits. We got to the bottom of this a few years ago.

I submitted the question to a testing laboratory. This party focuses specifically on textiles and can carry out all possible tests. I have given an exact description of our process, including a list of products we use for the various contaminations.

We had our washing process tested

A whole range of textile types was tested, and the outcome was always the same. The dimensions were exactly the same in all cases after the treatment. It is therefore indeed excluded that the washing process can be the cause of shrinkage in boat covers.

The report came after a few weeks

A whole range of textile types was tested, and the outcome was always the same. The dimensions were exactly the same in all cases after the treatment. It is therefore indeed excluded that the washing process can be the cause of shrinkage in boat covers.

But what is the cause of the shrinkage?

What about the observations of the people who called me? It turned out that their tent had shrunk. What could be the cause of this? I presented the issue to at least five sail makers, consulted fabric suppliers and finally checked for myself whether the window film could possibly have an influence on this.

The window film turned out to be the right track

The PVC window film used for the windows can sometimes cause (slight) shrinkage. As long as the boat cover is tensioned tightly on a ship, this is not a problem. But when the cover is removed and the tension disappears, the window film can 'move freely' and shrinkage is allowed to occur. Usually the hood can be put back on with some wringing and pulling, but in some cases some adjustments are necessary.

How do I get my boat cover to fit again?

What can you do if your boat tent no longer seems to fit? If that is no longer possible, a sailmaker can move the tenaxes slightly or make other corrections if necessary. If you want to try to get the boat cover to fit again, I have two tips.

Tip 1:

Try to tighten the boat cover as far as possible and secure it with the straps or tension straps. It may be that after a few sunny days some stretching has occurred and the tenaxes fit again.

Tip 2:

Soak the boat cover with water, and place it wet on the boat. Wet material is sometimes easier to get moving. Once the tent is secured, the tension decreases and the tube tent fits properly again.

The good news is that nowadays people are increasingly using specially treated window film, which shrinks much less. We therefore expect that the problem of shrinking window film will eventually be a thing of the past.

Anti-shrink guarantee

We have now created an anti-shrinkage guarantee. We guarantee you a fresh and clean boot camp with the same dimensions as before the wash!

In general, we can remove this stubborn contamination very well. If the object contains so many rust or oil stains, it is possible that minimal traces will still be visible because the fabric itself has already been affected.

There is no fixed answer to this, because there are many variables that influence this. For example, consider the following questions. How intensively is the hood used? What is the environment of the hood? Is there a lot of sailing on salt water? On average, the coating lasts optimally for three years. After that, the protection will gradually decrease. Another fun fact about our coating: a color filter has been incorporated into the protective layer. This means the cloth remains colourfast for even longer.

ZONklare now has a wealth of experience in cleaning all common types of cloth. We are in close contact with various fabric manufacturers, with whom we share knowledge and experience. We therefore dare to say in black and white: no payment is not good. If we find that certain stains cannot be removed, we will first consult with the customer. There will then be a discussion about what to expect and a decision can still be made to continue with the treatment. If not, the treatment will be stopped and there will be no costs involved.

Nothing harmful happens to the windows during the washing process. After cleaning, existing plastic windows will be polished with a special agent. We are able to remove even the smallest scratches because plasticizers are included in this polishing paste. When packaging the freshly washed hood, we always ensure that the windows are rolled up properly, so that there are no strange folds.

The windows need to be replaced when brown spots appear. This is the result of long-term exposure to UV radiation. This causes the plasticizers to dissolve, the plastic to harden and cracks to form. If you want to have this repaired, you can do so in our own sail maker.

Weather or spoch is a permanent material deterioration of textiles. Weather stains in clothing or pieces of fabric such as ship's sail are caused by having been damp for a long time. Weather is visible as dark spots (dots) that cannot be washed out. This is also called spoch. The damage to boat covers, for example, is caused by fungi that thrive in a moist environment and live on organic particles. Stashed textiles can contaminate uninfected textiles. If left untreated, it will lead to permanent damage and holes in the material. If the object is affected by mold or weather stains, we can easily remove this. When the object is subsequently recoated, the mold is less likely to adhere to the surface. However, there is no guarantee that mold will not return.

If you want to try to quickly remove recurring weather stains yourself, you could do the following. Fill a plant sprayer with nine parts water and one part chlorine bleach. You can then spray this over the weather spots and let it sit for fifteen minutes. Consider the floor and benches. Keep plenty of water on hand to immediately clean any other items. After the soaking time, you should rinse it with plenty of water. It is better not to use a hard brush or other soap and cleaning products. This gives you the chance to damage the applied or existing coating, which will only make the problem worse.