How to Make Protective Wraps for a Boat Rack

If you have lightweight sailboats or other small boats that you store on a boat rack, it’s a good idea to add a protective sleeve to the boat rack to protect both your boat and the rack itself. This is a great DIY for lasers, sunfishes and other small sailboats. Our pure post boat lifts that we’ve installed in the lake will damage the bottom of our sailboats if left unprotected. Join us as we show you how easy it is to sew protective covers for these boat lifts to protect our sailboats from scuffing and damage.

We’re using Boat Blanket Fabric to create our protective wraps. This is a fantastic fabric to use for a variety of protective projects. It’s a super soft and very thick, solution-dyed polyester fabric that you can leave outdoors in the elements without ruining the material. We need to create two wraps — one for the forward crossbar and one for the aft crossbar.

The first thing we need to do is calculate the circumference of the tube so we know how much fabric to cut. Take the diameter of your tubes and multiply by pi (3.14) for the circumference of the tube. Now add 1-2 inches for the fabric overlap so the edges of fabric can adhere to each other. Once you have your measurements, mark your Boat Blanket Fabric and cut out your rectangles.

The final step is to sew Velcro^® to one long edge of each protective wrap. You only need to sew the hook portion of the Velcro (not the loop portion) because the Boat Blanket Fabric will adhere to the Velcro for a very strong hold. The outer surface of the Boat Blanket will act as the loop side of the Velcro tape, so make sure you sew the Velcro hook tape to the non-loop side of the Boat Blanket Fabric.

Boat Blanket Fabric can be used for a variety of protective wraps, sleeves and covers. Once you start working with it, you’re sure to find more uses for it. Enjoy our how-to video below and let us know if you have any questions as you work on this DIY. Be sure to explore our entire lineup of useful how-to videos to help you with all your boat, home, RV and outdoor sewing projects!