Q: SNAPPED

While trying to put my cockpit cover on my Cobalt during the late fall, I noticed it was very tight. I ended up pulling some snaps. Can I fix this?

Maria Goncalves Concord, New Hampshire

A: Covers shrink with age and also with temperature. Sometimes, it’s easier to bring canvas into a heated building and then take it outside to put on the boat. I have even used (cautiously) a heat gun for this purpose of slight expansion. Also, so-called “snap extenders” are widely available and can add an inch or more to make an old cover fit again.

Repairing your pulled snaps is relatively straightforward when using a snap kit from

retailers such as Defender, Jamestown Distributors or West Marine. Often you’ll need to relocate the pulled snap on the canvas by a couple of inches if too much material was lost while pulling it out. That also means relocating the snap on the boat, which can also be readily installed with a drill, a screwdriver and some sealant. A trick is to use a snap extender (described previously) to make a relocated canvas snap connect to an existing boat snap.