Some woods get lighter, some get darker. I don't think there is anything you can do about it. Wood is a natural substance and the sun is pretty powerful. The only varnish that will protect the wood completely is called paint. The stripes made by the straps holding the boat to the car will disappear pretty quickly as the shaded spots catch up with the rest of the boat. The best way to keep the color change from occurring is to keep the boat in doors, but the paddling is kind of boring there.

: I took my Outer Island paddling with Jim Kozel yesterday evening after work
: (well, after a day of being at my place of employment). I had the boat on
: the car all day, sitting in the sun, and when I unloaded it at the lake, I
: found that there were light stripes on the deck where the straps had been.
: They're faint, but I saw them immediately. Still, this kind of threw me
: because I have 3 coats of Flagship on the boat. And, that's 3 coats with
: no sanding in between (I had to get it on the water!). Given that Z-Spar
: claims Flagship has 6x the UV protection of Captains, I thought I'd be
: pretty safe from the effects of UV. Is the darkening of the surounding
: wood caused by something other than UV? Anyone else experiencing this on a
: varnished boat?

: Ross