Hello, for reasons I won't get into, I have recently purchased a Jan van Gent and am now living in it. This is my first Dutch storm tent so I need some tips maintaining it.

The location is by the sea, and wind is gusting 50mph today which is fairly common and there's no shelter on the island. There will be windier days I am sure. So a few questions:

1. How often should I wash down to keep the salt at bay. My plan is to use a soft brush and plain water. Is there a better way to keep it clean.

2. Is it possible to over tighten the guys? The poles are steady but the canvas does move in the wind. Is that okay? Should I tighten it much as possible every morning or will this damage the canvas over the weeks of being up? Also, is it bad to tighten when the canvas is wet?

3. There's a very small hole in the canvas, what should I use to patch imperfections? It has a waterproof plaster on it right now!

Any tips at all on extreme weather especially wind, and making sure the tent isn't getting damaged are extremely appreciated. Or for a first time owners! As I say, I'm living in it, so it's quite high stakes and can put as much time into it as needed! I'm hoping to get 30 weeks min in these conditions...

Thanks so much!

Also, if its very windy, I could open the vents windside bottom, and the vents on the door to create a bit of through flow. Will this be better for keeping the tent steady or worse... any idea?

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If you use Google translate I think you will get a lot of tips here.

A De Waard tent is really good in the wind as long as the back side is situated into the wind.

The line can be very tight for dry weather but when it starts raining you have to loosen them a bid. The cotton fabric will schrink a bit when it gets whet.

And yes the cotton moves around when there is wind that's normal but windforce 8 Beaufort when properly pitched should not really a problem.

Rinsing off the fabric every morning is offcourse not Bad but I don't know ixf this will extend the lifetime of your fabric. I just don't have experience with it.

Good luck with living in a tent for 30 weeks. And making a shelter for the wind you can also use your car, it will save a bit.