In my experience (seasonal use) the fabric will last 10-15 years. After that, wear and staining become the issue. Some touch-up of the water repellancy is to be expected, but leaking through the fabric is often a case of the top of the dodger being too flat and causing pooling. The thread is another issue - cotton thread is a waste of time. The good dacron thread is better, but some restitching must be expected in 4-5 years or so, particularly in the smaller thread sizes. I made a new dodger two years ago and used the black V-90 thread. Another weak link is zippers. The white zippers exposed to the sun will start of shed teeth after 3-4 years. The black zippers seem better, but its worthwhile to design the joints so the zippers are covered by the fabric. Finally, the window material has a short life - fabric covers for the vinyl windows will greatly extend their life. Fabric covers are also worthwhile for hatches such as Lewmar Ocean with the plexiglass lights - cuts down the crazing.