boat covers

hi

My boat cover is shot and I definitely need to buy a new one.  Its about 4 years old.  A ll the ties and clips are in place but the material which looked great when I first bought it I see now is a very thin muslin filled with plastic..  As the weather has got to it the filler has cracked and crumbled off., LEAVING IT COMPLETELY POROUS   I'm not naming the manufacturer because  I think I was definitely 'done' and I want to spare his blushes.  Luckily I've got a plastic boat !   A few bays down from me another boat's cover  (same class ) is sufficently waterproof to provide a small duckpond in the cockpit.  This better cover seems to be made of very tightly woven nylon similar to my drysuit.  I don't intend to shell out 140 quid for rubbish. Is there anyone out there who can enlighten me on the different types of material  used for covers? THANKS djdhi

I have only heard good things from banks and as i need a new cover i was going to go straight to them but now i think i will wait to see what this thread brings up

The woven material is probably a breathable polycotton cover as opposed to the a P.V.C Polyester cover (has a more plasticy finish)

You'll pay more for a breathable cover, which even with a GRP boat I'd recommend one.

As for manufacturers there's plenty to choose from. As I have multiple boats I have multiple covers and from experience the decent ones are Goldfinch (http://www.kentnet.org.uk/goldfinch_covers/), Banks (check out their surplus stock at http://www.banks.co.uk/coverssec.html) and Sail Register (http://www.sailregister.co.uk/).

 

Try,

www.allgoodfun.com !

My local chandler. He had a contract to make covers for the army i believe so he cant be bad!

Cheers,
Alex

Sail Register (http://www.sailregister.co.uk/) gets my vote, not as breathable as some, but very well priced and a good fit. Mine has 'snap-lock' style fittings which also makes it very quick to secure. They usually offer an extra discount at the shows, I bought my Vareo's cover at last years dinghy show and saved 10% on the list price. I also put a traffic cone inside my boat when I cover it up, it holds the cover slightly higher than usual and avoids the water pooling in the middle of the boat, there is a loop on the cover to attach the main halyard, but the use of my traffic cone avoids leaving a bend in the mast

Nigel