Boat Cover Material

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whistler

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I've talked about a boat cover for over a year now and can't seem to pull the trigger. I ask one person and they tell me one thing and another will tell me another, it just goes on an on. One thing that I wonder about is the material used in the mfg of these covers. Whether it be a custom cover, semi custom, or an off the shelf model that's not much more than a fitzall they all use different materials. I watch Ship Shape TV occasionally and the big material on that show is Sunbrella, I Have spoken with several custom mfrs. at a recent outdoor show and not one offered this material. I know Ship Shape TV is some what of an infomercial but you would think some cover mfrs. would offer Sunbrella if it was of the quality they claim. Is Sunbrella worth asking for over other materials?
 
Well, without saying your intended use or duty it's hard to say.

My use and duty is a simple outside storage cover that I want to be watertight and last 2-3 years so I bought a simple 600 denier fabric cover off eBay for $60 and used 2" PVC to build a ridgepole. Abrasion and UV kills covers so you want the cover to be padded and held firm where it will rub on other materials. The ridgepole setup allows it to shed water and only have three points where it will abrade.

At a quoted guestimate of $400 for a custom cover that will last 8-10 years, the cheap $60 cover for 2 years coverage is a better economic decision.
 
Well a storage cover would be OK however I was having trouble finding something to fit. It's a 19' semi- or Modified V aluminum boat. All the covers applications show them for a deep V or else a square front jon boat. Neither of which I thought would fit right and the sales man agreed typically agreed. The Jon boat covers only went to 18 feet and the Deep V's were mostly for the Fiberglass Bass boats. At that point I started talking to some custom cover shops and got a wide price range of 550- to nearly 1,000. These would all be trailerable. These custom shops all claim the material they use is the best. About a 7 year life span is what they say I can expect but if I take care of it 10 is easily obtainable. Another plus all the custom covers can have patches sewn in if accidently torn or a hole is worn through for "reasonable" fee.
 

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