Ripped my $400 boat cover....

[Gary H NC]

About a 2 foot long tear....ARGH!!

Its near the back so its not critical but what is the best repair stuff to use?
I have looked at the glue on type stuff or should i just sew it together and seal it with 5200 from the backside?

Its about 2 years old and had a 5 year warranty. It sure has faded,dried out and got very thin looking in 2 years..
I know the warranty don't cover rips but i doubt it will last 5 years anyway.
Its a Westland cover that fits great but the quality of the fabric did not hold up...

 

[lowkee]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

If the wife has a sewing machine, I would consider sewing a thin patch of material along the tear. I think anything else would risk the tear continuing from the slightest tug. I say this as a tiny scuff in the knee of my jeans became a gaping knee hole about an hour ago. Time for a new trip to goodwill for more fiberglassable clothing

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

Glad to see your opinion of your $400 Westland cover is about the same as my opinion of my $50 (on sale) Westland cover. I think my $40 (not on sale) Wal-Mart cover kept my boat drier.

 

[rbh]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

If your going to sew it up look for a good UV resistant thread.
rob

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

gary; we had the same thing happen to ours. it would have been easy to patch but to far from the edge to reach with wife's home machine.

we took it to shop that does all kinds of repair work. she had a machine with a extra long arm and patched and sewed tear for $5.00
i was so happy with the job i paid her 20.
any chance you could find someone there with that kind of machine?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

Thanks for the input guys...
Not very pleased with it. After one summer it faded from tan to a light pink now fading to an ugly pinkish white color.
When i roll it up to take it off the boat a can see fibers in the air where its dry rotting.
Just looked up the size to see what Iboats has...another 400+...
They did not save my info from this purchase either...

Going the sewing route.I will have to do it by hand...

How do they warranty dry rot and fading?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

The best repair would be to butt the fabric together (on the inside of the cover) stich it, lay the stiched part flat against the cover and stich it thru the top of the cover. This is a flat seam, and it is very strong. However, it will make the cover 2" narrower.

If you cannot affort to lose the 2", you can use a curved needle and hand stich thru both sides to pull the tear together. To reinforce, face-stich some canvass under the cover to overlay the repaired tear to add strength. The repair will not look too bad.

You can also use some iron on patching material instead of the reinforcing canvass.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Ripped my $400 boat cover....

It was a straight tear so i have plenty of room for a double stitch..
Looking at it this evening i think i can do a nice job by hand.It will take a while.
I would love to use it as a patter and have a nice Sunbrella cover made...
Expensive though.
I hope i can get through this winter with this one at least.