Re: Will a plain old tarp work as a boat cover?
I wouldn't buy a canvas cover - you need a man made material like shark skin or Sunbrella. They are 100% waterproof and don't midew or rot.<br /><br />The ones sold here come with elastic edges so they fit right over the boat and you don't have to use tiedowns or bungee cords of any kind.<br /><br />I have a 28' boat and it takes about 2 minutes to put the cover on and take it off. In addition, it looks nice which keeps my neighbors happy.<br /><br />All I am saying is, by the time you buy a tarp, tiedowns and PVC and the time spent designing and bulding and putting it together and taking it apart each time you want to use your boat, I was better off and much happier with a 100% effective, easy to use, good looking, shark skin cover. But, like you said, to each his own.<br /><br />We got soaked up here all summer. More rain than I have ever seen and no water at all got into the boat. <br /><br />When I used tarps I'd have to listen to them flapping in the breeze when the winds kicked up. It looked ugly and When I finally broke it open in the spring I found over 1 ft of water in the cuddy and the bilge was full.<br /><br />If somebody gave me a $5,000 boat I would still buy a cover for it. I wouldn't think that the cost of the cover exceeded what I paid for the boat and do nothing. In fact, I would be more inclined to buy it since I got such a great deal on the boat I could afford it better.
I wouldn't buy a canvas cover - you need a man made material like shark skin or Sunbrella. They are 100% waterproof and don't midew or rot.<br /><br />The ones sold here come with elastic edges so they fit right over the boat and you don't have to use tiedowns or bungee cords of any kind.<br /><br />I have a 28' boat and it takes about 2 minutes to put the cover on and take it off. In addition, it looks nice which keeps my neighbors happy.<br /><br />All I am saying is, by the time you buy a tarp, tiedowns and PVC and the time spent designing and bulding and putting it together and taking it apart each time you want to use your boat, I was better off and much happier with a 100% effective, easy to use, good looking, shark skin cover. But, like you said, to each his own.<br /><br />We got soaked up here all summer. More rain than I have ever seen and no water at all got into the boat. <br /><br />When I used tarps I'd have to listen to them flapping in the breeze when the winds kicked up. It looked ugly and When I finally broke it open in the spring I found over 1 ft of water in the cuddy and the bilge was full.<br /><br />If somebody gave me a $5,000 boat I would still buy a cover for it. I wouldn't think that the cost of the cover exceeded what I paid for the boat and do nothing. In fact, I would be more inclined to buy it since I got such a great deal on the boat I could afford it better.
