Boat cover questions

[Aquamaniac]

I have read a lot of discussion on covers....here and elsewhere.
Pretty much decided to pick middle of road and look at Carver cover.
Anyone have experience with the fit on a 200 Osprey with bow rail still there?
They offer a cover that fits 19-6 as well as one that fits 20-6.
You folks include swim platform and motor as well as the 19-6 beam?

BTW....feel free to offer any cover reviews if I need to be steered in another direction.

THANKS!!

[Capt. Bob]

Here's a thought.
viewtopic.php?p=103691#p103691

Also, Forum Member "wingtime" may be able to help you out.

[wingtime]

When it comes to boat covers in Florida it's all about the fabric.  The UV here in the sunshine state will destroy a cover in no time unless it is made from a quality UV resistant fabric.  My main business is building commercial tents and awnings, but we also do custom canvas work to keep us busy during the slow season.  Over the years we have built all kinds of fabric items that are used outdoors.  

When I bought my 245 I wanted to cover it right away but I was too busy at the time to actually build one.  So I bought a "decent" cover off of EBay for about $350-400 bucks.  It fit OK but clearly it wasn't tailored to fit the boat.  I noticed the fabric starting to fade almost right away.  The cover lasted just over a year..  It just disintegrated from the UV damage.  As luck would have it they replaced it under warranty.  Guess what? that one is already starting to fade... So I will be building a proper cover for my 245 before the summer is out.

The best fabric choices for a Florida boat cover are Sunbrella or Topgun.  They will last an easy ten years in the Florida sun.  In fact the threads used to sew the cover together will probably fail before then.  However they are very expensive fabrics.  The materials alone to build a custom cover for your 19'6" out of Sunbrella could cost $500-600 or more.  Of course there are other fabrics that will cost a little less but they won't last quite as long.. maybe five years.  Sunbrella is a solution dyed acrylic fabric that is naturally UV resistant.  Polyester or nylon based fabrics are your next best choice but they HAVE to have a UV resistant coating of some type to resist the UV.  So in short a made to fit cover will last and fit MUCH better than a mass produced cover.   The covers you mentioned are probably the best you can get in a "store bought" cover.  Your not that far away from me so if you like I could make you a cover but I'd need your boat for a day or two to fit it.  Or I'm sure there are plenty of canvas shops down your way too.

[fitz73222]

Perfect timing for my question Bruce-

I took the deep dive on my boat cover 4 years ago. I had a custom cover built for the 22-2, over the T-top, motors and about 12" down the gunnels, draw string around the perimeter plus tie-downs. Sunbrella material. Really nice cover to the tune of $1200. All of the areas subject to chafe were reinforced with heavy clear plastic material (vinyl) and stitched into the fabric on the inside. Typical annual cleaning is with a very low pressure, pressure wash to remove pollen and dirt and then 1 1/2 gallon of 303 in light coats. Starting to see leaks in the reinforcment areas, starting to see elongation of the stitching to the point where heavy rain is passing through. Is there any localized water repellent treatment I can do to stop the leaks. The holes are maybe a 1/32 in diameter is some areas. Just enough to let a pounding rain in. Normal light rain is no problem and stays dry. Thought about silicone, petroleum jelly, something that will stop the leak without damaging the Sunbrella or stitching. I really try to take care of this cover; its been excellent otherwise with no other deterioration. Any advice? Thanks Bruce.

Farley

[wingtime]

Farley, It could be that the thread is wearing out making the needle holes look bigger and leak.  Unless they used a very high end thread your at the age where the thread starts to rot out.  We call it rot but since we don't use cotton thread anymore (EPA banned using mercury to stop the cotton from rotting)it doesn't really rot.  What happens is the UV light eats away at the the outer layers slowly wearing out the thread.   Your probably going to need to have the cover restitched in the near future.  303 protectant will add some water repellency to the fabric.  303 fabric guard is even better.  Another option is Iosso water repellant it comes in spray bottles or gallons.  Te seal the thread holes in the seams Iosso sells a seam sealer for fabrics.  To be honest since Sunbrella is a woven fabric it is not very water repellent to begin with.  But it does breath well and it lasts a long time.