Which Cover Fabric?

[yorab]

So I need to get a boat cover very soon. I see two different ratings for the polyester: denier and ounce weight. I was able to look up what denier is. However, I can't find information on the ounce rating. I assume that it is ounces per square yard or square foot, but I'm not sure. Also, I can't find any information that relates the two. There are two covers that I am looking at now. One is 600 denier and the other is 7.5 oz polyester. Can anybody help me to figure out which is more durable? Thanks.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Which Cover Fabric?

oz rating is ounces per square yard.

Cannot necessarily tell which is better or more durable if you only have a denier rating from one and an oz rating from another. The 7.5oz one could be anything from 300 to 1200 denier, while the 600 denier one could be anywhere from 3 to 12 oz. Can you get the missing info from each choice? Also, does one or the other have a specific brand name polyester being used (e.g., SurLast)?

Generally speaking...

Higher denier (effectively more threads per inch) will be the better choice for durability of the weave vs UV and repeated abrasion, and for ability to repel water.

Higher oz rating might be better to resist cutting/tearing if say a branch falls on it, or some heavy snowfall.

In short, if not worried about heavy snow or falling objects, higher denier will be your best bet for quality/longevity.

EDIT: shouldn't this be in the "Boat Questions" section?

 

[yorab]

Re: Which Cover Fabric?

Thanks for the info. I guess you're right-this is in the wrong forum.

 

[sethjon]

Re: Which Cover Fabric?

So I need to get a boat cover very soon. I see two different ratings for the polyester: denier and ounce weight. I was able to look up what denier is. However, I can't find information on the ounce rating. I assume that it is ounces per square yard or square foot, but I'm not sure. Also, I can't find any information that relates the two. There are two covers that I am looking at now. One is 600 denier and the other is 7.5 oz polyester. Can anybody help me to figure out which is more durable? Thanks.

Forget ounce wt. Go by dernier. Also, its more expensive but I can tell you that Sunbrella fabric is the best if you plan on keeping the boat a long time.

 

[gozierdt]

Re: Which Cover Fabric?

Oh no!! Hit the trenches! Another Sunbrella vs "what-ever" thread could erupt.

 

[yorab]

Re: Which Cover Fabric?

Sounds like I may have opened up a "can of worms" topic. I searched the forums and couldn't find much info on covers for some reason, though by gozierdt's response, this topic must have been hotly debated many times.

I ended up ordering an Enduracover Aqua Shield from iboats. It consists of 8 oz, 600 denier, 90 thread polyester. It is trailerable and comes with a 5 year warranty. It may not be the best cover out there, but I thought that it is good enough for what I need and priced nicely. If I find any particular problems with it, I'll post back here to let others know so that they can make an informed decision when it comes time for them to buy a cover.