Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

A local ad in my Craigslist said it all. Heavy vinyl bill board artwork that had been out in the sun for usually a month or maybe two. Unwanted by the original advertiser, now being sold by a very clever re-cycle dood. His cost: free.

I met him in a local parking lot. HEAVY DUTY reinforced vinyl with artwork on one side and black on the other. It looked new and was still hard to fold up due to the thickness - reinforced with fiber. Oh yeah, it had pockets sewn in the length of each side so that you can stick inexpensive 1/2" conduit it, cut a small slit, and pull it tight across the entire length with motorcycle tie downs. The cheapos at Harbor Freight are perfect for this duty.

If you want a boat or equipment cover that will probably outlast your gear this is an incredible deal for an extreme duty tarp. Call your local bill board company and odds are good they know a guy - or you may get lucky and score one for free. You can easily cut them to size with a pair of shears, then install grommets that you can also get at Harbor Freight,

Merry Christmas.

there are 2 major types of billboard material,
one light and one heavy,

that sounds like what I bought, the heavy one, that stuff is great. I bought some virgin material, white on both sides,
been out in the elements all year, and no issues with it, we get heavy wind out here once in a while. The wind tore up another tarp we had last time.

We do have a hole in ours, but it was because a tree branch fell on the boat, hit the motor cowl only, its more of a rip than hole, but could have been worse.

-bb

We bought a couple of these tarps. They are enourmous!
You can make any kind of custom tarp you want by using the special glue. You just tuck in certain spots and glue it where you want it. We have made custom covers for our ATV and riding lawn mower at the lake. They are great and fit liek a glove.

blackberg wrote:there are 2 major types of billboard material,
one light and one heavy,

that sounds like what I bought, the heavy one, that stuff is great. I bought some virgin material, white on both sides,
been out in the elements all year, and no issues with it, we get heavy wind out here once in a while. The wind tore up another tarp we had last time.

We do have a hole in ours, but it was because a tree branch fell on the boat, hit the motor cowl only, its more of a rip than hole, but could have been worse.

-bb

Yep, I should have mentioned that. Apparently the older, heavy style are being phased out but still in production. The newer, lighter ones are not nearly as tough.

I think it's get 'em while you still can. I bought a monster size knowing I'll be cutting it down in smaller sizes when needed, great to have it on hand. These are so much better than anything you can by that is "boat" specific. I deal in outdoor fabrics and these are the bomb. They won't last as long as Sunbrella, but cost 1/100th as much - literally. The guy I bought them from told me they work great for pond liners too.

Ice skating this winter anyone?