April's Boat Covers

Here are a couple other options for securing boat covers to a boat. One is called a twist stud fastener. Essentially, this method uses a metal stud that that fits through metal grommet. When the stud is through the hole, the top twists sideways, locking it into place.

We have found that these work well when attaching two sides of a cover together such as when it need to go around a sail tie down, a stanchion etc. They also work well for attaching isinglass to the other area of the canvas such as the bimini. The place where we often found trouble was when the twist stud was attached to the surface of the boat. These stick up more than regular snaps so they often had pieces of clothing or items being carried get snagged on them making them more and more unstable. They would sometimes get so loosened up that they needed to be replaced far more often than snaps.

The repair isn’t too hard but may have to happen more often.

One fastener option is called ‘lift the dot" Here a small and narrow stud is pushed through a cinch plate. The connection is pretty secure. When you want to disconnect there is a small dot embossed on one end of the cinch plate and it actually says, "lift the dot." This releases the assembly.

You definitely have to be careful here and only lift the area where the dot is. I’ve seen inexperienced people try to yank it off and compromise the stud. The stud is usually attached to the surface area of the boat with the single screw, which is at the other end of the stud. These, more than any other type of fastener, seemed to be unstable in the shortest amount of time. These studs have the same disadvantage as the "twist stud fasteners" in that they often snagged clothing and other carried items. Just bumping against them not only caused pain to the individual but also compromised this important connection. Although easily replaced, this type of fastener needs more constant attention. With the screw in connection, the holes usually have to be filled and re-drilled.