Rated 4.9 out of 5 by our customers
Rated 4.9 out of 5 by our customers
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5 Star Rated by Sailors
Over 60,000+ Orders Shipped
If you have ever pulled the cover off your boat to find a small lake sitting on top of it, or worse, opened it up to find the local bird population has been busy redecorating, you already know why a good dinghy cover matters. A cover is one of those bits of kit that does its job quietly for years, then suddenly reminds you exactly why you bought a decent one.
At Sailing Chandlery we make dinghy and catamaran covers here in the UK, in patterns for over two hundred different classes of boat. This guide walks through every type of cover we offer, who needs what, and the honest advice we give customers every day on the phone.
We split our covers into a few clear types:
Each one solves a different problem. Let's go through them properly.
Over dinghy covers are the workhorse of the range. Whether your boat lives at the club, in your garden, or gets towed up and down the country to events, an over cover is the single biggest thing protecting your investment.
We make over covers for dinghies and catamarans in patterns to suit the most popular classes, plus plenty of older or less common boats. The pattern you need depends on your class and how you store the boat.
For dinghies, there are typically two configurations:
Flat covers sit over the boat with the mast down. They're ideal for trailing between events, winter storage, or any situation where you've stripped the rig. Water runs off the cover thanks to the tensioning, and it gives you a clean, low profile.
Boom-up or mast-up covers are designed to be used with the rig still on the boat. The cover sits over the boom, creating a tent shape, so rain runs off rather than pooling. They're popular with sailors who want to leave their boat rigged between sails, and they give you space to store kit underneath.
A Laser or ILCA, for example, always has the mast down when not sailing so only needs a flat cover. It's a simple boat, one pattern, one fit. A Wayfarer, on the other hand, is available with either a flat cover for transport and winter storage, or a boom-up cover for when the rig stays on the boat. Different needs, different patterns.
For catamarans, you have two main choices:
Which one you need depends on whether the catamaran lives outside year-round or just needs the trampoline covered between sails.
Every over cover we make is offered in two materials, and the choice between them is the single most important decision you'll make. Here's how to think about it.
Our PVC is heavy-duty stuff. At 460 grams per square metre, it's built to take a beating. Available in blue or grey, fully waterproof, and guaranteed for five years.
Water hits the PVC and runs straight off. No absorption, no soak-through. Tension it properly and it sheds rain like a roof. For boats stored outside year-round, in exposed conditions, or anywhere the cover takes constant punishment, PVC is the right answer.
I've just retired my own Dart 15 PVC cover after nearly eight years of service. We guarantee them for five, but if you look after one, you'll get well beyond that.
Our polycotton is a blend of polyester and cotton, available in blue. We guarantee these for three years, and the reason for the shorter guarantee is honest: this is a fabric similar to a T-shirt. Hang a T-shirt on the washing line for years on end and it'll fade. A polycotton cover does the same. That's the trade-off for breathability.
The clever bit is how the waterproofing works. When the cover gets wet, the cotton fibres expand and seal the fabric. As it dries, the cotton shrinks back and air flows freely through the cover and around your boat. That's why polycotton is the right choice if you're storing sails, rigging, or anything else underneath. Air movement stops mould, stops damp, and keeps your kit in good condition between sails.
A few rules of thumb we use when customers call us:
The mistake we see most often is sailors over-spending on a breathable cover when they don't need one, or under-spending on PVC when their kit really needs to breathe. Spend a minute thinking about your storage situation before you order.
Under covers are a different beast. They're not for storage, they're for transport.
Made from a 6oz nylon, an under cover sits between your hull and the road grime that gets thrown up when you tow. We're talking dirt, gravel, the occasional stone chip from the car or trailer in front of you. The under cover keeps your hull smooth, clean, and fast.
Here's my honest take: if your boat lives at your sailing club and rarely moves, you probably don't need one. If you're regularly towing to opens, nationals, or training camps, an under cover is one of the best investments you can make in keeping your boat race-ready.
For ILCA and Laser sailors, we offer the Gorilla foil bag. It's a fully padded bag designed to take both your rudder and daggerboard, with enough internal storage to carry your essential ropes, battens, rigging bits, and even your tiller and tiller extension.
The benefit over chucking your foils in the boat is simple: no chips, no scrapes, no dings on the leading edges. Foils are expensive, and damage costs you both money and boat speed. The Gorilla bag is one of the most practical pieces of kit an ILCA sailor can own.
Sails need protection too, both in transport and in long-term storage. We stock sail bags in a range of sizes:
The right bag stops sails getting damaged, dirty, or creased between uses. For a competitive sailor protecting expensive race sails, a proper sail bag is essential.
Here's something we wish more customers knew upfront.
For the most popular classes like the Laser, Topper, and Pico, we hold many covers in stock and can dispatch the same day. For everything else, your cover is made to order in our UK loft, with a typical lead time of ten to fifteen working days. At busy times of year you'll see the top end of that range. At quieter times we'll often be faster.
The reason is simple. With over two hundred patterns across two materials, plus mast-up and mast-down variations, no one could realistically hold all of those in stock. Making to order is what lets us offer the breadth of patterns we do, and ten to fifteen working days is a fast turnaround for a UK-made, custom-fit cover. Plenty of competitors make their covers overseas with longer lead times and less flexibility.
The other regular mistake we see is sailors ordering the wrong cover for their boat. The Laser family is a particular trap. There's the Laser, the Laser 2, the Laser 2000, 3000, 4000. All different boats, all different patterns. The same caution applies to Topper, RS, and a few other ranges with multiple variants.
If you're not certain you're picking the right cover, pick up the phone or drop us an email. We'd much rather spend two minutes confirming the right pattern than have you receive the wrong cover. We're sailors ourselves, and we know these boats.
A cover that's looked after will outlast its guarantee comfortably. Here's how to get the most out of yours.
Once a year, lay it out flat, get the hosepipe on it, and give it a wash with a little washing-up liquid. A soft brush or sponge is plenty. Rinse off, let it dry, and you'll have stripped away the watermarks and grime that build up over a season.
You can't wash polycotton the same way. Instead, use a medium-stiffness broom to brush it down and knock off the dust and dirt. Once or twice a year is plenty for most sailors.
If you're buying for a club fleet, training centre, or sailing school, we offer volume discounts on multiple covers and on training sails. It's worth a quick email or phone call to get a quote, particularly if you're kitting out a fleet of Picos, Toppers, or RS Fevas.
We could list features all day, but the things that genuinely matter:
We're not the cheapest. We've never tried to be. But in the time one of our covers lasts, you could easily buy two or three of the budget alternatives. Buy cheap, buy twice.
This is, in the end, a guide to help you narrow down what you actually need before you order. If you're still not sure, that's what we're here for.
Browse the full boat covers range on the Sailing Chandlery website to find the cover for your class. If you can't see your boat listed, or you need a material or configuration that isn't shown, get in touch. Because we make these in our own UK loft, we have flexibility most retailers don't. We'll do everything we can to get you the right cover, first time.
Phone, email, or message us. Whichever's easiest. We're sailors, we're happy to help, and we'd rather spend ten minutes making sure you get the right product than sell you the wrong one.
