The cover, or tarpaulin, which encloses the hull in darkness, is a radical solution against fouling. Under the cover, in the absence of light, nothing lives, so nothing grows. However, handling the tarpaulin when installing it under the hull, or when leaving its place, is always rather problematic.
ProtecMarineNC tries to remedy this problem by equipping the perimeter of its tarpaulin with an inflatable bladder. When the boat is away, only the V of the bow remains inflated, while the rest of the cover sinks. Once back on the pontoon, you slide the bow into the tip of the bladder. This is about 1/3 the length of the boat. Finally, an electric pump inflates the two side bladders, which raise the tarpaulin on each side. Start-up is controlled remotely via an app on your smartphone. Pvc Tarp
This solution seems ideal for a boat that has its own berth. In fact, you have to leave the tarpaulin attached to the bow at the berth. What's more, the electric pump, powered by 230 V, or 12 V as an option, requires the use of pontoon power. Even though the pump can be disconnected once the bladder is inflated.
Once the bladder is fully inflated, a water pump drains the water from between the cover and the hull, pressing them together. This keeps even the motor baseplate dry.
This solution works perfectly with motorboats and sailboats with simple hull shapes. Bisafans, for example, are always more problematic, whatever the tarpaulin used. It's also worth noting that, while the hull remains clean, the outside of the tarpaulin, a simple PVC-coated canvas such as a truck tarpaulin, quickly becomes dirty on the outside. You only have to look at the condition of a pontoon float to realize how quickly it proliferates...
Truck Tarpaulin Cover ProtecMarineNC was invented and developed in New Caledonia. The founder is now looking for a partner and distributor to launch the brand. Currently, the model we discovered retails at around ?600 per linear meter.