Anyone have any experience with Ultra Kovers, Kover Klamps and frames and Kover Klips from Kover Klamps company in the Bronx NY?

Richard L. Remski:

Anyone have any experience with Ultra Kovers, Kover Klamps and frames and Kover Klips from Kover Klamps company in the Bronx NY?

Funny, you should ask Richard. I had a 30 ft sail boat for many years (about 30) in the Hudson River and in Long Island Sound (Mamaroneck) and for most of that time we covered the boat with the Kover Klamp method and large Green tarps. The Klamps work just fine, and near the end of time we ran out of some of them and could no longer locate a source. We had purchased from Defender in New Rochelle and they stopped selling them and I never knew til you mentioned it that they were made or distributed from the Bronx (no internet back then, where was Al Gore then?). But on to the story you use them with 1/2 inch steel or Aluminum conduit, we always had steel. You have to fabricate the sizes and lenths to custom fit your boat of course and the first time you use them they are great , but as time goes by , in the 3rd, 4th,5th year etc. you lose track of which pipe section goes where and things get a little hectic at lay up to get the frame back to where it was when you designed it because there will wind up being 30-40 sections of pipe and 60-80 Klamps ( which you have to store somewhere with good IDENTIFICATION). Now if you are a Neat sailor and logically record all the ID's of the pieces , you won't have a problem. In fact I still have a crate full of the Kover Klamps in my garage and also about 25 pieces of conduit, so if anyone wants to come by, I'll be happy to make you a deal, but shipping is likely out of the question because the freight would eat up any savings. Actually i don't know what they cost this season.
To sum up. The Klamps work well and are well made BUT you need to be an organized person to use them without frustration year in and year out. I will be willing to bet Justin never thought I'd be the first one to answer this, as a real user who still has a pile of them!!

All the Best,

Hank Keller

SEO Shrewsbury D-4

Hank,

Thanks for the reply. My original post was in October and I decided to go ahead and purchase the system and have built the framing for my 32'Carver Mariner cruiser. Clamps work great! I used 3/4" EMT steel conduit and clamped to my excellent rail on the boat. Patrick LaScala, LaScala International Co, is the president of Kover Klamps and has now devised a labelling system that you put on all the parts once assembled so that reassembly is expected to be much easier. They now have a clever Kover Klip that is a two-part assembly that can be installed anywhere on your cover tarp and it holds better than the metal grommets or sewn in hems. Finally they sell a three layer laminated cover material that does not unravel and come apart, is UV stabilized, can be cut with a scissors and needs no hem. Customer support has been excellent, with consultation by phone when needed during the selection, purchase and installation process. WE have pretty good winds, to about 30-40 typically in the winter, on the Ohio River where I'm stored, but snow loads are usually not too onerous. I'll post again in the spring and let you all know how the system survived the winter, comes apart in the spring, and is organized for summer storage.

Regarding your stock of Klamps, I would be interested in some and would be willing to pay the shipping cost to Ohio, maybe about 20-25 or so as backup/spares. Current selling price from LaScala is about $5/Klamp in bags of four Klamps.

I'm a past SEO of Dayton Sail and Power, past commander, and currently AO in D/24. I am also completing Nav 09 (slowly) and teach the public courses, where my favorite warnings to the students are that "There are no lifeguards in the gene pool!" and when docking "Speed is not my friend."

Dick Remski

Great, sounds like they attended to all the difficulties I used to have and I always knew the clamps worked well, and the best part is getting access to the whole deck under the cover to be able to inspect and get something done during the winter whenever the weather co-operates. It can get like a greenhouse under there, even in cold weather if the sun shines. Glad it all worked out for you. Let me know if you want them.

Best,

Hank