Monaco
Port HerculeFleet moves ashore and into refit across the winter season.
Talk to us
Solent · Mediterranean · Gulf
Framed, vented, UV-stable covers built to the individual hull — for winter lay-up, long-haul transport and refit containment. Fitted in Solent yards, Mediterranean marinas and Gulf berths by the same crews, to the same standard.
When to wrap
A yacht spends most of its life doing nothing, and that is when the damage happens. Salt-laden air, standing rainwater, UV and a season of wind will take more out of gelcoat, brightwork, teak and upholstery than a full programme of use ever will. The cover is not an accessory — it is the least expensive maintenance decision of the year.
What separates a professional cover from a tarpaulin is what sits underneath it. Every one of ours is built over a frame first, padded at every contact point, then heat-welded into one continuous skin so water sheds clear of the topsides rather than ponding in the low spots.
You will want a cover if the vessel is:
Storage & winter protection
Whether the vessel is on a marina hard standing, in a boatyard or on a private dock, the cover has three jobs: shed water clear of the topsides, keep UV and salt off, and let the hull breathe. Get the first two right and miss the third and you will open the cover in spring to mildew, staining and lifted varnish.
Ventilation is designed for the volume of the envelope, not fitted as a token pair of vents, with desiccant added on longer lay-ups. Zipped doors and inspection hatches go in at survey stage so you can board through the season without cutting anything open.
On timber and classic hulls this matters more again. Seal a wooden boat tight without designed airflow and a winter will do more harm than the weather would have.
Transport & shipping
Transit damage is rarely impact damage. It is a few hundred miles of road film, salt spray, grit and rain landing on the surfaces that cost the most to put right. A fitted cover is shrunk tight with no loose edge for airflow to lift at speed, which is precisely where tarpaulins and strapped sheeting fail.
We prepare vessels for road haulage, craning, ferry crossings, open-deck sea freight and containerised export — wrapping at the yard, at the quay or on the trailer, whichever suits the lift plan. Lashing points and lifting eyes stay clear as standard.
Refit & maintenance
Refit containment is a different discipline from a lay-up cover. The envelope has to be big enough to work inside, strong enough to stand for months, and sealed well enough that dust, sanding residue and overspray stay within the boundary rather than drifting across a yard full of other people’s boats.
Custom framing systems give a controlled working space for painting, sanding, osmosis treatment, antifoul and structural repair, with lighting-friendly clear panels, designed access routes and reinforced sections where crew and materials pass through daily. The yard works to programme regardless of what the weather is doing outside.
Where we work
We travel for the right project. These are the marinas and yards where our crews have worked or where we are asked most often — and the specification changes with the climate, not just the vessel.
Fleet moves ashore and into refit across the winter season.
Long lay-ups in strong sun — UV grade matters more than rain here.
Refit capital of the Mediterranean. Containment work as much as covers.
Seasonal fleet in and out, tight turnaround windows.
Year-round yard activity and a growing superyacht berth count.
Newer marina, growing fleet, and a hard summer sun load.
Heat, UV and dust rather than rain. A different specification entirely.
One of the busiest lift-out yards on the Solent.
Our home water. Yacht Haven, East Cowes and the Medina yards.
City-centre berths and refit work through the Itchen yards.
Lock-in marina with a large motor yacht fleet.
Salterns, Cobb’s Quay and the Sunseeker yard.
The far end of our regular south coast run.
Vessels
Pricing
Cover area rises faster than length, because beam and freeboard grow with her. A 20m hull is not twice a 10m job.
Flybridges, arches, radar posts, davits and a stepped rig each add framing time, and framing is usually more of the day than the film.
A Solent winter and a Gulf summer need different film. UV grade, colour and ventilation all change with where she is lying.
A Solent yard we already visit costs less to reach than a berth abroad. International travel and mobilisation are itemised separately.
There is no honest price per metre. A 20m flybridge and a 20m sailing yacht with the rig stepped are different pieces of work, and anyone quoting before they have seen her is guessing. Send the length, make and model with a couple of photographs and we will give you a realistic figure the same working day, with a fixed price after survey and removal included from the start.
Before we quote
Every cover starts with a survey — on site, or from your photographs and drawings if the vessel is abroad. We measure it, work out the frame, the film area, the vents and the access, and the number you get back is the number you pay.
19.4m motor yacht · Solent
Illustrative figures. Your survey is carried out on the vessel — or from photographs, if she is lying abroad.
Start from your phone
Length, make and model plus a couple of photographs are usually enough for a realistic figure. If the vessel is lying abroad, drawings and a GA are better still — we will tell you what is involved and what it costs before anyone travels.
Whole vessel in frame, plus the arch, flybridge or rig.
WhatsApp or email, with the marina and the lift date.
Approach, timescale and a price — usually the same working day.
New to it? Read the complete guide to boat shrink wrapping — frames, ventilation, costs and what to ask before you book.
Common questions
Winter storage and lay-up covers, transport and shipping covers, refit and maintenance containment, and full custom enclosures. Every one is framed and fitted to the individual vessel rather than pulled from a standard size, and all four can include zipped access, ventilation panels and reinforced sections where the job needs them.
A properly framed and vented cover will comfortably see out a Northern European winter, and many hold well beyond a year. In Mediterranean and Gulf climates the limiting factor is UV rather than wind, so we specify a UV-stabilised grade and, on long lay-ups, a lighter colour to reduce heat build-up under the envelope.
Yes, and it is one of the strongest cases for it. A shrunk cover has no loose edge for airflow to lift at road speed or on an open deck, and it seals out salt spray, road film and stone chip for the whole journey. We prepare yachts for road haulage, craning, ferry crossings and containerised shipping.
Only if it is vented properly, and this is where most covers fail. A sealed hull sweats: warm days and cold nights drive condensation onto every cold surface inside the envelope. We fit vents at the high and low points, sized to the volume of the cover rather than as a token pair, and add desiccant on longer lay-ups.
Yes. The film is shrunk onto the frame, not onto the vessel, and every contact point is padded. Nothing bears on gelcoat, brightwork, teak or stainless, and the film is removed without residue. The mildew and staining people associate with bad covers is a ventilation failure, not a film problem.
Yes, and they should be designed in at survey rather than cut in later. Zipped doors, inspection hatches and clear vision panels all go in as part of the build so you can board through the winter without breaking the seal.
Yes. We travel for projects that justify it, and we have covered work from the Solent to the Mediterranean and the Gulf. International projects are quoted individually, with travel, accommodation and mobilisation set out separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
It follows length and beam, how much framing the shape needs, whether the rig stays stepped, and where the vessel is lying. There is no honest price per metre — a 20m flybridge and a 20m sailing yacht with the rig up are different jobs. Send the length, make and model and we will give you a realistic figure the same working day, with a fixed price after survey.
Request a quote
Length, make and model, the marina and the lift date. That is enough to get a realistic figure moving, with a fixed price following the survey.
Quick quote
Tell us what
needs covering.