Covers History:

One whiff of a skunk will typically send people running. In 1957, a skunk that met an untimely end in a swimming pool did, indeed, make one man run--to his drawing board to devise an effective way to keep kids, critters and debris out of the pool and chemicals, heat and water in. The unfortunate skunk--Fred Meyer Jr.'s inspiration for the mesh pool safety cover--has become part of industry lore. And Meyer, owner of a Melville, N.Y.-based tarp, awning and flag manufacturing firm called Meyco Products, joined the ranks of industry innovators.

Meyer was one of many pioneers, including Bill Donaton, Joe Lamb, Harry Last and others, who have shaped the pool-cover industry throughout the past six decades. In some ways, the product hasn't changed much since its inception. The covers still keep the water clean and free of leaves and debris, decrease chemical loss through evaporation, prevent algae growth, reduce filtration time, and protect the pool from wear and tear. But there have been developments on other fronts. More advanced technological components and materials on today's pool covers mean the products can work and look better, and last longer.

Here, a variety of manufacturers provide a closer look at the types of covers that have emerged over the years: winter covers, solid and mesh safety covers, and manual and automatic covers. In doing so, they share a history of the cover industry--how the concept started, how the materials have changed, and where the product is headed. In the early days, homeowners employed rudimentary methods to cover their pools. They'd fashion covers out of tarps or sheets of canvas, extend the material over their vessels and then place heavy bricks or blocks over the edges to weigh them down. However, the start of pool-cover manufacturing as an organized industry can be traced to the 1940s. The first covers to make an impact on the swimming-pool industry appear to have been designed to protect the pools during the winter months.

"Covering a pool with fabric is an old technique," says Lincoln Christensen, vice president of pool cover sales at Anchor Industries. The Evansville, Ind., firm introduced its simple tarp covers in 1941. Christensen says the early covers were made of vinyl-laminated polyester and came in one color: aqua. Much like today, the cover material was cut wider and longer than the pool, and was held down with bags filled with water of sand. While such tarps kept debris out of pools, the solid vinyl surfaces allowed water to collect on top, detracted from the backyard aesthetics and were a bit cumbersome for customers to handle. Also, they could not be used as safety devices.

Boat Covers are 3.2oz per sq yard, 10x10 weave, uv resistant, 10 mil Boat Covers grommets are every 3 feet.