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Boats and small craft
Most small boats in Malta spend the off-season under a tarpaulin that sags, fills with water and blows off in the first gregale. A shrink wrap cover is framed, shrunk tight and banded on — and it stays put until you take it off.
A shrink wrap boat cover is plastic film that is fitted over a simple frame on the boat, welded into one piece and heated so it shrinks tight to the shape. Unlike a tarpaulin it doesn’t sag, flap or collect water, and unlike a canvas cover it doesn’t have to be made to measure in advance.
How people find us
You want something that fits, keeps the sun off the tubes and console, and doesn’t cost the price of a made-to-measure canvas. That’s exactly where shrink wrap sits.
Tarps sag, pool rainwater and flog the gelcoat. A ridge frame and a tight, banded skin fix all three.
We wrap on the trailer and band the cover to it, so the boat can be moved without the cover lifting.
The process
Most small boats can be quoted from photos and the length.
A simple frame from bow to stern lifts the film clear of the console, seats and screen so water runs off.
The film is shrunk tight and banded to the boat or the trailer. On a RIB it wraps the tubes too.
Vents stop damp collecting underneath; a zip door is added if you want to get aboard.
Options
Tubes, console and seats under one skin — the tubes are what UV ruins first.
Cockpit, screen and cabin top, with a door if you need to get in.
Shaped frames for open decks and traditional hulls, clear of paint and detail.
Wrapped on their own, on deck, on a trailer or on the quay.
| Compare | Shrink wrap | Tarpaulin | Made-to-measure canvas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit | Shrunk to the boat’s shape | Loose, tied down | Tailored |
| Rainwater | Runs off the ridge | Pools and sags | Runs off if well made |
| In a gregale | Nothing loose to catch | Flaps, chafes, blows off | Holds if tensioned |
| Cost | Moderate, per season | Cheap, often replaced | Highest upfront |
| Lifespan | One season | Until it tears | Several seasons |
Before we quote
For small boats we can often quote from photos, then check on the day. We measure the vessel, work out the frame, the film area, the vents and the doors — and the number you get back is the number you pay. No provisional sums, no “subject to access”.
Illustrative figures for a typical trailer boat. Your own survey happens on site — or starts from photos, if you’d rather.
Start from your phone
Not every small-boat job needs a visit to get going. Send a couple of photos and tell us the boat’s length, where it’s kept and whether it’s on a trailer, and an installer will tell you what’s involved — including when shrink wrap isn’t the right call.
Whole item in frame, plus one close-up of the access side.
WhatsApp or email, with the boat’s length, where it’s kept and whether it’s on a trailer.
Approach, timescale and a price, in plain English.
Finished covers
Tight, smooth, framed clear of what it protects and welded into one skin. This is the standard every cover is fitted to.
Questions
For anything longer than a few weeks, yes. It’s shrunk tight over a frame, so water runs off and there’s nothing to flap. A tarp sags, collects rainwater and wears the gelcoat where it moves.
Yes. The cover goes over the tubes, console and seats and is vented so damp doesn’t collect. It protects the tubes from UV, which is what usually fails first on a RIB.
Not while it’s fully covered — shrink wrap is for when the boat is laid up. If you need to get aboard for checks, we fit a zipped door.
Yes, if there’s space to work safely around the boat. Yards, compounds, garages and driveways are all fine.
It depends on length and shape. RIBs and day boats are the quickest jobs we do. Send a photo and the length for a quick idea.
Send a photo, the length and where she is. You’ll get a straight answer on the approach, and a fixed price after the survey.
Quick quote
Tell us what
needs covering.
