Angola Canvas Kudos

[Lil Rascal]

So I purchased a cover from Angola Canvas about 6 years ago. It was high quality and and fit perfect. Also the was price was very reasonable, about $850.00. The stitching finally started to disintegrate after being in the hot California sun for 6 years. I went to get an estimate for a re-stitching of the complete cover, a small hole patch and a one foot extension to the transom area of the cover. I was quoted over $600.00 from a local place at the Channel Islands Marina. Anyhow I talked to Angola and decided I could save a little money by sending it back to them. Just got the bill for the job. A whopping $75.00 +$30.00 shipping. Unbelievable the difference in price!! I highly recommend them for a C-Dory cover. I am pretty sure they have most of the C-Dory patterns, and I love my cover from them.

[Sea Wolf]

Good job!

It always pays to shop around!

Sometimes shops and stores in affluent areas expect you to just pay up regardless of any cost difference they may be asking.

With the internet, shopping around can be a rewarding adventure!

How about a physical/mailing address, phone number, and internet address for Angola?

Thataway Bob would have probably suggested you have them re-stich the canvas with Tenara thread, because it holds up so much longer. Was it done or suggested to you? (I understand it costs a bit more, but is well worth it.)

Good boating!

Joe.

[thataway]

We also have been very happy with our Angola cover. I am not sure if they use Tenera.

That is a bargain for $75.

[SeaSpray]

Bringing this back up. I purchased a cover from Angola many years ago and recently mailed that cover to them as a pattern for a new cover. This year the experience is different.
I had to call to find out if they had received the cover I mailed and the pictures of changes on my boat I emailed. They had to look then found the box and opened it to confirm it was mine. They gave me an estimate of when they could start on it.
I called back a few weeks later and they had not started yet. Another couple weeks and I was told they might ship by the end of the week. I called the next week and again was told may ship by the end of the week. The last time I called (week and a half ago) they said they were still figuring out the changes I wanted and maybe another week. I have still not heard anything from them.

I don't remember being strung along like this the last time. If they could just tell me it would take 2 months and then make it happen that would be better than just keep telling me maybe the end of the week.

Anyone else have this kind of service with Angola?

[cbbernard]

I ordered a cover from them last fall. Their email communications were sporadic and slow, with a lot of misfires and dropped balls. But every time I picked up the phone and called them, they answered quickly and were great to talk to.

Like a lot of companies, they were severely understaffed and hurting from materials shortages. Sounded like a lot of nights and weekends for the skeleton crew. It took them longer than promised to make and ship my cover, but they did an excellent job.

[skagerrak]

This is really helpful to hear, I was really starting to wonder.

I guess it's still an issue: it's well over a month now and I still can't even get an actual quote from them, I have no idea how long this is going to take to even get one, maybe not by winter even? It goes a week with no reply and then I have to send another email or call. I'm trying to not be a pest recognizing how overwhelmed they probably are. And this thread helped confirm I should just continue being patient with them.

[ssobol]

When I had them make my cover there was a bit of back and forth and phone tag. At the time it seemed that there was one person I had to talk to about a C-Dory cover and he could be hard to get a hold of. In the end they made the cover the way I wanted and it has held up well.

[Catskinner]

I ordered a cover from them at the end of May. They quoted me $1700. On June 3 I gave them a $200 deposit and was told it would be 2 to 4 weeks to complete. After four weeks I started calling for an update and was told next Friday almost every week for three months.
I went on an Alaskan cruise and when I was able to get signal I checked my Citi Card balance and saw that there was a charge for $2247 from Angola Canvas. No discussion of any up charge was ever had between Angola Canvas and myself. Never got a tracking number or anything. The cover finally arrived on September 26. Two days later I tried the cover on. It was nowhere near a good fit. It was terrible actually. Mind you they told me they had a pattern and I had sent them every dimension they asked for as well as several pictures of the boat.
There was no invoice or explanation of additional charges. So I disputed it on my credit card. The cover was an absolute mess.
I have now negotiated with them and paid them $1000 which covers their material plus a little bit and I’m now going to take it to King Marine Canvas to have it tailored to fit the boat properly. I would most definitely not recommend Angola Canvas.

[kcassal]

I ordered a sunbrella cover for my C-Dory 22 and it was perfect. My Venture 26 came with a Aqualon cover that the PO bought. It doesn't fit very well. I think that they just don't have the pattern for a Venture 26 at this time. ?

[colbysmith]

[skagerrak]

Thanks for the insights. It's not looking good for getting anything from Angola at this point.

colbysmith, do you have any sense if your local guy would be interested in making a cover for a C-Dory 16?

[colbysmith]

I’m sure he would if your boat was in the area. He needs the actual boat to work with. Another option would be to find a similar boat in the area he could use for fitting. It’s Lohaus custom covers in Cottage Grove, Wi.