Repair damaged covers: Fix a rip

ack in great-great grandpa’s day, a tarpaulin was a heavy canvas sheet (a pall) soused in tar to make it waterproof. Them days—and the tar—is long gone, replaced by a flexible plastic, typically PVC, overlaying a natural or synthetic base. Old tech or new, sheets, covers and curtain sides still like to rip when snagged. And a ripped waterproof is not much use over seed bags, on a spreader or a trailer of grain. So, buy new or repair? As ever it comes down to cost and convenience. Generic tarpaulins of all sizes are pretty easy to come by, whereas tailored items like hopper covers are never cheap and may not still be on a dealer’s shelf. Given that eyelets, straps