Q&A with Karen Scholz, owner of Touchless Cover of the Emerald Coast, a custom marine canvas and upholstery business in Niceville. Karen used to make all types of boat covers, fastened with snaps and straps, but found that her customers just didn’t want to take all the time needed to affix them properly. She was recently introduced to The Touchless Cover and realized it was needed here.

Q: What’s a Touchless Cover?

A: It’s a custom-made boat cover system. It’s measured for the boat, lift and dock so there’s a perfect fit with all components. It’s raised and lowered electronically. A lot of Touchless Cover customers have said that the pain of their manual cover keeps them from enjoying their boat. This is a matter pressing a button to get the boat fully-protected. It’s a high-quality cover that can take a day or more to install, but for those who want a fix for the hassle of manual covers, this will do the trick. It’s likely the last boat cover they’ll need to get.  

Q: How does it lift and cover electronically?

A: It works off your WIFI, either with a remote or a voice command to lift and lower it.  Many customers use the voice command feature (and an installed camera) to check on their boats while they’re away. 

Q: Why do you say it’s better than the manual covers?

A: It’s not just better; It’s just the best boat cover out there. It has four panels on the sides that can fully cover and uncover the boat in seconds. Protection of the gel coat of the boat, its upholstery and accessories can save money and a lot of time by eliminating those types of needed repairs caused by sun damage. Many covers—even boathouses—don’t eliminate damage from the sun. 

Q: What about those who already have a boathouse?

A: It can be installed on docks with lifts with no boathouse, OR it can go up seamlessly under the existing roof of a boathouse. Its motors operate from the frame.

Q: What if someone just wants a canopy?

A: Canopies only protect from the sun directly overhead, but they can be easier on the wallet. Touchless Cover is the only cover system that enables someone to start with a canopy and add on the sides later.

Q: How does it do in high winds? 

A:  We can provide a 3rd party engineering study that we had done that shows the bearable winds.  It performs very well, comparatively.

Q: Is it just for boats? 

A: The design started for boats, but we cover golf carts, cars, RVs, and personal water craft.  We’ve even covered hot tubs and hay bales.