With covers, you get what you pay for. I have yet to hear someone say they regret getting a custom made cover that snaps on. That's what I have for mine. It was bought for $1200 in 2002 and still going strong. No tears or holes. I could either spend $75/yr on poor fitting ones or $75 per year on a custom cover that fits perfectly and installs correctly every time no matter who covers it.
As for the cover it all depends on what your needing it for. If your covering your boat that sits at an open dock on the water or on a trailer in your yard then yes a $1200 cover will protect your investment the best.
But this is overkill in some situations. In my case I store in a shed...always. Now it has open sides (sides go down to about 8 ft from the ground and ends are open. Its one of those large metal carport boat shed type things) . So my needs are purely to protect from the sun on the front side of the boat and from dust, shed dust as I call it. This is seasonal pollen and when its dry the dust the mower kicks up and all the other dust that sheds seem to get??? I took a gamble and bought the cheapest thing off ebay. It fits loosely and would need support poles or batons if it was rained on to keep it from ponding in the middle. I bought it a little over a year ago. The front 1/3 where the sun hits it hard is kind of brittle and faded. It ripped where I grabbed it and it was hung on the corner. A quick stitch by me will seal it up good enough, after all I am just sealing from some dust and sun. I am going to swap it end for end so the sun faded part is in the back where the sun does not hit and get hopefully another year out of it. So this maybe was not even my best choice as I would be at like $20/yr for the cover. But if I can cheat it 3 years that price goes down a bit more. I probably will look at my next best option is when this one needs to be replaced.
I will not argue with a custom cover is the best solution for a boat that sits out in the open somewhere. The OP says he is mostly protecting from the sun and some rain, the cover I have with support poles I would not really want to have on it for more than a light or blowing in rain as it is not the best especially now that parts are more brittle. So my advice to the OP for your use do not go as cheap as possible, which I am sure you knew not to.
