Replace a panel in safety cover?

first, a warning to everyone considering buying a new safety cover: do NOT get the solid cover with the mesh panel. you get the worst of both worlds: an unbelievably heavy and unwieldy cover, and a swamp when you open your pool in the spring.

you can see where this is headed - i really, really want to get that damn mesh panel out of there and have it replaced with something solid. i got the name of a canvas company from a local pool store, but they want over $200 and their location is over an hour away. does anyone have any experience with this? what sort of companies should i look for? any do-it-yourself ideas?

thanks!

Bumping this up to see if someone can help.

Stitching a new panel on something that big and unwieldy and heavy will be a dog. Place that works on large boat sails? Maybe that's the canvas shop you mentioned. How about sealing the mesh? If you don't mind the uglyness maybe squeegying a few caulking tubes of clear silicone seal on the panel. Certainly would stick to a mesh. They have that stuff that is UV resistant and it should handle weather well and won't attack the mesh. Could even build up a couple layers from both sides. Just one of my crazy ideas. The world runs on silicone seal, PVC, and electrical tape. Pardon my spelling....too lazy and tired to check.
Al