storing solar cover on rail

[Poconos]

Welcome to the forum.
You don't say what kind, Above or Inground, and the shape. Circular pools are a dog with solar covers. Rectangular or oval are the easiest. Storing on a rail should work but the trick is to get it on and off the rail without tearing the bubbles. The white cover is necessary to keep the heat down. The inner layers can get really hot and destroy the cover quickly. My pool is an oval inground with a rectangular cover. I roll the cover on a long length of 2" PVC pipe and I fashioned clips to hold the starting edge on the pipe. I roll it, then lift one end out of the water to drain the water out, then lift it on the deck. Watermom has a 24 foot AG and cut the circular cover in quarters and rolls each slice on a pipe the same way.
Al

[lsasso]

The pool is 24 ft round, above ground. It is so difficult to put the solar cover on ond off by myself that I don't use it as much as I'd like ( I have a solar mat and the cover would help prevent heat loss at night). I have a deck that goes about 40% of the way around with a pool ladder in the middle of the deck. That's my working area and I think that if I can attach one edge of the cover with strapping to the fence, on the side opposite the deck, and use a long strap at the center of the other side of the cover, I might be able to pull the cover across the surface of the water by myself. Any ideas as to how to attach the strapping to the cover? It's a little flimsy. Linda.

[Poconos]

I really don't have any ideas how to attach something to a cover with enough grab to e useful. If you want, maybe I can get Watermom to take a few pics of what she did. The 24' round is exactly what she has and handling the quarters of her cover is pretty easy.
Al

[Watermom]

I already had pics showing what I did here on the forum in the following thread: Watermom's Solar Blanket Solution for her24' AG Pool.

Good luck. Like Al said, solar covers are a big pain for round pools but they retain SO much heat that it is worth the hassle. The way I have been doing it the past few years is pretty easy and manageable for just one person to take it on and off by themselves.

[Poconos]

Those clips are nothing more than slices of the pipe. You can use a table saw, bandsaw, radial arm saw, miter saw or anything to give a clean straight cut. I think I made them about 3/8" wide. I then used a hand saw to cut a segment out of the circle. Use a half round file or coarse sandpaper to take off any sharp edges. The width of the clip and amount you cut out determines how much of a 'grab' it gives.
Al
Edit: To attach the end caps all you need to do is smear some silicone seal on the pipe and tap the cap on. Since you don't have a pressure issue you don't need the PVC cement, all the joint has to be is waterproof.