Todd:

I missed the part about the PVC. Sorry. I was thinking of the closed cell foam for the flotation portion of the island. It's easy to cut slits in it with a sharp knife (even an electric fillet knife works well) and you can push the hanging material thru from the bottom and tie it off on the top size.

Have you looked at some of the craft stores for x-mas garland? Tie on top, use a small weight on the other end to make sure it hangs straight down. They use something like that to make cover areas for ice fishing that are removable. Drill a hole, slip this thing down the hole, the arms unfold and the garland sinks downward. Drill more holes around the perimeter of the cover and target the fish that come to check things out.

They also have plastic "spanish moss" that is also used for decorations, but that might be too tight.

www.hoosierpondpros.com

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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).