Boat Storage in a FL HOA

I suppose approved storage cover can be anything from a tarp to a separate garage, so if everything's been rejected, it seems to me you and your neighbors need to make the board defined what an "approved" cover looks like. If they review the last group of rejections (assuming there are several of them), they may see a pattern as to what they don't like.

And that may mean what you really need is a design standard. It's not so much about requiring that the material be made of X and be Y color, although that could be part of it. This is going in the backyard, so there should be something about keeping, say, tarp secure so it doesn't flap in the wind, blow off and become an instant block to an oncoming car or wind up collecting standing water that could become a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Go to the board and suggest this be placed on the agenda or perhaps hold a special homeowners meeting to brainstorm ideas, especially if you have a lot of people with boats. Or suggest it charter a committee that can research the subject, poll homeowners on what they'd like to see, and then they can make recommendations to the board. Once a standard is approved during an open board meeting, homeowners can be informed and then prepare their exterior change requests accordingly. Every few years, you may want to revisit the standard to see if it needs tweaking to address newer types of covers that are being used.

We had a similar situation with sheds in an association I once belonged to in IL. Though allowed via our Covenants, the ARB and BOD kept turning any requests down. One owner had his attorney write a letter to the BOD and upon review of the letter by the BOD's attorney, the BOD's attorney advised the BOD that thye cannot keep turning all requests down. He advised the BOD set up some guidelines that would allow shed construction.

An aside, this issue began an upheaval against the Pres. of the BOD and several members when they refused to accept/implement their attorney's advice. In the first election cycle two BOD Members supporting the Pres. were gone and the Pres was not re-elected as Pres. A committee was appointed (4 to 3 vote) to come up with a shed construction guideline and it was a tough one. Poured concrete base, construction type and style same as the house, etc. In the next election, the old time BOD Members remaining were not re-elected.