Better do it quickly.....my small tear turned into a really big one when i got caught in a nice rain storm. But mine was in the center of what would be the main cockpit so the weight did it in.
Mine is garage kept and it's right on the rub rail. The tear-aid stuff doesn't look great (clear tape-like substance) but neither does a big square patch either.
I hand sewed my Rankin cover this year when it was broken into. To hide my not so great looking work, I got a black canvas type material iron on patch to cover it up. It actually looks pretty good.