Boat Cover Suggestions

[jedgell]

I'm in the market for a good, trailerable cover. I'm moving in a few months and will be towing the boat about 2,000 miles. I've thought about shrinkwrap, but I'd rather put the money towards a nice cover. The best cover I have found seems to be Rankin Covers. Does anybody have experience with these? The biggest issue I see with this, or any cover, is how do you get the cover around the front of the boat? I have the standard SN trailer with the bow pads. The only way I can see how to do it is to remove the bow pads, or put the front of the cover on before putting the boat on the trailer.

Your suggestions are much appreciated, thanks.

[AbunDiga909]

The best covers I've seen are customized locally that use Sunbrella. A number of members on this site have locally customized covers, as well as others.

Mine was locally done w/ snaps, which I also find to be most effetive. They keep the cover taught all around evenly. The Sunbrella is 100% water resistant. Water dribbled right off of it in heavy rain and even w/ snow piles on it, no water leaks through. The snaps are under the rubrail. This is the best I've ever worked with...

Edit: Just one more thing... you can modify how tight you want the cover to be. The poles inside are adjustable. In one pic you see the cover is a a little lower than the other. Your preferance can make it tight for sitting in harsh weather or not if you dont wanna stretch the sunbrella to its max.

[jedgell]

How do you get your cover over the bow of the boat with your trailer?

[bkhallpass]

jedgell, Is there no play in you crash pads? On my trailer, there is actually a pin to pull
so the crash pads swing forward. I put the cover on, then push the pads back into place.
However there is enough play that unless I really have the boat on tight against the pads,
I can usually just let off on the winch strap and get enough clearance to slide the cover through.

BKH

[OKWAKEBDR]

...or you can just get one that doesn't cover the nose. Mine is a custom snap-on two piece cover, fully waterproof. The two piece is great because I can leave the bow cover on for those early spring and late fall outings.

FYI...it also snaps over the fiberglass platform.

[DRAGON88]

I believe that my cover is a Rankin, absolutely amazing. Does exactly what it should, and does it better then anything I've ever seen/used. doesn't leak or pool. It's honestly one of my favorite features of our new boat. It has a system of hooks that grab onto the rub rail instead of snaps. They work just as good, if not better. Snaps can be hard to push on when you get the cover really really tight... Or at least in my experiences anyways.

[AbunDiga909]

How do you get your cover over the bow of the boat with your trailer?

Like BKH said, there's usually a little give in the nose guard and if there's not, there's always a way to get around it. One way is to put the nose part of the cover on just before the boat is all the way on the trailer while still on the ramp. And if its on land already, all I do is just take the guard off. It's just a pin and a screw, and the whole piece comes off, much more simple than you'd imagine. Getting the nose of the cover on is never an issue. And once you get one, you start finding your own ways to get around it...

[imported_pjdave]

Cant help you with the brand of this cover, but it came from the cc factory and is their option. It tralers really well, and doesnt leave scuff/rub marks on the gelcoat

[jedgell]

Thanks for all the help, think I'll go with the Rankin. Its basically the same price as the cover from CC, and it doesn't have the straps.

[Laptom]

One thing I really like about a cover when the boat is outside at the waterside... Is that the swim platform is also covered. This way the ducks cannot sh#t on it Yellow_Flash_Colorz: .

[jedgell]

Another question...Talking to guys at the lake tonight, they say that they wouldn't tow it with a cover. Since I'll be towing it so far, what do you think? The worst that can happen is that it gets dirty, can't imagine that it would take too long to clean after the trip. I do have a cheap cover that I could put on it when I stop overnight.

[Blue Ski]

I always tow long distances with the cover on. Especially if there is a threat of rain. I can't imagine trying to clean road grime out of the boat's interior from the spray off of my truck and others. If you get a good tight cover you should be fine. I like the snaps under the rub rail vs. tie downs that way there is no rubbing of the gelcoat in the wind.

[hundo]

I'll be doing a 2900 mile trip and i'm going to shrink wrap ours. No one will want to try and steal the cover when its sitting outside at a hotel, and don't want to have the straps beating on the boat. I doubt you''ll want to be changing covers at the end of a days drive unless you just throw the other cover on top?

[Adrian]

Hi
I have to buy a new cover too. I hate my old Nautique cover with straps. I have the boat on the water most of the time and to put that cover on was a pain in the a.. Most of the times the straps ended hooked with the rudder, propeller, fins... and I had to dive under the boat to unhooked them. :evil:
My friend's 196 has a cover that I like much more. The boat has those small plastic parts (I don't know how they're called, snaps??? ) and he just has to hook the elastics of the cover in them. Well as my english is not as good as I good like (sorry) I have some pics.
What do you think of these covers? who mades them?
I never tow with the cover on.
Thanks.

[jhiestand]

Re: Boat Cover Suggestions

The biggest issue I see with this, or any cover, is how do you get the cover around the front of the boat? I have the standard SN trailer with the bow pads. The only way I can see how to do it is to remove the bow pads, or put the front of the cover on before putting the boat on the trailer.

One way to handle the bow paddles is for your cover to have cutouts. Mine fits around them w/out removing or loosening them. You can see that a little in the picture.

Depending on what kind of trailer you have, you might be able to loosen the paddle assembly enough to install your cover underneath. My Ram-Lin tightens down with a single bolt, so to put cover on I could just loosen the bolt and it gives me about an inch of play, enough to slip the cover through.