Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

[FLlongball]

My dealer typically has snap on covers made for new boats. I have never had one with snaps. I have typically had a cover with straps or a Rankin style strapless cover. Can you share your thoughts on pros/cons of each type? My biggest concern with the snaps is having the snaps all over the boat.

Thanks

[Quinner]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

I would avoid snaps however if you must have them try to do them into the underside of the rub rail. If you are getting a tower look at what/how they plan to go around the tower legs.

[OnlyNatique]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

IMO I would recommend the snap cover. I have seen it on a few boats and I had it on my old one. The snaps went down the side of the boat under the rub rail, across the back of the boat, and up on the top frame of the window. I thought it looked really good when covered and when the cover was off you really did not even notice the snaps. Very Clean looking. See if you can get some pictures from the dealer and see what you think of how they look. I was happy with mine and will probley do it again.

[igkya]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

Double what Quinner said... only if you must use snaps and then only under the rubrail.

[MNSuperAir]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

Snaps can have a clean look if they ar under the rub rail. That is where I had mine installed.

[jc]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

I had mine installed above the rub-rail, just matches the bow cover snaps better, IMHO.

[scottrob]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

how tight does the cover get when snaps are under rub rails? My dealer told me that the cover will shrink over a 1-2 yr period to where you can no longer snap under the rail in some places. Is that true? I'd like to do it so when I'm driving 70mph I could have a cover on - but I don't want to spend the $$$ and found out the hard way - thx.

[OnlyNatique]

RE: Boat Cover - with or without snaps?

I dont think the dealer is right. My cover I had for about 2 summers and 3 winters and never had a problem with it. As long as you keep it on the boat it wont shrink. If you take it off and store it for a very long time then yes I could see where this would happen. With my cover on I could easily do 70+ and it was solid. I had a local marine in town make mine and they did a fine job. Mine cost about $1200 dollars for the snaps and sunbrella material.

[jhiestand]

I may be in the minority here as I have snaps under my rub rail and my opinion is that they look terrible. That being said, I don't know of a better way to secure a cover.

I've seen some Mastercraft covers that have a winch/cinch at the rear and the cover merely fits by tension. Seems to me that would be a pain to install every time, but if you don't have to do it daily it might be a better option, at least for aesthetic reasons. Not sure if you can score something like that for your CC.

I've had my cover since I purchased in '01 and it still snaps with no difficulty at all. I don't use it on a daily basis, though.

[TRBenj]

I've seen some Mastercraft covers that have a winch/cinch at the rear and the cover merely fits by tension. Seems to me that would be a pain to install every time, but if you don't have to do it daily it might be a better option, at least for aesthetic reasons. Not sure if you can score something like that for your CC.

If youre in the market for a new cover, check out the group buy currently going on for Rankin.

The Rankin will fit just like jhiestand describes- the pattern is very precise and tightens with a drawstring and cinch at the rear. It is super tight and sheds water without needing support poles, straps or snaps.

I would never put snaps on my boat, but thats just me.

[OKWAKEBDR]

I like snaps - I can leave the bow cover on for those cold mornings, and it is great for towing. Seems like less of a hassle than the strap kind (I had the strap kind on my X-Star). My snaps are under the rub rail - don't even know that they're there.

[TRBenj]

[It is super tight and pools water without needing support poles, straps or snaps.

Correction: I meant sheds water- the Rankin does not pool.

[NautiqueJeff]

[It is super tight and pools water without needing support poles, straps or snaps.

Correction: I meant sheds water- the Rankin does not pool.

Fixed it...

[FLlongball]

I called Rankin today to see how quick the could make a cover. My boat will be ready in two weeks. They said they could do it in about that amount of time. They were nice enough to give the group buy price. I ordered my cover with side and rear skirts. Thanks for your help.

[ag4ever]

My cover has a few snaps that keep it in place better while towing. The dealer did not install the male portion of the snaps on the boat as most people don't want them. I was having a problem towing with the cover since the side would try to "ride up" and start moving around too much. I decided to install the snaps to solve this problem. I put the snaps in the rub rail on the under side. you would not even know they were there if you did not know about them. I think it has a total of 8 snaps for the entire cover, but it does not really need many since the cover is mainly secured by the rope rnning thru the perimeter.

Also, the snaps added just enough positioning stability to make the cover very secure during towing.