Winter Tarp with a tower?

[SilentSeven]

Hi, I store outdoors and have to tarp in the winter. New to me boat has a tower. Debating the best options on how to tarp. Is it get a mondo tarp and put it over the upright tower? Is it fold the tower down and then tarp? Or, pull the upper portion of the tower off and then tarp the hull? The last option seems the cleanest....but clearly has the most effort.

What are people with towers doing?

[NautiqueJeff]

There are several ways you can go.

My suggestion (and what I am doing this year) is to get a SewLong Storage Cover. These go on over the tower while the tower is upright. This allows water and snow to easily roll off due to the steep angle of the cover instead of piling up on the cover.

https://www.sewlong.com/marine-canvas/storage-cover/

Whatever you do, make sure the cover has vents. The last thing you want to do is trap moisture in the boat.

[SilentSeven]

Interesting. Contacted them to see what a ball park figure is for a cover.

[SilentSeven]

hmmm....no bueno....they don't have a pattern for this boat. Back to square one. :/

[Miljack]

I have been using a tarp over the tower for many years, NautiqueJeff is right about venting. You can either make some for the tarp, or use a couple of the large DampRid buckets when in storage. If you can plug in a marine dehumidifier that could be an option too.

[Rockymtnsurfer]

First year I had my boat, before I had a shop. This is what we do here in the mountains. Wood single support in bow and seating area. Shrink wrap. We get 400 plus inches of snow a season and it works great. Snow slides right off. Just a thought. They have a special vent install on it as well.

[SilentSeven]

Thanks for the suggestions. What's new here is the tower aspect - I have been storing outdoors for years and use damp rid, a few 12v fans for air circulation and an RV air warmer.

What would be most helpful is insight on what people do relative to the tower. See the opening post.

No snow here and I would like the solution to be re moveable as we do use the boat from time to time in the winter.

[jonpeterson]

I’ve dealt with a similar situation. Personally, I found that folding the tower down before tarping worked best. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it offers better protection and keeps things more secure. Using a large enough canvas tarp to cover everything while the tower is up can be tricky and might not give you the tight fit you need.

The idea of removing the upper portion of the tower sounds cleanest, but as you mentioned, it’s definitely more effort. If you don’t mind the extra work, it might be worth it for the best protection.

[s_kelley2000]

I have been using Transhield covers for winter storage for the past 7 winters and they hold up well for me and allow the interior to vent and breathe. The 21-23 foot fits pretty well on my 21' Super Sport so it will probably work with your 206. I am in a snow region and I still think I will get at least an 8th winter out of this cover. Similar benefits to shrink wrap but they are relatively easy to remove and they are reusable. I found it useful to run some rope for the port side of the tower down through the bow lift ring and then back up to the starboard side to help give the bow section of the cover more structure to deflect snow/rain.

https://www.amazon.com/Transhield-Waterproof-Tower-Storage-Styles/dp/B08BGZ8VZN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1YKU1FBT0VFJY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ 9.ygQsMpzZmisA8uxTwQ_DnweeBiaKN_dAVOcghCaubrQXLMPC RIiCEngplV_bwyaD8uguse2hrMU3PX3eFNw_gzeRg7dshOr_-bDW2hRE9gNZ-fXlueFDt3QkRaIFEo6NmA1FHoLbybXNpzZul69VmYOAnAtWOeA Cl9aLhKifPQ2BI6N5PkeIgUrNLJBRS_cUojxeQFEV-SUhQgsu6oYKpSBX8Xx5SoDz_KgrPjIeJ1OQHPDlaPZ3Kw_fGeJ te7yU7lY4Imv6MW2kvuV4gPRkbszY5he1HjkMbPFOh2X6ngk.y nvqfet6LpieA2zZekV9HNyab7OzzAmSosDnWeOPaa8&dib_tag =se&keywords=over%2Btower%2Bboat%2Bcover&qid=17242 51375&sprefix=over%2Btower%2Bboat%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1&psc=1

[srock]

I have always gone over the tower with skirts. Like Jeff, my current cover is a Sewlong and it has been great. Since they do not have your pattern, and if no one chimes in with an option, I would take it the boat to a local shop and have one made.