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Universal Cover Questions

winter

winter

Active member
Time to score a full cover for my 92 Persuader, but there are sooo many options. For the most part, The boat stays in a garage over the winter, but it will be outside during the warm months and i'd like a cover that keeps the rain out. On ebay, i see several options... Polyester and Poly/cotton mix. The cotton is suppsoed to keep the cover from abrasion on the gel coat. I'd guess if the cover is tight enough, it shouldn't be flapping at all.
Anyway, these are fairly cheap, all under $100, with one being $60 for a 12oz material. I don't plan on trailering with it on btw. Your thoughts?!
 
I can tell you this much; the cheap covers from WalMart (and they sell them on Ebay, too) do NOT keep out water. Water passes through them like a sieve. Expect everything underneath one of those covers to be thoroughly soaked. And if the boat is underneath a tree, then the sap will leak through those covers, too...leaving stains. They WILL keep the leaves out of your boat, however.:shakehead:
THis comes from experience having owned two of these covers (one bought by me and one coming with a boat....they both were equally worthless.)
I only warn you about these because these are commonly sold on Ebay.
 
twright55 said:
I can tell you this much; the cheap covers from WalMart (and they sell them on Ebay, too) do NOT keep out water. Water passes through them like a sieve. Expect everything underneath one of those covers to be thoroughly soaked. And if the boat is underneath a tree, then the sap will leak through those covers, too...leaving stains. They WILL keep the leaves out of your boat, however.:shakehead:
THis comes from experience having owned two of these covers (one bought by me and one coming with a boat....they both were equally worthless.)
I only warn you about these because these are commonly sold on Ebay.
Click to expand...
I agree 100% I bought one of those cheap Wal-Mart covers for when we go camping.It's keeps NO moisture out.
 
Oh great! Well, the one was called a shoremaster and i got on their website and they seemed to have a decent cover. It was 12oz 100% polyester which would seem to be at least water resistant. What i think i'm going to do is this... I'm going to buy a cheap cover and then when it looks like rain, throw a blue tarp over it. that worked well for my Starflite who's custom cover had a few holes in it. I'd toss a tarp over the cockpit area and that seemed to work pretty well.
 
Just a reminder...I am serious about the sap leaking through and staining the gelcoat beneath those covers. So don't put it under a tree that leaks any sap, unless you don't mind sap stains on your gelcoat.
That happened to me just last weekend. I have an old Dorsett with white gelcoat. I spent some time polishing and waxing it a couple of weeks ago in order to sell it. I came back the next week and pulled the WalMart cover off of it....sap all over my freshly waxed boat. Most of it came off fairly easily (thanks to the fresh wax) but I was still pissed.:mad:
It had rained, too. So I think the rain helped pull the sap through the cover.
I have a cover made with 'sharkskin' fabric, and it seems to work great. Keeps the water, etc. out, but still lets things dry underneath. I got it for $39 on clearance from IBoats.com, but they are normally a couple hundred dollars. If you find a good deal on one of those, I think you'll be happy.
 
Good info, thanks! My boat usually finds it's home under a tree to keep the heat down in the summer, and it's a maple which means allot of sap :shakehead: But the covers i used in the past kept it out pretty well and maybe even helped waterproof the cover more ;)
But point taken, i'll have to consider this for sure. I'm in the process of doing the proper McQuiers 3 step process to make it pretty again and hopefully keep it that way.

twright55 said:
Just a reminder...I am serious about the sap leaking through and staining the gelcoat beneath those covers. So don't put it under a tree that leaks any sap, unless you don't mind sap stains on your gelcoat.
That happened to me just last weekend. I have an old Dorsett with white gelcoat. I spent some time polishing and waxing it a couple of weeks ago in order to sell it. I came back the next week and pulled the WalMart cover off of it....sap all over my freshly waxed boat. Most of it came off fairly easily (thanks to the fresh wax) but I was still pissed.:mad:
It had rained, too. So I think the rain helped pull the sap through the cover.
I have a cover made with 'sharkskin' fabric, and it seems to work great. Keeps the water, etc. out, but still lets things dry underneath. I got it for $39 on clearance from IBoats.com, but they are normally a couple hundred dollars. If you find a good deal on one of those, I think you'll be happy.
Click to expand...
 
Run a search by google on baot covers, tons of co's out there, bought one strait from the manufacture, not sure the style, but is waterproof and fits my 251 great, Rob
 
Heavy cotton duck cover is what I would recommend. The original cover from Checkmate with my bost lasted 6 years before tearing. The new one I bought ran around $400.00 but fit perfectly for my enchanter. They keep out water and are very durable. I'll see if I can get you of the name of the company I bought it from for you. If I find it I'll fire it over to you.
 
remlinger said:
Heavy cotton duck cover is what I would recommend. The original cover from Checkmate with my bost lasted 6 years before tearing. The new one I bought ran around $400.00 but fit perfectly for my enchanter. They keep out water and are very durable. I'll see if I can get you of the name of the company I bought it from for you. If I find it I'll fire it over to you.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Let me know.
 
www.boatcoversdirect.com

This is the place where I ordered my cover. They are made to fit vs. semi-custom and my fit perfectly on my enchanter. I ordereed the 11oz cloth. In the past two years of using this cover, I have not had any water in the boat as it sits in the slip over the summer. My boat slip is under mature trees and never had a problem with sap leaking through.

Good Luck.
 
FWIW i bought a decent looking cover on ebay that is 65/35% cotton/poly and seems to fit well enough. i also bought a 20x12 silver tarp for those prolonged rain events. I'll repost once i know how well it works. thanks again!
 
my walmart cover works great !!!i put a support in the center and the rain beads right off even in a hurricane ...49.99 buy two at that price and double it up if your worried!!!!!!!
:banana::bounce::poke::cheers:brickwall::lol::devil::pissed::shakehead::yell::thumb::eek::D:sleep::):confused::brickwall:
 
1984 Checkmate Exciter

Hi,
Will someone please help me pick a boat cover? I don't need anything fancy, and it would be used only when it's moored. I don't know if I need one to cover the motor too, or just the boat itself. I don't need to cover the motor, but I'm not where I can look at the boat and see if it will fit over just the boat. Do they all come with pull cords to tighten it up? I'm afraid I'm going to order the wrong size.
checkmate_exciter.htm


I don't know why this is still on the marine site, we bought the boat about 10 years ago!
Thanks,
Sue
 
I purchased a really nice semi custom cover from iboats (Carver brand) for a 31 foot formula and it was 365$ shipped to my house. It has an elastic cord and straps to tie down to the trailer if needed. This is a very nice cover, I am sure yours would cost much less.
 
Will the cover work with an outboard? I can't picture how the cover would fit where the motor is. Does the cover go over the ladder too?
Thanks!
 
I bought the following cover from Amazon last fall and I love it:

MSC Heavy Duty 600D Marine Grade Polyester Canvas Trailerable Waterproof Boat Cover, Grey,Fits V-Hull,Tri-Hull, Runabout Boat Cover,Full Size Boat Cover, Mooring and Storage Used Boat Cover
4.4 out of 5 stars 102 customer reviews | 40 answered questions
Price: $209.99
Sale: $109.98 & FREE Shipping. Details
You Save: $100.01 (48%)
In Stock.
Sold by Summates and Fulfilled by Amazon in easy-to-open packaging. Gift-wrap available.
Size:

Made of marine grade polyester canvas with double PU Coating
Designed for both long-term storage, mooring and highway travel
Resistant to mildew and UV damage
Includes adjustable straps and storage bag; 3 Year limited warranty

It was on the boat all winter (even during the snow event) and through all of our rain this spring. It has not let a drop of water into the boat. It fit my Convincor 216 like it was made for it, and it even fits over the swim platform. It is allegedly is trailer-able but I have not tested that yet.
 
I bought a model H which says it is for 23' to 24' for my Convincor 216 which as I said, fits over the swim platform nicely and has a strap to go around my out-drive.
 
Usually the outboard boat covers come with a separate cover for the outboard motor. My cover stretches below the rub rail and covers the swim platform as well.
 
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