Boat Covers

I wanted to get a custom boat cover for my boat, I dont like the material it was made of. How much of a difference is there between a semi-cover and custom cover (fit wise).

It really depends on your boat, but usually as semi-custom is just that....meaning it isn't gonna great. There is usually quite abit of slack material. If your just using it for storage, I'd say a good semi-custom would be fine(with a little "tenting" to take up the extra fabric)....but if you want one for towing, if you can afford it I would suggest just looking into a custom.

That is the problem i'm having with my upcoming trip to Canada. I would love to have a nice custom cover to have my boat covered on the trip up there....but no way can I afford one. Then i've gotta look into a semi-custom, but don't wanna drop the money on one only to have that extra fabric flapping in the wind and ripping going up the interstate. Probably just gonna end up towing without a cover.

Thanks Bubba, I dont trailer the boat with a cover, it would be for just setting in the driveway, theres a big price difference, Dowco custom cover $408, Semi-cover $245(100% polyester)We shall see, I hope it fits a little snug.

if it's just used while sitting in the driveway that seems like a lot of money. i have the universal one from wal mart, 60 bucks, made for 14-16' boats, mine is 12' but with the raised seats it covers the motor down to the prop, and the winch up front. couple of bungees underneath and it does not go anywhere. it's tight enough that wind is not a problem, though i can't trailer with it on.

I had two from Wal-mart and one from bass proshops and neither held up to Jerseys elements, they all dry-rotted and leaked, the one from bass proshops was a poly/cotton blend. I'm going to see what the 100% poly does.

Most of your big box covers aren't going to be of the same quality fabric used in a custom cover. If you will notice, most of the big box covers have a 1 to 3 year warranty. My custom has a 10 year on the material.

I bought a semi custom and the fit was terrible because of the shape of my boat. I took it back and bit the bullet for the full custom (manufactured by a local upholstery shop to exactly fit my boat). It fits like a glove, including the tm prop and mount for my console depth finder.

:twisted: Earlier this season I got a cover from BPS for my 16' Tracker. Its the Sun Armor brand. 100% polyester, extreme water repellent, plus there is a braided rope in the hem to provide a tight fit. I am very satisfied with this product and would highly recommended to anyone. Good deal for $194.

I saw that FD, last cover I got from BPS ripped along the windshield, and a bunch of different places so i'm a little leary of them but than it was a ploy/cotton blend. The place where I ordered it from is manufacturing it for the specs. of my type of boat. They said it is going to be trailerable and have sewn in vents so it should be a tight fit.

On my previous rig, which was outside 24/7, I always used the covers from Walmart and got some pretty good wear out of them. One way to cure the windshield/cover problem is to get a piece of the small diameter pre-cut foam pipe wrap from your local hardware store. get the type that doesn't have the adhesive strip in the cut. Cut a section that will sufficiently cover the edges of the windshiled, put it in place and the snugged-up cover should hold it in-place. I used that method the entire time I had the boat, and never had any problem with a torn cover from the windshield. I also used an old closed-cell foam sleeping pad cut in various shapes to pad the transom corners and other places that might tear/puncture the cover. The snugged cover would hold them in place.