Looking for a decent boat cover

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sharrison

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Jun 19, 2012
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Jacksonville,Fl
Are the ones at Walmart or Academy any good?
I have a 14' 63" beam Sylvan Semi V. It's sitting in the garage right now, But I want to put it in the back yard since i'm done building it for now. I have a tarp for it now but it's a pain to strap down and I can't tow the boat with it on. I took the boat out the other day and while I was at my moms house it rained real hard and everything got soaked. Took 2 days to dry out with 2 big shop fans blowing on it.


Thanks
 
sharrison said:
.... and while I was at my moms house it rained real hard and everything got soaked. Took 2 days to dry out with 2 big shop fans blowing on it.


Thanks

Dry out the tarp and/or boat?

I use a plastic tarp (about $30 at the hardware store) and a series of black PVC ribs that I copied from someone else on this forum. Keeps the rain out and the sun off. The plastic tarp lasts about one to two years before needing replacement.

boatcover001.jpg
 
I bought mine at Cabera's and it's towable, doesn't cover the motor so I got a separate one for it. I think I paid $75 for mine on sale but a month or so ago they had them for $59 I believe.

I also built some bows out of pvc to help keep the rain from puddling
 
nomowork said:
sharrison said:
.... and while I was at my moms house it rained real hard and everything got soaked. Took 2 days to dry out with 2 big shop fans blowing on it.


Thanks

Dry out the tarp and/or boat?

I use a plastic tarp (about $30 at the hardware store) and a series of black PVC ribs that I copied from someone else on this forum. Keeps the rain out and the sun off. The plastic tarp lasts about one to two years before needing replacement.

boatcover001.jpg
The boat itself, It's treated wood and carpet, So i didn't want it to stay soaked too long. I didn't have the tarp with me since I can't tow the boat with it. I do use PVC to keep it from pooling up and it works fine, Just wanting something I can put on the boat while trailering it if i know it's going to storm and storing it.

Gramps50 said:
I bought mine at Cabera's and it's towable, doesn't cover the motor so I got a separate one for it. I think I paid $75 for mine on sale but a month or so ago they had them for $59 I believe.

I also built some bows out of pvc to help keep the rain from puddling

I'm in Fl so no Cabela's here. I know I can order one, But would really like to be able to pick it up so if it doesn't fit or just plain sucks I can return it.. Nearest BPS is 2 hours away so worse case I can check there if the Walmart or Academy ones aren't any good.

Thanks guys...
 
sharrison said:
Just wanting something I can put on the boat while trailering it if i know it's going to storm and storing it.

I have another heavier boat tarp that came with another boat that I use for our road trips on the tin. It has a center pole that makes the cover look like a tee pee and keeps it dry due to no puddling anywhere and it goes up in a matter of a minute or two but I don't use it while towing.
 
I bought one of the high dollar trailerable covers online...was supposedly made for my (old) boat. Didn't fit all that well but I had it, wasn't about to spend another $30 to send it back and try another one. That gets expensive quick. So I used it.

First time it snowed, it basically ripped itself apart. Does not snow often here. Once a year and it's usually less than an inch. That particular storm dropped about 3/4" of snowfall and the cover could not take the weight (wet sticky stuff).

Not wanting to spend another $200, I ran over to walmart & picked up one of the cheapies. Believe it or not, it fit better than the expensive custom one did. And it lasted almost 5 years until a tornado removed it from the boat for me. Insurance covered it and the slight damage and I bought a cover from work that was just a universal fit canvas cover. Thing weighed about 100 lbs dry but it was STOUT. And camo (digital). I sold that boat with that cover. It was ~$140 and that was roughly 3 years ago.

Newest boat is a War Eagle 548. Bought a $60 Academy cover and it actually works out perfectly. Well almost perfectly. I stick a bucket on the front deck, the cooler and tacke box in the middle of the floor and tip the front & rear seat upright, then strap the cover down. It's trailerable as well. Hauled about 150 miles one way 2 weekends ago with it on and it never missed a beat. STayed tight the entire trip. I'm impressed with it for the money.
 
turbotodd said:
I bought one of the high dollar trailerable covers online...was supposedly made for my (old) boat. Didn't fit all that well but I had it, wasn't about to spend another $30 to send it back and try another one. That gets expensive quick. So I used it.

First time it snowed, it basically ripped itself apart. Does not snow often here. Once a year and it's usually less than an inch. That particular storm dropped about 3/4" of snowfall and the cover could not take the weight (wet sticky stuff).

Not wanting to spend another $200, I ran over to walmart & picked up one of the cheapies. Believe it or not, it fit better than the expensive custom one did. And it lasted almost 5 years until a tornado removed it from the boat for me. Insurance covered it and the slight damage and I bought a cover from work that was just a universal fit canvas cover. Thing weighed about 100 lbs dry but it was STOUT. And camo (digital). I sold that boat with that cover. It was ~$140 and that was roughly 3 years ago.

Newest boat is a War Eagle 548. Bought a $60 Academy cover and it actually works out perfectly. Well almost perfectly. I stick a bucket on the front deck, the cooler and tacke box in the middle of the floor and tip the front & rear seat upright, then strap the cover down. It's trailerable as well. Hauled about 150 miles one way 2 weekends ago with it on and it never missed a beat. STayed tight the entire trip. I'm impressed with it for the money.

Thanks for the info..

I bought one from Academy today but haven't pulled it out of the box yet. We're about to get some good rain here in North Florida so the boat will stay in the garage untill next week. Don't want to try out the new cover during a hurricane.. :shock:
 
Yeah...

I found out today that my other boat (1432) cover works well for a parachute. Wind picked up while we were trying to put it on. And the wind was only about 10 mph.

we're supposed to get some of that storm this week too. Should be fun.
 
Bottom feeder boat cover.

I use the $21 blue tarps from Wal-mart.

CopyofDSC02338.jpg


12x24' for my 17' Tracker Deep V.

No framing underneath needed, it's supported by the outboard, console, and front pedestal seat and cinched down tight to the trailer with 8 bungee cords. It's waterproof and doesn't move under high winds. If we get snow I add more bungees and it'll support 4" or heavy snow.

Much cheaper than a cloth boat cover and is much more waterproof too.
 
One cautionary note when using plastic tarps. Read the labels as some plastic tarp colors will bleed off when wet. I had one that was silver that stained my car's roof. I could not get that stain out either.
 
If you have one near you, contact a tractor-trailer (semi-truck) cover repair operation. The rubberized canvas is proven durable and, although heavy, is about bullet proof.

I have some pieces that came from a wreck. A bunch of us were asked to clear the highway debris when a trailer-load of wood on the flatbed flipped. We loaded the wood on the salvage trailer and swept the highway. The tarp was torn and unwanted. I happily gathered it up and have used the large pieces for a variety of things, two of which are boat covers. Right now they are snugged down with bungees on the "D" rings that were sewn into the tarp.

When I get serious about this business of Winter, I'll put grommets at appropriate places and cinch it down.

Don't know the price, but likely an over-the-road truck place would have some smaller pieces that might suit.

I'll take pictures and post them soon.

Best wishes.
 

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