Boat Cover Advice Needed - General Storage and Towing

[stephenson]

The cover my SeaRay 195BR (I/O with open bow - made only in 1995 it appears) was delivered with recently disintegrated - nice canvas with reinforced areas, straps to tension it to the trailer, and a fore and aft pole to keep it taut for water runoff.

The boat spends almost all of it's time in the garage, but I do trailer it a few hundred miles per year on the highways and interstates. As I do carpentry and other repair work in the shared garage, I want to protect it from dust, etc, but since the garage is below grade, it tends to get damp ...

I would appreciate advice on:
1. Type of cover - trailering with tie downs or snaps, etc
2. Construction material - canvas or Sunbrella or the new types of thin poly materials
3. The original was gray - my trim is royal blue - do the blue covers in Sunbrella or canvas of other fabrics hold up well or is a lighter color still better for longevity?
4. What best suppliers are for tops - I have seen prices on the web all over the place - price variation for what appears to be the same product is huge 100-200% - hard to tell if there are any differences!

Really appreciate any advice on the above!

 

[Boatist]

Re: Boat Cover Advice Needed - General Storage and Towing

My boat came with a canvas cover. It was tan in color and I stored the boat outside. Rain in winter and sun in summer. Cover lasted almost 2 years but was totally rotten.

Got a new Sunbrella cover, Pacific Blue. Price was about $300 for a trailering cover on a 21 foot Runabout. Color did not fade at all. You can even bleach and color will not change. That cover kinda lasted 9 years. The cover it self was fine for full 9 years. The problem I had after about 4 years was all the thread holding the seams together rotted. I used some spectra fishing line and re stwiched by hand. That was a lot of work, but it held up fine. After about 9 years the cover was getting thinner and finally ripped over the windsheild so got a new Sunbrella trailering cover. Second cover about $400 for a 21 foot by 8 foot boat.

I still use the parts of the old cover today to cover stern seats and engine cover when we go out off shore to keep the salt spray off.

My cover was pretty waterproff but in a heavy rain would leak at the center seam thru the neddle holes. On My boat only pull the plug for cleaning the bilge. Even in winter the water form any possible drips would eveporate and in spring have no water at all in bilge. One time I forgot to put supports under the cover so the water collected on top of the cover and I had a lot of water on top of the cover, More than I could lift. I had to bail with a bucket but still did not leak.

Like any trailering cover make sure they pad anything sharp the cover will slide over.

Tie down for trailering use something that will not streach. Nylon line or streach cords not a good idea in my opinion. Nylon or streach cords with the wind pressure from insterstate travel will allow the sides to ride up. I use Poly line.

I got my boat new in 1980 and i now have my second sunbrella cover and it is in very good shape. Sunbrella has a 5 year warranty. This second cover for $5 more they would used a special thread that will not rot so it still in good shape today.

One problem I have had with both covers and it If ever need another new one will due different is the cover shrinks about 1.5 inches over the 21 foot length. So when putting the cover on really have to pull hard to get the back corners over the boat. So My next cover I will have a 1 and 1/2 inch board on the back and ask them to make the cover that much longer.

They are now making many more colors of Sunbrella Marine colors. So my next cover I hope to find a lighter blue. The interior of my boat goes over 140 degrees inside on a 100 degree day. I have not mesured it when it 114 outside in the shade. Still I think a lighter color would be better.