Best type of boat cover?

[jscott84]

I recently purchased my first boat that only came with a large tarp for covering. That works fine for now but i'm trying to find a cover for next year when we keep the boat docked in the water. When looking for covers online, it seems all I can find are ones that strap to the trailer. Any ideas on where I can find something that will work for when the boat is kept in the water? A snap on would work but can't seem to find any. I've also seen someones boat that just had a full cover on it and then weights on the ends of the cover to hang down and keep it secured that way. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Best type of boat cover?

Sounds like you're looking for a mooring cover. Those are typically custom jobs.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best type of boat cover?

You don't say what boat you have or where you are, but covering a whole boat at a mooring is a huge pain, if you use the boat. Most people who moor their boats get the kind that are waterproof and don't need a cover, or they just cover just a console or specific area.

Over-winter covers are different b/c they are not supposed to be removed/reinstalled frequently.

Anything with weights is likely to blow off. But if you must, put an eye-bolt in the top of an empty 2 liter soda bottle, fill it with water, hang from the grommets. They even make tops with hooks for this.

Check your marina/zoning before spending too much time rigging your own system.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Best type of boat cover?

Why would something with weights be likely to blow off? We used a mooring cover (custom) on a bass boat we kept on a lift on our covered dock and it held up just fine. We had five (~5lbs ea) sand bags which were placed at the bow, one each at midship per side, and one on each corner of the stern. Each of the sand bags had a simple snap-hook on it to attach to the d-rings on the cover. Those sandbags held the cover just fine in the Oklahoma wind and never did we show up to find the cover sitting any way but how we left it. The cover took all of 3 minutes to remove.

The only issue we ever had was when a friend dropped one of the canvas sand bags into the water, so we had to do a little 15-20ft dive to retrieve it. The cover came with the boat, but I bet it was a picey option.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best type of boat cover?

why? because that's how boats are.
What would happen to the tarp with five 5# sandbags attached if it were dropped overboard in 20' of water?
I would like to know what boat/conditions the guy has, to better assess whether a whole boat cover at a mooring is a good idea in the first place. It will go back to the car analogy, and the assessment of whether it is worthwhile to cover it at all.