Center console cover for trailering or not?

[mbhoag]

Hi All
Getting ready to head to Minnesota (West Battle Lake) for a week, and it is a 7 hour drive. Forecast calls for rain for a good part of the drive. I am wondering if I should try to cover the center console (19' Pro Line Sport) to protect console, guages etc from the rain, of if they should be just fine getting rained on at 65 MPH...

If I should cover them, what is the best way to do it so the center console cover does not blow apart and shred?

Thoughts?

 

[JASinIL2006]

I tow my boat (a '97 bowrider) at least twice a year on vacations that involve round-trip drives of about 1600 miles.

I covered the boat once or twice and found it to be much more of a hassle than it was worth. Your boat may get rained on or dusty, but at least you won't have to worry about the cover blowing off, or straps loosening and abrading your gelcoat, or a section of cover catching air and shredding itself.... you get the picture.

Some people swear by their travel covers, but I have just found them to be a total pain. Most boats have electronics and gauges that are either covered or water resistant, so a little rain shouldn't cause any problems.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I wish I took pics of every flapping boat cover or parachuted boat cover I have seen over the years. covers are for keeping the bird crap off the boat when its moored or parked, not for trailering.

your gauges are fine if you rained on them 24 hours a day.....they are IP65 rated and designed to be rained on

just keep your plug out.

 

[garbageguy]

I'm in the no cover for trailering camp - as long as all exposed electronics are made for, and installed for, boating.

 

[mbhoag]

Thanks for the great responses... that is exactly what I was thinking... but wanted to make sure!

 

[southkogs]

One time was all it took ... felt like a drag chute behind my van, and the way the cover was "ballooning" I got nervous. Pulled over took it off and have never trailered over 3 miles with one on since. (Occasionally I've moved a boat to and from a storage spot close to the house without taking the cover off)

 

[Old Ironmaker]

When on the rare occasion I trailered my StarCraft 190 long distances I was stopping every hour or so to tighten everything down. Then I saw a boat travelling down the I-90 dragging a cover behind him. Dangerous. I wouldn't want to be responsible for a tragic accident because my cover flew off and landed on the windshield of a car carrying a family behind me doing 70. When I saw that I took the cover off. I remove all the electronics, tie down anything that can fly out. I will cover it at night if rain is in the forecast. If you don't have a proper travel cover just trailer her as is. There is no such thing as a temporary boat cover, especially going down the highway. A buddy lost 4 very expensive auto inflate PFD's that were strapped to the seats. They may have caused an accident too. Have a great trip and stay safe.

edit: I just remembered when I was a kid we all drove British rag tops. When it rained and hard we never got wet as long as we were driving, we only got wet when we stopped. I have to admit the harder it rained the faster I went, don't do that.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Ive trailered my 20 foot boat twice with the cover on which held camping gear for about 10 people from flying out over the 200 mile trip. I think the cover which is now 22 years old took almost as much wear in those two trips as all the years put on it. My new boat seen here I wash it push it in the shop let it dry cover it in the shop dry drive it 7 miles home at 35 mph but id never run this one at any speed. I will end up doing it this way most of the time because its usually raining 24/7 when i give up on summer and fall and accept that winter is now here. Fact is boats get wet an average day in the ocean results in salt water hitting almost everything top side what have you gained by trailering it covered.

 

[dingbat]

A console cover is a necessity in my mind. Not only keeps driven water out of the electronics, more importantly, it keeps prying eyes off your electronics.

My last boat had a cockpit cover which I used religiously.

Current boat has a hardtop and full enclosure with lockable electronic enclosures both overhead and at the helm.

Everything is out of sight, out of mind.

For the record, there is no such thing as “waterproof” when it comes to electronics. I don’t care what NEMA or IP rating the product is assigned. It’s only a matter of time until moisture finds a way in. It happens sooner than later with the plastic housing commonly in use today.

 

[mbhoag]

I like the idea of a console only cover, but I cannot see any way to make it secure enough to drive with. I currently have a 'coveralls' brand cover for the console, but it would never hold up on a road trip, so it gets used when the boat is docked at night or just sitting on the trailer when I am not using the full boat cover.

 

[dingbat]

I like the idea of a console only cover, but I cannot see any way to make it secure enough to drive with.

My cover was a snap on. Snapped alone the top of the windshield and down the sides of the cockpit.

A friend has a form fit cover for his console. I give him grief about it looking like a barbecue grill cover but it works like a charm.

Slip over the top, adjust the Velcro straps on the sides and snap it to the bottom of the console

 

[JimS123]

OK, I'm in the other camp. My boat ramp is 3 miles from the house and i never cover the boat for that. But Vacations are a 4-7 hour drive and in 50 years of boat ownership I've never made the trip with the boat uncovered.

Also after 50 years of trailering I have never damaged a cover.

In the old days my Dad made covers himself. Real canvas. Today I use Carver Custom or Semi-custom trailerable covers. No flapping, no wear, no fuss, no muss. I'm not worried about getting the boat wet. It's the bugs, bird $&^% and flying cigarette butts that bother me.

Just came back from an 8 hour drive.

 

[briangcc]

Mine balloons but it keeps all my camping gear from being scattered down I-90 / I-81. I use all the strap down points to hold it in place. I figure I have a season more of its use then I'm getting a custom travel cover made as my admiral and I have agreed that we've had enough fun trying to make generic covers work. Time to splurge!

 

[JimS123]

Mine balloons but it keeps all my camping gear from being scattered down I-90 / I-81.

That's my route as well. Just came back after 8 hours on the highway.

Our game is to count stuff....It was a banner year:
8 cooler covers
3 PFDs
2 bags of stuff - looked like clothes, not garbage
2 unidentifyable
and
1 boat hook.

 

[mbhoag]

Well just returned from West Battle Lake in MN, 7 hours up and 7 hours back... no cover, no problem....
Rain cleaned boat nicely on the way up... but no rain on the way back, so now I have to clean it!

The only modification I did make, was that I removed the windshield from the center console for the drive. It served 2 purposes...
1) I did not have to clean bugs off it before I could use the boat
2) Reduction in wind drag for towing, and it sits high enough above the pickup it made a good difference in MPG. (2018 GMC Sierra, 14 MPG at 70+ MPH... I call that a win! (Boat is 19' Pro Line Center Console, Apx 3000 lbs)