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It would be enough to make me quit pontoon boating..... rant inside.

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goldnrod24

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For all of you who regularly put on and remove your cover, all I have to say is if I had to..... I would give up pontoon boating.

Especially those who have to do it while your boat is on a lift or at the dock. No way. No effing way.

Mine comes off in the spring and back on in the fall. No more, no less. It took me a half hour yesterday while it was on the freaking trailer.

My fingers are raw from yanking on the canvas to snap the snaps and my old knees are sore from crawling inside to set the support poles. What a pain. I just can imagine...... every boat ride. Nope.
 
Though I didnt boat this past season

I have to agree 

It is the least enjoyable part of owning Benny 

I am looking into a boat lift with a cover on top just to take that chore out of boating

I take it off and put it on each and every time I use The Benny 

Some say leave it off till the end of the day 

IMPOSSIBLE 

Geese, Sun not good for the boat 

Looks like my next purchase will be a lift for sure more than likely motorized

A manual crank up will not be enjoyable either motorized crank up for lift 

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I have two covers made when I bought the boat. One is a morring cover when it is in the covered slip, and one is a winter cover that covers the entire boat uncluding biminis. The mooring cover is very easy to put on and take off, and it's Sunbrella. The stock cover has too many snaps and is a PITA IMO.

I use the factory cover to cover my trailer when the boat is in the water. It actually works well for that.
 
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Damn Randy! I put my cover on every night and I keep mine on a covered lift. I bet if you did it more often you would have a system down. I remove mine from the aft rolling it towards the bow. Then when it is time to put it back on I start at the bow and roll back. I don't use the poles in mine unless a storm is coming.
 
I have to get in on this one. The damage done by the sun and rain in five years on an uncovered boat is beyond forgiveness, I cover mine after every use.  

The wife and I work together and the job is done in less than ten minutes. We start on the PORT side from the STERN. as she snaps each snap I work the cover FORWARD putting the poles in place as we work ( the poles will stay in place I've marked each pole due to the length difference. S-STERN  SC For STERN CENTER  BC  BOW CENTR and B. As I get beyond the captain chair The wife goes to the starboard side and work the snaps. By the time I get the forward most pole set I can step off and finish snapping the front.  

No crawling on the knees, No blisters, And best of all the oat it protected.

One thing I didn't point out. I take the cover off by unsnapping all the snaps the getting on the front of the boat I fold the cover 1/2 towards the PORT side I do this all the way to the STERN Then I pull out the polls Fold the cover in 1/2 again the proceed to roll the cover from STERN to the BOW. A neat package.

I don't have pictures but I'm sue you visualize how it's done. By the way The Captains Chair should be turned facing STARBOARD.

I also use 303 protector on all the seats
 
I will also add this. A older couple down from us sold their Grady White last year and bought a new bennington this spring. I was at their neighbors visiting and I was watching him fight with the cover. He was pulling it, moving it, snapping it and it was taking him forever. He ended up having the dealer buy it back and went with another small cc. This one he just lets sit out and get wet, dirty etc.
 
I am a cover kind of guy, And really not an installation issue for me. (10 to 12 min  install me and the wife, 20 min solo) It is all about how you roll and fold the cover on and off.  (My process like Lakeliving) The Velcro around the Bimini brackets can be your friend too if the wind is picking up.   I do notice when used on a regular basis the snaps and stretching of the fabric are a nonissue.   I do leave  the cover off over a long weekend. Man those spiders see that super clean vinyl and have a party. But an easy wipe down (303 user by the way) and off we go to a great day on the lake.  After 2 years the interior still smells and looks new. jus saying
 
Even though our boat is put in a garage after each use, the cover goes on every time to keep bird poop off it (in case birds get trapped in the garage).  I keep the poles in storage all season long and I ONLY use them when pulling the boat on the highway.  They are not used every time we put the cover on. 

On the cover, I have the valet guys just use enough snaps to keep the cover in place (about 6 snaps will keep it in place, especially without the tension when using the poles).  That minimizes wear and tear on the snaps (which I've had to replaced several, so the less use the better). 

Like Andy said, if you have a convered slip, consider not using the poles (especially if the weather is nice) and don't snap EVERY snap every time.  That will cut the time to put on way back.

Use some chap stick on the snaps.  They go on/off a LOT easier.  If you don't want to chap stick every snap, just do the critical ones around each corner.  Those tend to be a lot more difficult than the ones on the straight sides.
 
Why not just use individual seat and helm covers??... I agree messing with the mooring cover sucks!  My boat stays in the water exposed all summer and seat covers offer great protection with a LOT less hassle. The nice thing about seat covers is the only seats you need to uncover are the ones your using, so if its only you and your significant other the rest of the seat covers stay on protecting your seats from the sun. I modify my covers so they stay on at WOT without issue, been doing it this way for years without a problem. The only thing exposed is the floor and I haven't had any issue at all with my last two boats which had vinyl. My first pontoon had carpet and honestly I always thought it was better to leave it exposed to dry and prevent any mold growth. Covering it totally seemed to promote mold growth...

Dan
 
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It takes my wife and I less than 10 minutes. We also unsnap, fold it twice and roll from front to back. We reverse the process to put it back on. I don't want it sitting out in the weather. But you put your $$$ on your boat, and if it isn't worth covering, I'm not going to beat you up over it. I even put a coating of Lemon Pledge on the tunes after each use. That takes another 15 minutes, but keeps them shiny and clean.
 
Ishoot308 said:
Why not just use individual seat and helm covers??... I agree messing with the mooring cover sucks!  My boat stays in the water exposed all summer and seat covers offer great protection with a LOT less hassle. The nice thing about seat covers is the only seats you need to uncover are the ones your using, so if its only you and your significant other the rest of the seat covers stay on protecting your seats from the sun. I modify my covers so they stay on at WOT without issue, been doing it this way for years without a problem. The only thing exposed is the floor and I haven't had any issue at all with my last two boats which had vinyl. My first pontoon had carpet and honestly I always thought it was better to leave it exposed to dry and prevent any mold growth. Covering it totally seemed to promote mold growth...

Dan
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I'd like to see a pic of your boat with the seat covers. I'm not sure I wouldn't rather just cover mine with the mooring cover after each use. I don't want my boat to look like grandma's old couch that she found a slip cover for.
 
If I had to cover mine every day I'd get a one of the elastic 'semi-custom' covers. They'd sucks for most other things but they'd be pretty good for quick covering. I'm still stuck with the one I bought, unfortunately. Tried selling it on eBay and it was nothing but crickets. :(
 
Spoiledrotten said:
I'd like to see a pic of your boat with the seat covers. I'm not sure I wouldn't rather just cover mine with the mooring cover after each use. I don't want my boat to look like grandma's old couch that she found a slip cover for.
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I'll try and find some pics but I can assure you it resembles nothing like grandmas sofa!  The covers are templated and made at the factory. My Manitou covers were all made by Manitou, my Premier covers were made by Premier, and my Bennington covers are made by Bennington and are actually being fitted to my boat this week.  Sometimes extra J-clips are needed on the outside and snaps on the inside to ensure they stay on when going 50 MPH. The Manitou utilized all snaps which I installed. I have yet to have an issue in 9 years... I only use the mooring cover for long term winter storage.

I live on an island all summer. My boat is my main daily transportation. I could not imagine having to deal with a mooring cover everyday. I honestly find seat covers offer more protection as they are only removed when the extra seating is needed.

Dan
 
Having grown up on a large grain farm and tarping and untarping grain trucks several times a day while standing on a one inch ledge 4 feet off the ground dragging a 100 LB heavy canvas tarp across the box of a truck in the wind and weather elements gives one a different perspective on something so small as covering a boat..................Just saying.


Didn't have any of the fancy remote controlled automatic tarps they have now days back in the 70's to early 90's when I was still farming.


Sounds like city slicker talk and things are TOO hard now days lol. Give me a break and find a real issue to complain about. My grand father was still doing this well into his 80's


I cover and uncover my boat daily by myself and it takes maybe 5 minutes tops to cover it,as stated above I roll it from back to front and unroll it back again and put poles back in after it is snapped on all the way around and my polls are laid out before I roll the cover out.
 
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Wild and Free said:
Having grown up on a large grain farm and tarping and untarping grain trucks several times a day while standing on a one inch ledge 4 feet off the ground dragging a 100 LB heavy canvas tarp across the box of a truck in the wind and weather elements gives one a different perspective on something so small as covering a boat..................Just saying.Didn't have any of the fancy remote controlled automatic tarps they have now days back in the 70's to early 90's when I was still farming.Sounds like city slicker talk and things are TOO hard now days lol. Give me a break and find a real issue to complain about. My grand father was still doing this well into his 80'sI cover and uncover my boat daily by myself and it takes maybe 5 minutes tops to cover it,as stated above I roll it from back to front and unroll it back again and put poles back in after it is snapped on all the way around and my polls are laid out before I roll the cover out.
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Good for you. I thought we were more civil to each other here. Whatever.
 
That's what "RANTS" are for as is in the title of this thread. :D
 
If your boat is covered (by a roof) you don't need the poles. I am in a covered slip and the mooring cover I had made does not use poles. We get serious monssons on our lake with high winds, and I don't have any issues. Something to think about if you want a cover easier to take on and off.
 
I may not cover mine on the weekend when I am using the boat the next day but I am also very good about using 303 on it constantly.  However if I am leaving the lake then I cover the boat 100% of the time.  I generally do it alone and I do it with a Zen attitude, not rushing and at times stopping to take a look around and have a sip of beer.
 
Link said:
I may not cover mine on the weekend when I am using the boat the next day but I am also very good about using 303 on it constantly.  However if I am leaving the lake then I cover the boat 100% of the time.  I generally do it alone and I do it with a Zen attitude, not rushing and at times stopping to take a look around and have a sip of beer.
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Just a " Sip " ? :p
 
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