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

Link said:
Not sip....six
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Cover mine after every use and also sits in my shed and also use the poles every time but only use a few snaps. And I have my motor cover on too. seems like overkill but works for me.
 
I too became very frustrated with the effort required to put the cover on and set the poles. I persevered and found a technique and system that works for me. The key is to take the cover off neatly and I roll it Stern to Bow tightly, flipping in the sides and roll the poles with it as well. With the poles rolled in the cover it gives it structure and makes it easy to handle. I have an extended bow and when I put the cover back on I simply put the cover on the bow and stand on it in my bare feet snapping the bow snaps. I then walk backwards down the length of the boat setting the poles as I go. If I have help, they snap the cover as we go or i do the odd one as I go.

All toll, 10-12 min alone to put on and 5 min with help. I am in a covered slip as well. Definitely keeps the interior clean and well worth the effort!
 
goldnrod24 said:
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.
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Mine comes off and goes back on for every trip. I hated it at first but know it takes about 20 minutes. The cover we have only has snaps at the bow. Everywhere else are the clips (much easier). I also wipe the entire boat down every trip which takes way longer than putting on the cover.
 
Ishoot308 said:
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
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I understand, but.... those covers you describe sound really expensive. If I were dead set on not using the mooring cover, I'm not sure I wouldn't just let the weather have its way with them (after treating them periodically with a protective coating), and then when they look really bad, just have them reupholstered. Seems it would be a wash as far as cost goes. I'll wait for the pics. :)

Jack M. said:
Just a " Sip " ? :p
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That's me on the weekends. If I'm using it Saturday and Sunday, I won't cover it Saturday night.
 
Physically, I am unable to put the boat cover on, and if I had to do it, I would never use the pontoon.

Instead we had a local canvas maker, make us individual covers for the Helm and all the seats out of Sumbrella.  When we use the boat, usually my wife and I we just take off the covers on the Helm, Captains Chair and her chair.  The only time we take them all off, is if we have company.

These were not cheap, but at least we use them.

 
Having a disbility preventing me to cover the playpin is something I don't have, but for all those that are quite able to put the cover on and don't bother, the end result is a boat that shows ware many years before its time.

I have a rug that would take a month of Sundays to dry out if I left it uncovered. Putting covers over the seats would work but still leaves the rug to Mother Nature. My boat has now been through 3 seasons NO MOLD and looks as new as when I bought it. I hope it will look the same over the next 3.
 
Has anyone here looked into making a play pen cover out of some sort of lightweight material, maybe rip-stop parachute or something similar? This might be super easy to handle and might be adequate for summertime use especially for those of us that have  a covered boat house. For winter storage use the original Benny cover.  
 
I felt the same way when I first started putting the cover on  but the more I did it the easier it became. I usually in the summer only use the quick connecters that slide under the rail and sanp on one snap at each corner. All the snaps are fastened during the winter. It is not worth the ease of not having to fool with the cover when it comes to the damage the sun does to a boat. Even if it is under a covered slip it will damage the seats, carpet, plastic, vinyle and the engine cover. I always cover my boat after each use including a very good engine cover. The boat looks like it did the day I got it.
 
I only use my mooring cover for the Winter, as my boat's sitting inside a boathouse slung out of the water.  It takes a very strong grip to get the snaps snapped, and it's just such a hassle.  I keep having problems with the round plastic vents--losing the plastic nuts on the bottom side.

I did make a set of seat covers out of Durlast--the same material and color of the OEM bimini.  It's lightweight stuff, but you have no idea how hard it is to put a needle and thread through.  My hand sewing finally took the largest needle I could find and a pair of wire pliers, as the stuff is much tougher than you realize.

I'm just thankful that our Mid South boating season's so long.  We do minimal winterizing--fill up the tank with 100% gasoline, stabilizer and RingFree Plus and that's about it.  This Summer, we had much more wind than normal and we got started about a month later than normal.  Unfortunately, I'm on the south side of the lake where the whitecaps are so large.
 
I also bought one of those Corn, works well
 
I have one too.  It really helps with the final snaps.
 
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