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To Cover or Not to Cover....

Do you put the cover on every night?

  • Every night I tuck her in

    Votes: 44 78.6%

  • I only button her up if I'm not coming back the next day

    Votes: 12 21.4%

  • Cover? I have 303, I don't need covers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    56
IslandNomad

IslandNomad

Well-Known Member
Messages
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Location
Candlewood Lake, CT
So, I went up to the Marina, got my 8.5" monster fenders on there (thanks for the advice), loaded her up with life jackets, dock lines, pillows, etc and I'm ready for the weekend! Here's the question:

Do you button up your boat every night? It took me over 30 minutes to put the cover on and I sure was sweating by the end of it. I want to keep the boat protected, but I'm really considering not covering her for the weekend if I'm coming back the next day - ie uncover Saturday morning, head on out, no cover that night, head out Sunday, enjoy, then cover for the week.

Thoughts on this? I added a poll as well if you'd like to weigh in that way.
 
The more you put that cover on the better and faster you'll get! It'll loosen up a bit too. Don't be lazy. It'll pay off in the long run when you look at that interior and it still looks relatively new.....
 
Our slip at the house is covered and I still cover the boat. The dew, bugs and spiders will make you cover the boat. You'll get the hang of it.
 
This is the third season with our boat and it hasn't went uncovered once. The dew is very heavy here in CT, and only gets worse as the summer nears. It use to take me 25 minutes to cover it up, now I do it in 8. Cover it up at night, and you won't have to wipe it down every morning! Not to mention there are a lot of birds over at your marina. Just my 2 cents, enjoy the new boat.
 
Like Carl mine is kept on a covered lift and I still put the cover on every night. The canopy keeps it dry, the cover keeps it clean. You can spend time putting the cover on each night, or you can spend time cleaning bird crap off the seats, floor etc when you are dying to get out on the water with the family. My boat looks as good as the day I brought it home.  
 
Mine's on a lift right outside our home, under a 30' long canopy with 36" dropped sides, so it's always covered to some extent. I usually lay the mooring cover over it at night, but don't bother with all the poles and snaps/straps unless I'm going to be gone for a few days or there is heavy weather coming. It stays very clean and looks like new  :)
 
For us, uncover, maybe 5 minutes, cover, 10 minutes max. 3 years old, still looks like new. 
 
You will get the hang of it. ..we get it covered in 10 minutes
 
Tricks. There are always tricks.

First...I don't tell anyone else what to do, but I happily share what I do. :)  I cover every chance I get except when it's stored indoors.

To cover and uncover easily...here's how I do it.

Covering the boat quickly is all about how I uncover it.

First - I have white tape on the cover in the front at the exact middle point. That gives me a reference point.

When I uncover, I unsnap only 1/2 of the boat. In my case, because of the my boat's setup, I unsnap the starboard 1/2 of the boat all the way from the stem to the stern. 

I then fold that whole half of the cover neatly over the port half of the cover so that 1/2 of the boat is covered and 1/2 not. 

Then I unsnap the whole port side of the boat and roll the cover up from back to front. As I roll it up, I keep tucking loose slack into the roll so it stays tight. If I don't, it has a tendency to get crooked and slide out.

As the roll passes over the front of the playpen, I just drop the whole big roll onto the fore deck. Keeping it tight, I put it wherever it is going to go - usually in the back of the truck.

To put it back on.

I put the whole roll on the front deck and snap 3 or 4 snaps on front edge of the boat using the white tape as my reference point so I get the correct snap-cap on the correct stud. Then I start unrolling it. Because it's folded in 1/2, I can easily snap the whole port side of the boat, front to back including the front and the back, from inside the boat.

Then the tricky part.

I can unfold the folded 1/2 of the cover from the back of the boat to the helm. (the front starboard quarter of the cover is still folded over like a turned down bed sheet)

Once unfolded, I start snapping from the back edge, around the side, and work my way forward. I tie the cover over the bimini support, and that's about as far as I can go from on-the-boat.

Then, from the dock, or shore, or in the water, or on the trailer, I unfold the remaining 1/4 of the front and snap it.

Done.

It takes me about 5 minutes start to finish.

Once you have it down pat, and don't have to fight with it, if you're like me it won't be as big a deal to just put it on every time you tuck the boat away for the night. It takes me less time to cover the boat than it does to wipe down all the spider poo and pollen and dust and dew. So it's a net positive decision to cover.
 
ALWAYS cover . 303 or not ,I would rather have bird droppings on the cover than my furniture & carpet 
 
I am in a covered slip, and I often go on late night cruises. I uncover the first day I use the boat, and the cover goes back on after I am done for the weekend. I also have two custom covers made from Sunbrella that cover the entire boat including the swim platforms. I use the factory cover to cover my trailer when the boat is not on it. I keep a hefty amount of 303 on the interior, and the boat goes to the detailer after every season for cleaning and wax. My last boat after 10 years looked great, so it works for me.
 
Appreciate all the tips and tricks - I'll just keep working at it and if I can get it down to 10 minutes, that would be great. I just had visions of a 30 minute cover job while my wife is holding our 10 month old and they're both giving me dirty looks while they wait for me to finish so we can drive home.

jsur - if that was an option then I'd be set.

Also, just as an aside, I have the clips, not the snaps, so I'm not sure yet if that makes it easier or not. I get that the snaps can be a pain to, well, snap, but the clips don't give me the sense that I'm hooking on in the right place and therefore have slack where I shouldn't making it very tough to snap the front.

Ah, the joys of new boat ownership. As my brother-in-law says, "First world problems"
 
Put the 10 month old in the carrier and let your wife help.
 
You beat me to it Carl....
 
Cover it. Give you more quality time with your boat. Shows you how much you love her.
 
I cover most of the time but do leave it off sometimes - especially during a stretch of nice weather. Always cover when leaving or storms coming. Not really one of the vote choices.
 
Yes swiftm, I voted that I only if I am not coming back the next day but I really cover it almost every time.  If it looks like a beautiful night I may not cover it.  Don't really get bird droppings but may get a few spiders but I am always out early the next morning wiping it all down.  Even when it is nice out if I suspect even a hint of rain I cover my console with a Ford truck bed cover that I bought at Home Depot.



 

 
I cover constantly

If we go out in the morning I cover it when I get back

Go back out in the evening I cover it when we get back

With the Sun, Geese. and whatever 

I never leave it exposed

I wish I had a Boat House or Lift with Cover would eliminate the off and on 

Maybe next year !

118288133.jpg
 
Link - I remember you posting that cover - maybe last year. Thought it looked like a good idea then but forgot about it. I'll have to check it out at HD.
 
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