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Tropical Storm - Boat Cover On or Off?

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sbaker50

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I live in Florida and the boat is on a canal off Lake Tarpon near Tampa. It is our first time going through a storm with our Bennington. I have heard some people say to have the Boat Cover on and some say to have it off. I know that it is recommended that the boat cover is off when trailering down the highway. What do you recommend as the storm apporaches? (the bimini is folded up and secured).
 
sbaker50 said:
I live in Florida and the boat is on a canal off Lake Tarpon near Tampa. It is our first time going through a storm with our Bennington. I have heard some people say to have the Boat Cover on and some say to have it off. I know that it is recommended that the boat cover is off when trailering down the highway. What do you recommend as the storm apporaches? (the bimini is folded up and secured).
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In the storms that our boats have been in over the years we have always kept our covers on! I would rather have storm damage to a mooring cover than to the upholstery or sensitive electronics onboard. Just my opinion. I'm sure other members will chime in with their experiences.
 
I'm on the Hillsborough River and tied up behind my house. I leave the cover on. I hope you faired well during the hurricane. For us, it really was less than a bad tropical storm. Sadly, many throughout the Tampa Bay experienced serious flooding, storm surges and wind damage. The media is saying that our area experienced more damage than any other previous hurricane post 1921.

BTW, we lived on Lake Tarpon for about 15 years, facing the lake on Lake Share Dr. North. It was a wonderful time and had a 3 mile view to the north. The boathouse had a helicopter pad on the roof, but I never used it.
 
I pray for those in the Panhandle area and far, far beyond. The devastation from Helene is unlike anything we have ever seen. Here in NC, from Lake Norman north and west through the mountains and foothills, this was a once in a century storm and beyond. The pictures are just so very, very sad. Water is so very powerful. Entire cities are wiped out. Boat houses with boats still in them are floating all over the lakes. The debris is just incredible. I'm at a loss for words in trying to describe what has happened the last few days. You would have to see it to believe it.
 

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I cannot imagine! I think these once in a century storms are going to be a new normal in those general areas of the country. Kind of like the extreme expansion of wild fires out west. Our heart so goes out to those facing such catastrophic damage and loss.
 
sbaker50 said:
I live in Florida and the boat is on a canal off Lake Tarpon near Tampa. It is our first time going through a storm with our Bennington. I have heard some people say to have the Boat Cover on and some say to have it off. I know that it is recommended that the boat cover is off when trailering down the highway. What do you recommend as the storm apporaches? (the bimini is folded up and secured).
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Helene center punched us here on Lake Keowee! The worst of the rain and wind was east of here, but we got the eye of the storm followed by backside winds that were surprisingly nasty. Lots of trees down, power outages and docks torn loose. I had our dock well secured, but the double-decker from next door tore loose and came to rest against ours. Thankfully, our anchors held both, but the walkway is bent!

I left the covers on our pontoon and SeaDoo, but not on the Stingray that was on the lift in the covered dock. All of that worked OK (expect the Stingray has plenty of water in the bilge that blew in). HOWEVER, the part I should have done is to put the canopy down on the pontoon AND tie it down. Don't know why I didn't think of that, although we've never had hurricane remnants as bad as Helene.

Haven't been able to check if the damage is terminal or if repairs are possible. I don't think it's ripped, but a couple security straps are detached. May be time to search for a replacement as it is a faded 2004 vintage....

Any suggestions for new canvas for a 2004 2080RL?
 
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Well we have been travelling in Italy and Greece for the past 17 days so we were not home when the storm hit. But will be home on Monday. My neighborhood on the lake was without power for 3 days and we are thankful that forum member Nautical and his wife went to our house to check on the contents of the refrigerator which was surprisingly okay but they had to empty the melted ice water in the ice bin and wipe up the floor where it had dripped out! Can't believe the pictures of the damage that friends/neighbors have sent us. Doesn't seem real! We feel for the people of beautiful Asheville which is 2 hrs west of us. We just thank God that our house, neighbors and friends are all right and that our boat was kept inside a bldg!
 
sbaker50 said:
I live in Florida and the boat is on a canal off Lake Tarpon near Tampa. It is our first time going through a storm with our Bennington. I have heard some people say to have the Boat Cover on and some say to have it off. I know that it is recommended that the boat cover is off when trailering down the highway. What do you recommend as the storm apporaches? (the bimini is folded up and secured).
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My cover was ripped to shreds during Ian. I was told by the storage facility manager that during a hurricane most people take their covers off. Don’t know the correct answer but the custom cover cost $2500 to replace and that’s when I found out my $500 deductible turned into a $2000 deductible because it was a “named” storm.
 
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rugrat7994 said:
My cover was ripped to shreds during Ian. I was told by the storage facility manager that during a hurricane most people take their covers off. Don’t know the correct answer but the custom cover cost $2500 to replace and that’s when I found out my $500 deductible turned into a $2000 deductible because it was a “named” storm.
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Thanks for the heads up. My boats tied behind my house and there are lots of very large Oak Trees around it. If it were not for the cover, the tree leaves would stain all of my seat cushions. Trying to decide which would be worse with Milton on it's way !

I pulled the cover and we'll see about the trash as soon as possible. But then, that might be a good problem as it looks like the eye of Milton will be very close to where we live. The boat might be the least of our worries.
 
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DanOnTheRiver said:
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Thanks for the heads up. My boats tied behind my house and there are lots of very large Oak Trees around it. If it were not for the cover, the tree leaves would stain all of my seat cushions. Trying to decide which would be worse with Milton on it's way !

I pulled the cover and we'll see about the trash as soon as possible. But then, that might be a good problem as it looks like the eye of Milton will be very close to where we live. The boat might be the least of our worries.
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Good luck to you Dan....
 
Good luck over there.
 
Should miss us to the north…hopefully
 

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Good news for me, bad news for the ones to the south of Tampa. Either way, there will be many suffering, not only from this hurricane, but the residuals from the one two weeks ago. This is not a political rant, but if "barrier islands," mangroves and the draining of the Everglades had not occurred, there would be less people living in Florida and the mainlands would be safer.
 
DanOnTheRiver said:
Good news for me, bad news for the ones to the south of Tampa. Either way, there will be many suffering, not only from this hurricane, but the residuals from the one two weeks ago. This is not a political rant, but if "barrier islands," mangroves and the draining of the Everglades had not occurred, there would be less people living in Florida and the mainlands would be safer.
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I agree that there have been many environmental miscues in Florida over the years, but not sure how the mainland would be any "safer" had they not occurred? It is worth noting that there are (and have been) ongoing efforts to rectify a number of them. Sometimes, it takes awhile for folks to figure it out and do the right thing...
 
We managed the storm well and only lost a pool screen panel. Lots of tree and limbs down all over the area. It will be a long time till all of the trees are removed and damage repaired. A large tree fell on my neighbors pontoon boat and only destroyed his bimini, cover and and a few rails. It took several hours to cut it off. It was about least 16'' in diameter. I removed the cover (probably could have left it on) and my boat only got twigs and leaves everywhere. They say that the winds peaked around 100MPH. All in all, we were very lucky it was only a category 3.
 
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