Cover or no cover?

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 8:36 pm

I'm going to be towing about 6 hours to Smith Mountain Lake in VA in the near future. In the past I have always towed with my bow and cockpit covers on. I know this is not the greatest thing for the covers, but the previous owner did the same and they have held up for about 9 years now. He used to tow it long distance up to the Thousand Islands region each year. The covers are starting to show their age especially where the support rods (horizontal rods connected to the support poles) contact the canvas. I have a full cover too, but I don't like to trailer it with that cover because the straps that connect to the trailer flap against the boat the whole time. Anyway, do you guys trailer with the cover on or off? I don't really want to fill the boat with 6 hours of road grime, but I also don't want to destroy my covers. I know some of you have that sweet factory trailer cover. I do not have that. My only real options are bow and cockpit or none.

Thanks in advance.

LouC · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 9:03 pm

About the support poles, my canvas guy does not like those poles at all. He feels that they put too much stress in one spot. So I came up with something I fabbed up years ago, to support the covers. My boat stays on the salt water mooring in all kinds of weather and is never garaged so it has to be supported right to keep water out of the boat. I got a couple of the cover support systems that Overtons' and others sell, with the support rod and the triangular piece that the straps mount to. I took the triangular piece of plastic, and reinforced the part that fits over the support pole with a piece of PVC plastic pipe that I glued into the bottom of the triangular piece (used 3M construction adhesive). Then I fabbed up a wood base for the support pole to fit into on the floor, to keep it from flopping over. This method spreads out the load of the cover so it does not stress it at all where the support pole is. My covers are 11 years old now and there is no wear where the poles are, I had to have them re-sewn 2x but that's all. In the winter they come off and I use a canvas cover for the whole boat.

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product ... rt&i=39609

Another thought is maybe just using the bow cover, keeping the windshield closed, that might keep out most of the dirt etc. I never trailer my boat long distances so I can't say but if I did, I would probably use the covers because of rain, etc. My boat has been out on the mooring in tropical storm gusts (40+ mph gusts) but that might not be as much as trailering at 65 mph.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2014 11:38 pm

Personally, I would go with none because I hate the risk of damaging the covers. Not like being in the sun for 6 hours will hurt anything.

meinmelb · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 12:13 am

I always travel with the covers on. Most trips are 1-2 hours, but holiday trips have gone to 18-20 hours of travel. I do however ensure the cover is up to the job...

We pack the boat ready to launch with ski's wetsuits, life jackets, cold boxes, etc and no matter how nice you pack these something is going to fly out. I have seen so many posts on forums where seat bases, engine hatches and even clip in carpets have blown out the boat while towing.

Walt · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:48 am

Covers On... trust me, it's a huge difference in gas mileage.

Pedropup · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:51 am **Posts:** 104

Covers on for me. I just keep myself a Snap Repair Kit handy for when the snaps break.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 4:04 pm

Towing with snap in covers can also be a safety issue. Lets say the front bow snaps give and the bow cover goes flying onto the windshield of the car behind you...ouch!

Luckily, my boat is rack stored year around and the only times I towed it were the 2 hour trip after buying it and the 30 minute trip to launch it before riding over to the marina.

rpengr · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 4:54 pm

I had my cockpit cover fly off on the Interstate on my first trip with the horizon (actually the trip home from buying it). I was lucky to have recovered it, because a car told me it came off. Another car pulled over with me and told me exactly where it came to rest on the side of the road. I had to circle back 2 miles to get it. It had some minor road rash and grease from getting run over by a car. So needless to say, it's covers off for me if going over 40 mph.

LVChris · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 5:02 pm

I had an attwood "trailerable" cover on my last boat. At 6 months old Doing 65 on the highway it tore in the front and became a parachute. I had a ford explorer sport trac at the time..and YES I felt it. They replaced it under warranty, but I will never risk that again. Cover off - items stowed. I am repairing my mooring cover right now because we had so 30-40 mph winds here last week...65, would probably shred it.

Pedropup · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:51 am **Posts:** 104

Wow.....I tow with my covers on all the time.....90 miles up to the lake and 90 miles back, once or twice a week, and have never had any issues with the covers. ONly reasons my snaps break, is from taking the cover off, not from wind.

I also have a habit of watching that boat in the rear view mirror almost as much as I watch the road, so if it did start to blow loose, I would notice it pretty darn quick I would think.

meinmelb · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:02 am

GottWhat wrote:

Towing with snap in covers can also be a safety issue. Lets say the front bow snaps give and the bow cover goes flying onto the windshield of the car behind you...ouch!

Jees I have never heard of that!! ( except now for one post here) I have been towing boats for nearly 30 years and unless the cover is obviously in poor condition I tow with the cover on. In a previous life I would regularly tow boats home from a competition and cruise at 140kph (88mph), never an issue with covers. Now in the nanny state of Victoria in Australia, I tow at the limit 110kph (69mph) or just a wee bit higher.....

but still never had an issue with a cover blowing off.

HOWEVER I am pretty anal about making sure everything is tight and secure, nothing flapping, loose or about to break. Set it up properly and you are good to go, if in doubt go to a reputable cover maker and ask them to check it out, as a few more clips/straps may be all that it needs - and that would be cheap insurance.

Kvou812 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:29 am

I always tow with my cockpit and bow covers on...2-3 hours at a time at 65mph. I keep an eye on it in my mirrors and I check it over closely at regular stops. I've never had an issue other than occasionally the support pole(s) will fall and I'll have to reset it. I've never had a snap fail by towing either...it's always taking the cover off that does it.

french829 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:56 am

Short trip--sometimes just bow cover and window closed. Trip of any major length, I always have both bow and cockpit covers snapped on. I rarely put the pole supports in unless I know it is going to rain. Never have had any problems.

SeriousRob · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2014 7:22 pm

I may have the long distance towing record. I trailer 3200 mile round-trip every summer from Florida to Maine. I use the factory snap on bow and cockpit covers and have had no problems for 6 years. I have reinforced the area where the poles meet the canvas with some naugahyde but other than that all has been good. 75 miles an hour in all types of weather and no issues.

rpengr · **Posted:** Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:00 pm

SeriousRob wrote:

I may have the long distance towing record. I trailer 3200 mile round-trip every summer from Florida to Maine. I use the factory snap on bow and cockpit covers and have had no problems for 6 years. I have reinforced the area where the poles meet the canvas with some naugahyde but other than that all has been good. 75 miles an hour in all types of weather and no issues.

As I mentioned above, I had the factory cockpit cover blow off on my way home from buying the (used) boat. However, I did later discover that there were several snaps in a row missing on the port side. The marina had snapped it on for the previous owner so I did not know there were missing snaps.

www.iFourWinns.com

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