Recommended boat cover

[livemusic]

Boat covers are seriously expensive. Sheesh, it seems everything is expensive these days; I do not believe inflation numbers the gubment has been touting for the a number of years now! As for a cover, I bought a canvas cover from Cabelas a couple years ago for my 19ft bassboat. I recall that it was somewhere in the range of $300 to $450 normally, don't recall exactly, but I got it on year-end closeout at a bargain. I tell ya, this cover has been good. It's got a ratchet strap to cinch it up all around. It appears to still be in good shape and we have a lot of rain and brutal heat in the summer here, so, stuff outside is certainly subject to bad conditions. I figure it'll last a good while longer.

 

Has anyone found a cover that you like? I guess a custom cover would be cool, one that precisely fits your boat. This one has a lot of slop and is a bit heavy and cumbersome but it does its job and that's what it's for! And you can tighten it up working with it. BTW, I don't think this is a travel cover but I haven't needed that anyway.

 

As for other options to save money, I bought a used billboard vinyl online for a smaller boat and now I got it and need to try it out. You can get them various sizes; I think this one is 12' x 24'. I paid something like $65 for it. If it works, and I can't see why it won't, that's cheap! The hope is it's tougher and longer lasting than a tarp.

[Krux5506]

I bought a cover for my Lund, I believe in 2017, from Iboats.com for around $350. It's a travel cover but mostly I use it as a mooring cover. I have had it tied down on my boat for a 1500 mile round trip though with no issues. 

 

It's not a perfect fit - its not built to fit a trolling motor but they would have fixed that for me had I actually followed up with them. I just disregarded it, and basically "made it" fit by sorta pulling it over the trolling motor enough. Anyway, all things considered and for the fairly cheap price I paid, I think it's a good cover. The other option was to buy an actual Lund cover for about $1500. No thanks.

[volzfan59]

My wife picked up a cover for my 16' X 50" Jon boat at Academy. I think that it was around $50.00. I know that it's not a fitted, factory canvas cover, but so far so good. It doesn't leak. West Marine has a better cover for a little over $200.00. I might try it if this one starts giving me issues.

[gim]

I have a factory Ranger cover that came free with my boat when I bought it in 2015. It was one of the perks of buying the boat when I did. Normally would cost $450.

 

I don’t use my cover much. My boat sits in the garage when I don’t use it and I rarely travel over night with it so there’s no need to cover it. I store my boat at an indoor facility in the winter and put the cover on. It’s not a great cover, just plain with straps along each side. Doesn’t fit very well with the bow mount either but for being free and using it as sporadic as I do, I’m fine with it.

 

There is a local company here in Rogers, MN called canvas craft that will custom fit you a cover for any watercraft. It’s spendy but at least the cover is durable and fits like a glove. My folks have one for their Warrior since they often travel out of town for days to fish in tournaments.

[E-rude dude]

Get a custom cover made. Take care of it. You will never buy another one for the boat. Not many things for a boat will you say that.

[Jig Man]

I had a custom cover made for my Champion when I bought it.  It was still in good shape 14 years later when I sold the boat.

[Way2slow]

I kept my bass boats under covers for 20 years and found out, it's cheaper to buy the best grade material you can.  

I started off thinking no way I was going to pay hundreds of dollars for a cover when I could get one in the $100 price range that fit just fine.  Every couple of years I was buying another one of those cheap covers.  

I was at Bass Pro Shops in their discount section and found one of those high dollar covers on clearance for just a little more than the price of the cheap, light weight covers I bought for it.  It lasted eight years and when I came time to replace it, I bought one of those high dollar, heavy weight covers that I said there was no way I would ever pay that much for a cover.  They are actually cheaper in the long run, but yea, it's a hard pill to swallow right up front.

However, for what I spent of covers over the years, it would have been cheaper to buy one of those metal carport things and not had to mess with covers.

[TOXIC]

Couple of things to consider from someone who has stored his boat outside undercover from day 1.  Little history, when I purchased my boat it had sat outside for 2 years under a bad cover and had never been run.  It was so full of mold you couldn’t tell the type of batteries in it and the tan carpet was black.  After a lot of hard work and looking like a coal miners every time we worked on it, we got the mold out for the most part.  It’s been an ongoing battle.  It takes a special building to house a 21 foot boat with a 6 inch hydraulic plate.  My garage won’t hold it so I have to store outside year round.  To say the least, I am sensitive to a dry and sealed boat.  I used the bad cover that came with my boat and cut it up to fit the trailer fenders and I used the nose to cover my trolling motor prop when the new cover is on.  I bought a new OEM Ranger cover that retails for $1,200 for $600.  Although my boat is a Z21, the cover was for a 621 Fisherman if I had to guess. I would recommend that anyone who buys an aftermarket cover not tow with it unless you are good at buffing out hazed fiberglass.  Even custom Ranger covers are tricky to get fit right for towing.  I know guys who use towels and Saran Wrap even with a custom cover.  Because I store outside I have to take a few extra precautions like making sure I remove snow and keep it snug.  After 11 years, it’s time to replace and it has done a good job.  For the next go around, I think I will use a cheap blue tarp over the fitted tarp just to give it a little more protection from the sun and elements without being another seal which might promote mold.  I never tow with a cover so that is not a consideration.  
 

[J Francho]

The best cover I had was a custom deal from Aurora that was specifically made for my boat.

 

https://www.auroracanvas.com/

[Jig Man]

6 minutes ago, J Francho said:

The best cover I had was a custom deal from Aurora that was specifically made for my boat.

 

https://www.auroracanvas.com/

That is who made my Champion cover.  They are about 10 miles from my house.

[J Francho]

9 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

That is who made my Champion cover.  They are about 10 miles from my house.

They are THE BEST in the biz.