My simple boat cover solution

[JoeTechie]

So the downside to living in Florida, is the sun beats up everything. I do not have room in my garage for the now 1 month old 06' OB LSV. The really cool new Moomba Cover i got with it is amazing, but was not weathering well. - gets VERY dirty easily and is not sheeting off the rain (it comes in buckets here). So I got one of these:
Harbor Master Silver Boat Covers (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2508684) - Yes, that is from Wally World! I figured, for $49, I had nothing to lose. It fits PERFECTLY !!! It is water proof, MUCH more heat resistant (reflective) and for 4 more minutes of work... well, I have a custom $500 cover to protect the boat, and a $50 cover to protect the $500 cover ! So far it has withstood an ugly thunderstorm, and some REALLY hot weeks of "spring". I am VERY happy, and can reccomend this oddball, but really good solution to anyone forced to store outdoors.

-Joe

I can attest to that . I had one on my crownline. Worked great.

[Buttafewcoe]

I've been using one of those for years. Put the factory cover on, then throw the silver one on. The factory one stays clean and like you said, for $49 (about 25 a year cos they only last about 2 yrs) you get an extra measure of protection
.
B

[Smrtz]

That is a kick @ss idea, Ive been frustrated because I park the boat under a 45ft maple tree in the driveway.. sap on the cover... for 50$ its like disposable protection!!

Thanks for the tips Joe

J

[BensonWdby]

Why would yo need the factory cover at all if you are using this?

Do these things breathe at all. Intuition suggests that they probably do not breathe so might be worth investing in a couple of aftermarket vents.

Dave

[BigRed0803]

What do you do about your tower how do you get the cover around your tower poles?

[JoeTechie]

Buttafewcoe - Damn, thought I had an original one - good to know I'm not alone in the thinking.

Ed - It comes with a good amount of soft strong cord, and about 6 plastic D Rings per side. Cut to your desired length, - they give lots of extra. Also 2 bungies w/ large snap hooks at each end. One is PERFECT for the back, the last 2 plastic D Rings get clipped to the boat eye's and the bungee stretches just the right amount to snug the back end together. Note- this is the new 21.6' hull - your milage may vary, and there is a smaller version.

Dave - it is very flimsy, and not very good protection for the whole boat. The custom cover is VERY nice and worth the $ IMHO. But it is not Sunbrella, and does not keep out rain well, and gets dirty easily, so this little $50 add-on does all those for it. I will look into the vent idea - good thinking.

BigRed - I do not have a tower, nor does Ed. I'm sure with some simple work arounds you can get it close enough that it does not matter - it is just a cover cover ;)

-J

[TN_Boarder]

I just picked up my '06 Modius LSV this weekend. The boat spent one night in the dealers lot with the canvas cover on and of course it would come a monsoon (slight exaggeration) that very night. The morning I picked the boat up, it was full of water on the inside and all Upholstery was very wet. Anyway, my point is I've got a tower and I think I'm gonna pick up one of these cheap covers because unfortunately my boat will be stored outside quite often. I'm thinking I can probably cut some slits in the cheap cover and get some adhesive velcro to make the cheap cover work similar to the nice cover. I'll update if I have any luck.

[waldofrog]

Do not know alot about the boat my brother just bought for my familys lake house.seen in the dealer but need to know what model cover you use (we have a 05 Outback LSV)Looking forward to using as much as possable and want it to be clean and dry at every use

Thanks for your help

[JoeTechie]

Waldo,

The boat may have been purchased with a cover - there are two types that are avalaible from the factory / dealer. Both a snap-on cover or a tie-down one. Both are excellent fit, but do not keep out the heavy rains. For that, see my first post above, it has the exact model I got. You will need to modify the cheap cover - it is not designed for a tower.

Welcome to the Moomba Family.

:)

-Joe

[Livindadream]

Yep, been using a cover cover for a couple years. Mine stays on a lift, and between the birds and the spiders and their inconsideration for the cleanliness of my boat, have found it to be a perfect solution. Not a perfect fit around the tower, and certainly couldn't trailer it, but works perfect for just sitting there. I have found I have needed to replace each spring, simply because I would rather spend $50 bones rather than clean the thing.

[futuredeadguy]

I love this forum. It seems like every time I have an issue, someone else brings it up. I need a cover, too. I would buy the Wally cover in a heartbeat if it would cover my tower, too.

I have a new Mobius that I have to store outdoors for at least six more months. It's getting trashed by the trees and birds in my yard. Just got back from 12 days on the road to find my factory cover flooded front and back, and FULL of crud from the trees. Needless to say, it leaked, also.

I have experimented with running a rope from the bow eye, over the windshield and tying it off at the ski pylon. It works at preventing the pooling, but is a PITA to do every time I cover the boat.

Sure would be nice if there was a custom-tailored cover for towered Moombas.

While I'm talking about trees, WTF is up with trees in Tennessee? They dump more crap than an elephant on exlax! Never really noticed it until I got the Mobius. I have one tree that drops these little black seed pods about the size of a pin head. If they fall on the boat while I'm washing it, they leak 'ink' into the vinyl. Takes about ten minutes of scrubbing to get the stain out for each one.

HELP!

Jim

[futuredeadguy]

I love this forum. It seems like every time I have an issue, someone else brings it up. I need a cover, too. I would buy the Wally cover in a heartbeat if it would cover my tower, too.

I have a new Mobius that I have to store outdoors for at least six more months. It's getting trashed by the trees and birds in my yard. Just got back from 12 days on the road to find my factory cover flooded front and back, and FULL of crud from the trees. Needless to say, it leaked, also.

I have experimented with running a rope from the bow eye, over the windshield and tying it off at the ski pylon. It works at preventing the pooling, but is a PITA to do every time I cover the boat.

Sure would be nice if there was a custom-tailored cover for towered Moombas.

While I'm talking about trees, WTF is up with trees in Tennessee? They dump more crap than an elephant on exlax! Never really noticed it until I got the Mobius. I have one tree that drops these little black seed pods about the size of a pin head. If they fall on the boat while I'm washing it, they leak 'ink' into the vinyl. Takes about ten minutes of scrubbing to get the stain out for each one.

HELP!

Jim

[skigirl1212]

Thanks for sharing!