Boat Cover & Mirror

[kevinmccarry]

We always prefer to trailer our 07 Outback with the cover on just in case of the weather and to potentially keep stuff flying out of the boat. But, after towing it with the cover on a few times, we realized the tie-downs were rubbing on the side of the boat and creating some marks on the gelcoat. Any suggestions on how to prevent this from happening(besides not having the cover on)? Does anyone tow with the cover on with only the white rope tied to the back?

Also, we received our mirror with the boat and it doesn’t fit over the windshield. The mirror mount is only ¾” wide (w/ the plastic protection piece over the knob to prevent the windshield from scratching) and the windshield is 1” thick. I know a fix would be to buy the tower mount but that isn’t in the budget right now. Has this happened to anyone else? Any suggestions or ideas? My dealer was even a little confused especially when their showroom boat had the same problem.

[qb12]

you are not suppose to trailer with the factory covers.

i did once, and used foam pipe insulation around the straps and that seemed to work great.

[Wolf-]

you are not suppose to trailer with the factory covers.


Yes, you are not supposed to tow with the factory covers on.
With that in mind, you will want something between the staps and the gelcoat to absorb the friction. Well, not so much the friction, but the heat from the friction, that softens the gelcoat so the straps can actually damage it as they continue to rub.

Cotton is better than rayons/nylons.

We use socks between the rear tie downs and the stern.

[Pike]

Also, we received our mirror with the boat and it doesn’t fit over the windshield. The mirror mount is only ¾” wide (w/ the plastic protection piece over the knob to prevent the windshield from scratching) and the windshield is 1” thick. I know a fix would be to buy the tower mount but that isn’t in the budget right now. Has this happened to anyone else? Any suggestions or ideas? My dealer was even a little confused especially when their showroom boat had the same problem.


I had the same problem with my windshield mount mirror. The dealer told me that the 07s have a thicker windshield than the 06 hence the problem. I just took off the flat black piece and tightened the knob into the windshield.


At least untill I can afford a tower mount mirror.

[JoeTechie]

Take a belt sander to the BACK of the plastic insert and shave off 1/4".

:)

-J

[carsondoc]

1. Trouble ahead if you keep trailering with a cover that's not designed for it.

2. I tossed the black plastic spacers and got it to fit well over the windshield frame. Had to muscle it a little to get into place but hasn't moved since.

[Wolf-]

1. Trouble ahead if you keep trailering with a cover that's not designed for it.

2. I tossed the black plastic spacers and got it to fit well over the windshield frame. Had to muscle it a little to get into place but hasn't moved since.

Without the black plastic spacer, it left a nasty round marr on the back of the windshield frame. I sold the mirror to a buddy and put my Monster Tower mirror on.

[kevinmccarry]

So I won't be trailering with the logo cover anymore. Does anyone know why Moomba sells you a $500 cover and you can't even use it to trailer your boat(and doesn't tell you that upfront)?

Does anyone trailer their boat with a separate cover then? If so, where did you get yours? Thanks for the replies so far.

[zabooda]

I got a custom cover made for $400 that I could use to trailer with but I usually don't. The cover tightens down around the gunwale and there are tie downs on it and the front straps I wound tie down as they don't touch the boat and it would guarentee it wouldn't come off. From the tower to the aft end, I won't use the straps as they would rub against the boat also. The cover isn't as pretty as the stock cover but it is much thicker (it doesn't flap in the wind) and is expected to last twice as long as the stock cover that I replaced.

[tazz3069]

I have the cover with the snaps all around it. It does not seems to rub on anything. When I get to the Lake, I take it off and when I get home, I put it back on. I need the carpet to dry off first. My Moomba Dealership told me that it is OK to tow with this cover on. It is a two piece cover. The bow cover and the cockpit cover.
Tazz

[davidl]

:D Try RANKIN COVERS SITE Thay built my cover for towing and it has to be one of the nicest covers built. Great people to work with and large selection of color. Thay have all the factory specs on your boat. NO STRAPS !! Easy on-off.....Have a great weekend all!!....David

[deepcove]

So I won't be trailering with the logo cover anymore. Does anyone know why Moomba sells you a $500 cover and you can't even use it to trailer your boat(and doesn't tell you that upfront)?

When I bought mine I was advised by my dealer that it was a storage cover and not designed for towing.

[zabooda]

I'm checking with Rankin to see how they get around the single point of failure on their covers with using the cinch strap. They must have more than one cinch strap as a failure of a single line either breaking or coming loose on a highway could be catastophic for traffic behind the boat. I use my nose straps which don't touch the hull only for securing the cover to the boat as I only have one cinch strap even though the cover is cinched and tied to the rear tie-down loops on the boat. I guess the cover could flip over and be 22' behind the boat and no one should be that close but you may need to convince a judge and jury of that if someone gets injured.

[JoeTechie]

Just curious,

What "weather" do you have a problem with ? It's summer, so I'm assuming rain...and it is a boat... it is deisned to get completly wet.

What am I missing here. I live in Florida - it rains at least 40% of the time I come home while towing the boat. Those days I just leave it out, and the FL sun drys it by noon the next day. All good.

If it is packed correctly, nothing will fly out. (barring one center cushion)

How common is this towing with the cover on? I have only seen it once in all my years.

-Joe

[zabooda]

I never trailer with the cover on most roads but some of the best camping and boating places here are accessed by gravel and sometimes single lane dirt roads so a cover keeps the dust out of the boat. When it rains here, there is grime that is kicked up and coats the boat. But I see a lot of tow boats being pulled with covers on in perfect weather.

[Sled491]

With my old boat I had a custom cover made and never traveled without it. I live in Wisconsin and I just don't like all that road grime and dust in and on my boat. I have the Moomba storage cover which is fine for on the lift, but plan to have a new 2 pc custom jobbie built for traveling

[moombadaze]

joe teckie,
question for you

"If it is packed correctly, nothing will fly out. (barring one center cushion)"

is this the seat over the v drive?

at above 60mph mine will start to "float"- i can see it in my rear-view
mirror, at above 65 it will be about 6" off the floor. kinda scarry.
i try to remember to take it out of the boat and put in the rear side
storage for those blast's down the freeway

was just curious as you have the bigger lsv model.

thanks
stacy

[BensonWdby]

My body guy, who is very knowledgeable, says never trailer with strap on cover. Gell coat burn is inevitable.

As far as when would you want to. I used to do it all the time.

It keeps curious people out when you stop and leave te boat unattended for a while. Although I have never had an issue with the cover off to indicate this would be a problem.

It ceratinly cuts down on the dust and road grime.

If you are trailering long distances it can keep the boat dry during a rain shower, so when you get to your destination when it is not raining - you have a dry boat.

If you neglect to pull your plug and your bilge fails - happened to me more than once - it can keep your boat from filling up in heavy rain.

If you want to keep your inflatables inflated (not me, I am a skier) during trasnport this can work as a nice retention method.

When I trailered a lot I would end up parking it under trees late at night when I arrived at the destination and the bugs would be terrible. It keeps leaves, tree pollen, and dew out the boat without having to get out and cover in the dark and the bugs.

Having said all that, I never trailer with my cover on anymore. Don't want to risk it. I think the snap on covers would probably be good, but I hate having the snaps all over the boat when not covered.

Dave

[JoeTechie]

Stacy,

No in the new LSV it is the tiny cushion behind the driver. I have heard of the opposing seat also being a touch lose - that is the one over the cooler in the '06. You can make that one wedge tighter, but the one behind the driver is open on one side to the wind.

The seat over the v-drive is a huge bench staium seat ... if that moves - you are towing on the Autobahn !

-Joe

[zabooda]

It looks like Rankin has a good cover with a back up to the cinch rope. Rankin emailed me with this:

From Rankin:

Our covers are made for towing! Not only do we have a cinch rope line that goes around the cover, but there are 8 hooks around the perimeter of the boat that hook themselves under the rubrail ( they are reinforced so as not to hurt your gel coat.) and 5 back straps that attatch to your grabrails or lift eyes. Even if the cinch breaks the straps on the back will hold your cover down so it does not fly up. There are also zippered boots with a bungee around the top. Unless the zippers break these secure boots also aid in keeping your cover on and tight. We have heard of no problems with the rope lines breaking but we do take that into consideration.