For You Marine Folks

[Mojo]

I have never made a cover for a boat so am asking for your input.

This boat is 20 ft with an 8 ft beam. It is a runabout or " Open Bow ".

How would you make your cover ? One piece ? Two piece attaching both to the windshield ?
Other method ?

Here is the boat -

Thanks,

Chris

[TimsTrim]

Really depends on what the customer wants Chris. You can do a combo bow and cockpit cover but that will mean holes drilled and snaps installed in the boat. Some customers are funny about such stuff. A 20' boat is right at the  measure for me where a full cover is rather big and I'd try to sell a cockpit / bow combination. BUT, that will not protect the entire top of the boat. Then a full cover is in order. Most if not all marine cover material is 60" wide. Two pieces , each about 23 foot long (not in stone, you'll have to measure it). Now that's n46 feet or 15 and 1/3 yds. In that case I'd get 16 yds and you'll have enough for the rope bag/hem whatever you call it in your area.
Now some people slip their boat, especially one that size and bigger  , for extended periods in the water. In that case a full , draw rope cover is damn near impossible to put on in the water. Now here's where a cockpit/bow cover combo comes into it's own. Easy to put on in the water. Again, what does the customer want ? How does he use the boat.
For what it's worth, around here I get about $650 for a full draw rope cover and about $550-600 for the bow /cockpit combo. That's with more times than none Aqualon for a full cover and Aqualon or Sunbrella for a combo set.

[Peppy]

All good points TT. In my books its a matter of preference and how you use it. If it was mine I would want a full cover, over the windshield snapped on. I might also want a seperate bow cover for crappy days when no one was up front. Thats your best bet for water proofness. We try to talk people i to that but they almost always go for the travel+bow cover. 

We nearly always run our seams beam to beam. If a center seam saves material do that. We do 2 posts ahead of the wi dshield and 2 behind.

[JuneC]

That boat doesn't look like it's made for separate bow/cockpit covers like some of the newer deckboats.  The windshield walkthrough is about the same level as the gunwale so water won't run off without some serious thought to the two piece attachment and poles.  I'd make it as one, personally.  Some of the 20 - 28' deckboats and bowriders are designed for snap attachment right in front of the windshield for the forward canvas - that one doesn't appear to be built that way. 

I'd do a single piece with either a drawstring as TT says, or snaps, depending how/where it'll be used.  Snaps won't be enough for trailering on the highway.  You'd want a longer cover with straps to hook to the trailer.  Drawstrings don't work great for boats kept in the water like Tim says.  Looks like a trailer boat to me.  I'd opt for a single, drawstring (I use 1" webbing with a stainless ratcheting buckle (see steritool.com for a great buckle).   Webbing draws more easily through the hem than most lines (less friction) and the ratcheting buckle gets it nice and tight.  On a boat that size, one piece would work fine.  When I do a full mooring cover for a boat over 30', then I start questioning the owner about maybe putting a zip in the middle because the pieces get so heavy.  Biggest one I did was for a 37' boat in one piece and the owner later had me cut it in half and put in zips.  Dang thing weighed about 60 pounds.

I'd be charging around $750 to $800 for a cover like that with a drawstring in S. Fla.  Snapped in would be more (less fabric, but more labor). 

June

[Mojo]

June:

The boat ( actually it is my boat ) has snaps all across the top portion of the windshield which is why I was asking if maybe I should do it in 2 pieces. The boat at one time must have had a snap on cover as there are snaps everywhere along the boat - front to back.

I agree the drawstring would be the easiest and since I wont be mooring this boat it would be easy to put on and take off.

In regards to a one piece, I am concerned though as the corners of the windshield are extremely sharp. I would have to sew some type of material underneath to protect the canvas. Otherwise it will rip through in the first wind.

I bought a cover for it a year ago since it was cheaper then what I could make it for. It was good, heavy material but like every other cover in Florida, it lasted less then 6 months before it came apart and disintegrated. :(

I do have a bow cover that came with the boat and snaps in place in the front. But there was no back section.

So your saying do this cover in one piece ? What could I do about the windshield area to keep it from ripping through ?

Chris

[TimsTrim]

Chris. all covers will have to be reinforced anywhere you think something might rub it's way thru. Not just the corners of the windshield either. All across the top of the shield and down the sides. Snaps studs in the windshield will come thru too. Anything that has a sharp edge. Cleats, gas caps,running lights, rails if they have sharp edged corners or connectors, you get the picture. Some guys reinforce with scraps of the material they make the cover from. Tha never made sense to me. If it can rub thru the material in the first place, it will just rub thru the reinforcement and then you're back to square one. I reinforce with the vinyl that truck trailer tarps are made from (Road Star , Tuff Stuff, etc etc ) except if the windshield is made from polycarbonate instead of tempered glass and there I use something with a soft backing . Vinyl top vinyl is perfect for this .

[Darren Henry]

I use what you folks down there call herculite. We always have a bucket of remnants of the 18 oz that we keep just for this.

Like everyone has said; it's all about how you use the boat.If you just want to keep the sun and rain out at the dock then a cockpit cover is best. If you're trailering the boat all the time and long distances an overall cover is better suited.

if you opt for an overall cover; I second June's ratchet strap suggestion. They work awesome.Two things I do: if the boat has a "usual spot"at the dock/boathouse I'll put the ratchet on the side of the stern closest to the dock so that you can reach it.And I leave a flap in the hem that velcros over the ratchet to form a little pocket for it. (sorry all pics are on my PC back in Brandon). June has a more elaborate , but more Florida proof system that she has posted to protect the ratchet.

[JuneC]

Yep, as Tim and Darren say.  I reinforce everything.  Any protrusion, even if it isn't sharp, will eventually go through your cover fabric.  Like Tim, I use truck tarp material.  I like Shelter-Rite.  I'd run a strip underneath all along the top of the windshield.  The stuff is amazing.  The one I use is a 22 oz heavy cover. 

June 

[regalman190]

Hey Chris. We do a lot of these up here. As most have said, it's a matter of choice.

If you dock it, it's best to have a separate cockpit cover from the top of the windshield back. Then, the separate bow cover. They both snap to the boat Easy on and off. The bow cover would extend under the walk through window and snap to the underside of the window. You could also make the cockpit cover as an over the windshield. This type would cover your entire windshield.

If you trailer it, I've made both styles. It's your choice. However, storage when your using the boat is important. A full cover is large and heavy and you'll need plenty of room to store it. The separate covers are easier to store.

Joe

[Peppy]

We reinforce with herculite (I call it samson, same stuff I think?) I've been thinking of switching to something with more stretch. Winter fun maybe? Or some other vinyl. I find that samson is so strong it 'beats' the sunbrella. Making it really hard to pull the puck out of the tarp, resulting in a tarp that seems to have shrunk. My thinking is stretchier vinyl will let the sunbrella pull 'past' the puck. Allsport would surely let the sunbrella lay how it wants to. Any thoughts?

If there are lots of wear spots I'd suggest something like topgun. Be sure to vent it though.   

[Mike8560]

I can't add to what has been said.
but has anyone noticed
A cockpit cover for over the windshield (with a seperate bow cover)
the cockpit cover over the window is more apt to come off going down the road rather then one snapped ar the top of the window. Of course lock fastners are needed anyway

[Darren Henry]

We reinforce with herculite (I call it samson, same stuff I think?)

Yeah,same stuff. I did a little research with our American buddies here a couple of years ago and it's same same. Ennis call it Sampson,George N Jackson call it Zeus,and western fabrics have yet another name for it.

[Highvelocity]

If you are a early spring and late fall boater.  Make a seperate bow cover and a full boat cover.  The reason is, you can block the wind with the bow cover and run more comfortable in the cooler air.  During the week I like to put the full boat cover on to keep it nice and dry and debris off it. 

Also, I am redoing my 3 year old cockpit cover with Sunbrella Plus.  I am sold on it now and will use it more on my personal projects.  Besides, since we make the covers we are still way ahead of the game.