TOWING WITH A COVER

SSTKO81

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
341
I just purchased a Covermate cover last night and paid right @ $200 for it. This is the most I've paid for a cover as I usually go for the $70 jobs at academy and then have to replace them every 2 years. (3 if I duct tape them back together) The killer is always towing. Even for a short jaunt 10 miles or so down to the marina these things tear to shreds. I've hoping this new cover will hold up better without becoming brittle or disintegrating on the HWY. Does anyone have experience with these covers or have any pointers maybe I'm missing. I always use the provided tie down straps with buckles but have had a 100% failure rate. -don't want this to keep happening. Thanks
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
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47,246
I dont tow with a cover, never found a cover to last when towing.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,452
Unless it's custom made with reinforcements sewed into the cover at all sharp points, it's a losing effort with these cheaper covers. Yes...$200 is a cheap cover.
 

SSTKO81

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
341
I figured as much... that's really the easiest way to make sure my cover will last. -I just wanted to be parts of the cool crowd that gets to tow their boat with the cover, but alas I'll have to settle for just looking good in the back yard.
 

tpenfield

Moderator
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Jul 18, 2011
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17,597
It is cooler to tow the boat without the cover . . . Just make sure everything is shines so people will be looking your way.

With a cover, people also look your way, but for a different reason. :)
 

airshot

Rear Admiral
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Jul 22, 2008
Messages
4,178
I have towed with a cover on various boats for more than 30 years without an issue. Now I have spent the money to get good custom fitted covers made from a material made for towing. Just because a material stands up to sun and rain does not make it a good towing cover. Do your homework...if you spend 100 for a new cover every 2-3 yrs or.....spend 700/ 800 and get a cover you can tow with for more than 10 years! My last cover was more than 10 yrs old when I sold the boat and the new owner said it still looked great, no rips/tears or opened seams. My old StarCraft bowrider had a cover that was 7-8 yrs old when I bought it, had it for over 5 years and sold it with the same cover. None of these covers were cheap, all were custom made and all were made for towing!
 

JASinIL2006

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 10, 2012
Messages
5,517
No cover for me when towing. I do two 1600 mile round-trip excursions per year. The worst trips were with a cover. Between tears in the cover, buckles breaking or slipping loose, or air getting up under the cover, it just was too much of a pain in the neck.

Trailering without a cover is so much easier.
 

four winns 214

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 25, 2008
Messages
757
I tow my 21' Four Winns deckboat with a tight fitting mooring cover that goes down over the rub rail. I've been doing so for the nine years I have owned it. No flopping or flapping. Boat stays cleaner and I get better mpg while towing at highway speeds. Good custom made covers are not cheap. They're worth it in my opinion.
 

dozerII

Admiral
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Oct 25, 2009
Messages
6,527
I never tow without my cover on, and it's a cheap Walmart Stormpro that is 3 years old. The cover must be tight and most important is to use large pool noodles split down one side with a utility knife to cap the entire top of the windshield including the side frames. If there is a spot that flaps in the wind I add a strap to prevent it before it can cause a problem.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,452
most important is to use large pool noodles split down one side with a utility knife to cap the entire top of the windshield including the side frames.
Why don't you mark it and take it somewhere to have them sew on some vinyl to protect it? Put the cover on and use a bar of soap to mark it. That would get old really fast having to carry around and installing pool noodles.
 

fhhuber

Lieutenant
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Jun 19, 2014
Messages
1,365
For a tarp or boat cover (which is just a tailored tarp) to do well towing at speed it has to be held securely in place and not chafing or flapping.
If you don't cure that, its not going to survive long.

Good support frame, no sharp edges and pulled tight and it will do fine, just like a convertible top on a car.
 

jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
I almost never see a cover not ballooned up while it is being towed. I've towed for years using the snap on mooring cover on my boats. They've been bullet proof so far. The pro fisherman tow without a cover even with their expensive gear and their tens of thousands of miles they tow each year.
 

Starcraft5834

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
1,677
lets define cover?, canvas custom with staps?, vs tarp like material that will blow up like a balloon. ive got the former which holds tight, Ive never had a problem.. that said, if you dont have a canvas custom with snaps, i would not buy anything else and expect to tow with it safely
 

jkust

Rear Admiral
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Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
lets define cover?, canvas custom with staps?, vs tarp like material that will blow up like a balloon. ive got the former which holds tight, Ive never had a problem.. that said, if you dont have a canvas custom with snaps, i would not buy anything else and expect to tow with it safely

And the funny thing is the canvas snap on have a tag on them warning you not to exceed some low speed. Both of mine I think are 35mph max speeds on their tags. Technically a snap on cover can release during use, the snaps can get less effective over many uses and of course they have been known to chafe the fiberglass as well. For every one of us who has used a snap on cover effectively over the long run, there is someone who has had it come off or tear.
Generally, my suv seems to keep a still pocket of air at the bow which seems to make the covers not come off or it's just the power of the snaps, I don't know.
 

Starcraft5834

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
1,677
And the funny thing is the canvas snap on have a tag on them warning you not to exceed some low speed. Both of mine I think are 35mph max speeds on their tags. Technically a snap on cover can release during use, the snaps can get less effective over many uses and of course they have been known to chafe the fiberglass as well. For every one of us who has used a snap on cover effectively over the long run, there is someone who has had it come off or tear.
Generally, my suv seems to keep a still pocket of air at the bow which seems to make the covers not come off or it's just the power of the snaps, I don't know.


dunno, I tow mine with a GMC Sierra 1500. snaps have never come loose, i think is snap power... they are less than 3 inches apart..
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,452
I tow with the snap in cover(Sunbrella) that I made myself. Never an issue. My cover snaps at the bottom of the front windshield so air has less chance of getting under the cover.

I also have a full cover that I made that can also be used for towing although I never use it that way. It has every sharp edge reinforced with vinyl.
 

jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
dunno, I tow mine with a GMC Sierra 1500. snaps have never come loose, i think is snap power... they are less than 3 inches apart..


It's weird, when I look in the rearview, the bow cover always looks so still when I'm thinking there would be some amount of movement. Whatever it is, I've been happy with snap on covers.
 

SSTKO81

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
341
Ive always just used the inexpensive "tarp-like" material covers and like someone said earlier. They're ok till about 35-45 mph then all hell (and everything else) breaks loose. Last cover the whole rear end separated right in front of the engine cowling and sent the tie-downs flailing around until they wrapped around the right rear trailer wheel/axle and proceeded to implode on itself.
Time before that I left the vent pole up and cover split itself right down the middle around the pole
I've lost at least two of them to ice or water pooling in the cover and ripping. Then theres the issue of mold, mildew, rot... the list goes on.

Last time I put a cheapo outdoor tarp on under the cover and that actually seemed to help. -Lasted well over a year until I Towed with it.....

I'm done towing with my covers. I've learned my lesson. I hope to get a canvas cover with snaps from the open bow and rear area some time in the future buy until then i'll be using pool noodles and PVC pipe in all the right places. Thanks y'all
 
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