Towing and Cockpit cover concerns?

[hostage]

I am buying my old man's old boat, due to lack of use and I am goign to haver it towed 1400 miles by a 3rd party. This past weekend I replaced 6 snaps, on the cockpit cover that he said got ripped off when someone towed his boat 100 miles to his lake house. I do question if the person towing the boat was going to fast or he accidently damaged the cover by accidently lowering the powered wake board tower into the cover. I could see how the latter would be possible and that the guy might have just lied.

I towed the boat 100 miles this past weekend with only the bow cover on w/o incident. I left the cockpit cover off at the time, as I didn't have the snap kit with me. Though as I am not towing it and I have non idea how fast the person towing the boat will go, I am wondering what I should do. Ideally I would like to leave the cover on, though I assume that the replacement snaps I put on will be weaker than the original ones as well as there is one rip where one of the snaps came off.

I am wondering what I should do? I see some people recommended using 3M Vinyl Tape, Shrinkwrap Tape, or Saran Wrap to prevent the air getting under the cover. What recommendations do you guys have?

 

[Alumarine]

I've used 3M no residue duct tape for that purpose and it worked well.

 

[Scott Danforth]

unless you have a cover specifically reinforced for towing. remove the covers while towing.

covers intended for towing do not have snaps, they have straps

 

[JASinIL2006]

unless you have a cover specifically reinforced for towing. remove the covers while towing.

covers intended for towing do not have snaps, they have straps

Agree.

 

[airshot]

unless you have a cover specifically reinforced for towing. remove the covers while towing.

covers intended for towing do not have snaps, they have straps

I would have to disagree there, I have been into boats for over 60 years and have had numerous covers that I trailered with, that never had straps on it !! A good fitting cover with snaps should be able to be towed with no issues ! One reason straps are needed is the cover is a sloppy fit that is allowed to flap in the wind, causing tears, rips and pulling snaps loose. Most over the counter covers are not designed to tow, go to a custom cover maker and he will make your cover to fit properly so it can be towed without issues.

 

[dingbat]

A good fitting cover with snaps should be able to be towed with no issues !

Agree…. Have towed thousands of miles with a snap on trailering cover or a full enclosure on the boat

 

[JimS123]

Trailerable Boat "Covers" need to have straps. The best are also Vac-U-Hold type, where rear facing vents help pull the cover tight.

The OP is not talking about a FULL "cover", he is asking about a snapped in toneau cockpit over, or a bow cover. In this case trailering should be no problem.

 

[airshot]

I had an 18' Starcraft bow rider with the tonneau cover on the front then another cover from windshield back, then another picket cover for the motor. Never had straps, only snaps, never had an issue, towed that boat for over 8 years

 

[poconojoe]

When I go short distances with speeds lower than 45 mph, my snap-on bow and cockpit OEM covers are fine, but at highway speeds some snaps will come loose. That is why I also have an aftermarket cover that straps on and has the rear vents as @JimS123 describes. I keep the factory snap-on covers on under the aftermarket cover for support or form, if that makes sense.

Before I got the aftermarket cover I took a long highway run and had to pull over early on because the OEM snap-on covers were coming off. I removed everything that could fly out, including all removeable cushions, and continued with no covers.

So, if you don't have a proper "trailerable" cover and you intend on going at highway speed, I suggest you remove everything and drive naked. The boat, not you!

 

[briangcc]

Going the distance you are, I would encourage you to have the boat shrink wrapped instead of relying on an unknown cover. Make sure the person/company doing the work knows its for transport purposes, not storage.

 

[airshot]

If your snaps are popping off you might consider a better quality snap..Mine are tight, hard to snap on and off, in fact my fingers get sore snapping them. Had some issues with cheap snaps in the past, just replaced them with quality snaps... again, never had snaps pop off while on the highway, even at 70 plus mph...If I did, I would replace those snaps with better ones

 

[BRICH1260]

For towing that distance, I would not rely on bow and cockpit covers. I would either tow without or get a one piece road cover or have it shrink wrapped.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Ignoring for a moment the possibility of snaps coming unsnapped and your mooring cover blowing off while on the highway, there is no way I want to subject my expensive cover to getting battered around in the wind at highway speeds. I don’t believe those covers are designed for that kind of wear and tear, and they are just too expensive to subject them to that.