I moved the boat out of dry stack storage into an uncovered slip at our new water crib a few weeks ago. I didnt like the idea of the boat getting hammered by the sun. The best option I could come up with was a custom cover with a skirt.

The canvas man operates out of a pull behind trailer with all of the equipment in it to do the job. I am happy with the results. The cover is secured by buttons placed in the rub rail by removing every three screws and replacing it with a screw with a button head. the cover is tented up with 4 adjustable poles. Its going to take trial and error to find the best to get the cover on the boat. It should do a good job of keeping it dry and out of the sun.

Very nice. How much?

That's a pretty sweet setup! Do you need any special ventilation underneath to keep it on the dry side?

thanks, Its going to be around 12 large, give or take $50. I have not seen the final invoice yet.

Its not supposed to need any ventilation. Sunbrella material is supposed to be breathable.

Looks good, hope it does the trick for ya!

That is great. That is exact setup I have been contemplating. I am too cheap to pay the premium for a covered slip, but would want to keep the sun off the boat and up on lift. Very nice.

Man, I like that. I don't have a slip,just a trailer. Every time I look at the boat, I think, there has to be a way to cover up the lower half...gives me a few more ideas...
That guy did a great job on that cover...

Very Nice! That's going to be a workout wrestling all that canvas putting it on and taking it off.

You will have to add a couple of hours extra time to your boating plans just to take it off and put it back on. Not a one man job either. It will keep the sun off though.

If you roll it up right, one man could put it on.

Looks like it is one piece.

I like it, gives me a few ideas as well.

Mark

Based on my first go at it, I figure 15/20 minutes to take it off and fold it up and about 30 minutes to put it back on. Not exactly painless, but probably not as bad as it looks. Being new, it was tight and I had to wrestle with getting the back buttoned down. I am told it will get easier to put on after a few days of the material streaching.

In any event, I dont plan on using it every time we put the boat away.

Here is a view showing the back end of the boat. I thought the way they did the back was pretty cool. The skirt on the back snaps to the side curtains. Pretty much full coverage.

On top of it being practical it so cool!

Wow, that is some nice cover. Where do you store that thing?

I am guessing in that dock box in the last picture is where it's stored. 15/20 minutes plus 30 minutes to reinstall is a lot of time. What's gonna happen when you are coming back in before a storm? Or the Mrs and friends are in hurry to leave the dock after returning? You are either gonna have to come back way earlier than necessary, miss a lot of boating, or your boat is going to get all wet inside. Glad you like the cover.
On the plus side, My Sunbrella cockpit cover was water proof for about 6 years. So, I don't think you'll have to treat that huge thing every year like the guys implied in that other thread. Washing it every year is a good idea, though.

As mentioned earlier, I will not use it every time I put the boat away. I will still use my bow/cockpit cover. I anticipate using the cover maybe 50% to 60% of the time during season and 100% for the winter. To me, 30 minutes is a very reasonable amount of time for getting the boat cleaned out and tucked away after use. It takes at least half that much time when I use the bow/cockpit covers.

Sounds like a plan.

Got any upskirt shots?

Wow. I really like that.

As far as the on and off thing, you'll come up with a routine, figure out an easy/easier way of handling it and it won't be that bad. If it takes another 10- 15 min. to put it on, who cares? Worth every penny you spent, IMO.

How windy do you get there?

The only thing that could be a problem is the side skirts flapping in the wind. An easy fix is some attachment points on the skirt with jugs of water hanging off keep the skirts steady.

I think it is a sweet cover and will do a lot to protect the boat.

On a side note, Isn't Lake Norman where a lot of the NASCAR drivers have houses? Or is that another of the local lakes?

I agree, I probably will weight the skirt down to lessen the likelihood of wind getting underneath it.

Yes, that is Lake Norman and there are bunch of NASCAR folks in the area.

very nice and looks like a top secret boat just sitting there. just thinking out of the box, errr canvas here, but if it were me, i'd rig some kind of poles that hung over the slip with pulleys and just pull a rope and the cover would automagically lift off. you could leave it in the air 'till you return then just raise the boat back underneath the cover. then again, i'm a big believer in feeding mayonnaise to tuna fish just to save time down the road.

Update of sorts: I have removed and put the cover back on two occasions now. With my wife's assistance, it takes between 10 and 15 minutes to cover the boat. Most of that time is getting the snaps buttoned. All told, its a 30 minute job to get the boat in up on the lift, cleaned up, covered and tied down. I havn't tried it solo or on a windy day yet....

Taking it off and getting it folded is a 5 minute job. I still have not decided where to store the darn thing when its off the boat. So far, I have been leaving it on dock.

Talk about custom. Nice.

That's a great cover.
Are you allowed dock boxes at your marina? Could always dump it in there. We actually have a Tuff-Box at the dock we keep all the necessities in, which is a lot cheaper than a standard dock box.

The dock box in the picture is mine. Its not big enough for the cover and the other items that I keep in the box. I may bungie it to the top of the box while we are using the boat. Put it in the boat for overnight (using the bow and cockpit covers).

my friend has a cover made just like that only he holds it down with 1 gallon water bottles as weights, just clips them in the holes made in the bottom around the cover. makes it somewhat faster putting it on. one person on each side back to front then clip the bottles on. you cover looks great

I have a stock FW mooring cover and I initially tried water bottles as weights, but found that bungie cords secured to the lift frame is easier and works better. That is a very nice cover!