To Cover or Not to Cover, that is the question

[AKRISONER]

Hey Guys,

As a lot of you are aware, I just recently purchased a bass boat..and being a newbie, I have come across an age old argument/discussion as old as shakespear himself...(ok not really)

 

Do you cover your fibreglass boat when towing...For reference, I own a skeeter bassboat with a westmarine travel cover with tie downs (no buttons) Now you guys with V hauls will be saying who in the hell would travel without a cover...enter bass boat guys that claim "travelling with the cover on rubs your gelcoat and ruins it" 

 

So you tell me...to tow with a cover or without?

 

Im beginning to think that a lot of these guys like driving uncovered because they like to show off their boats 

Ive got 3000km to tow in May...Doing it without any cover seems insane to me, but i dont know anything at all so someone tell me that im an idiot please. 

[HTHM]

If I have a well fitted cover it is staying on until I prep for launch and going back on the boat after it is tied down to the trailer. A good wax will protect the gel also. 

[grimsbylander]

The answer is, it depends. For short <1hr trips forget the cover. When you get to the ramp it's a pain to pull the cover and lock it up in the truck. It's a bassboat, the launch sequence is motor up, transom straps, front straps, LAUNCH.  I'm at the ramp under 3 minutes if I'm launching alone. If the weather looks crappy it doesn't hurt to keep the dirty road water off the interior and carpets. 

95% of the time I have no cover on the boat. To be honest, I worry more about the dust and sand off the road going into the motor intakes than I do the boat. Make sure you have a proper motor cover and use that 100% of the time. 

[BillM]

Don't wanna scratch any of that glitter

[AKRISONER]

sounds a lot like bass guys just want to show off their boats...Cover it is!

 

The reason I ask is that I have a 3000km trek to south carolina and back booked in may...thats a lot of towning to do without a friggin cover...Mudflaps and a cover sounds good to me.

[Garnet]

It's sure nice to start a trip in a dry boat.

If those straps could hurt the boat you bought the wrong boat.

To take your boat cover off undo all straps and throw sides to middle take nose off and throw

over seat go to back of boat  and roll trap to you.

[OhioFisherman]

27 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

sounds a lot like bass guys just want to show off their boats...Cover it is!

 

The reason I ask is that I have a 3000km trek to south carolina and back booked in may...thats a lot of towning to do without a friggin cover...Mudflaps and a cover sounds good to me.

? Lake Hartwell

[Old Ironmaker]

Are guys $50,000.00 plus trucks covered?

[AKRISONER]

2 minutes ago, OhioFisherman said:

? Lake Hartwell

Marion Santee

We are camping at Santee state park for 4 days! Cant friggin wait.

[grimsbylander]

A 3000km trip is a covered trip for sure. It's really not got anything to do with showing off their boats. That's silly. It's got more to do with protecting the contents and interior when it's wet outside and not having to put it on just to remove it an hour later. Lots of guys keep their boats in the garage...pulling the boat out and putting the cover on makes no sense, unless you're travelling a considerable distance. My boat sits outside so I have to remove/undo the cover to load everything inside. If the weathers nice, I'm not putting it back on.

[grimsbylander]

10 minutes ago, Old Ironmaker said:

Are guys $50,000.00 plus trucks covered?

If it starts raining do you put all your truck windows down so the carpet, seats can get road spray? It's not the money value, my truck is worth more than my boat but one is designed to take road abuse, winter, etc., and the other not so much.

 

[Lape0019]

There are a couple of reasons I don't travel with the cover on. this was from my Tin boat. Not the new rig as I haven't towed with it. Same principles will apply though.

1. You mentioned its a west marine cover. So not a factory one which would mean it is not an exact fit. That right there would mean, I probably would not tow with it. Maybe ask the guy you bought it from what he did since he took damn good care of it.

2. Both an aftermarket cover and even a good fitted cover will typically balloon on you while towing adding considerable stress to the cover. I want this thing to last as long as possible so I limit towing with the cover to rainy/snowy days. As mentioned above, I am one of those bass guys that stores his boat in the garage.

3. Gas mileage. Even with my old tin, it was noticeable that the ballooned cover was essentially a large sail that created drag and increased fuel usage. Not a huge deal for a small trip, but could very well be on a trip of 3000KM's.

The truth is, there is no really wrong answer. It's your baby so treat it how you want to but for me, unless it is absolutely necessary, I leave the cover off. And I assure you, I wasn't trying to show off the last boat! LOL. The new one may be a different story.

[AKRISONER]

I guess the solution may be to run it uncovered (engine cover on) unless bad weather appears, then pull over and cover it if necessary

 

Yes its a west marine custom cover...so it actually is designed for my boat specifically, it fits pretty darn tight to the boat, however its obviously not the tight fit of a button down. I think I am going to cover it.

[Terry]

I ran with a cover as much to keep stuff out of sight as for any other reason 

they break a window

in a car to take a pack

of smokes they see on the dash

 electronics and rods are easy pickings if you run in for a coffee or lunch on the way to the lake.  So I put the cover on for traveling 

[DRIFTER_016]

On long trips like that I cover but for day to day use I don't.

My original cover was a good custom one and with using it towing it wore out quite quickly especially where it went over sharper corners like on the windshield and trolling motor.

I currently have a cheap cover that I use when it's parked at the house to keep dust and bird poop off it.

It's never been trailered with this cover and it's even wearing at the nose because of the TM. 

[Lape0019]

A custom cover for your boat is a little different. the clip on ones don't seem to be a thing for bass boats. I don't know why, but its either a few straps to the trailer/underneath boat or a ratchet style one. Either way, this takes my first comment out of the equation. Number 2 and 3 still apply but are more of an user thing than an issue. If you're happy either way, that's all that matters. 

 

[Rattletrap2]

When I had my Bass boat, I stored it with the custom made cover and I always trailered it with it on. I'm with Terry on this one. I want to keep prying eyes off my gear! I also don't want road grime and foul weather making a mess.

For a trip the length of yours (I'm envious!) I would definitely keep it covered. I don't have a cover for my new Alumacraft yet, but hope to get the same guy to make one for me next month. My other cover had sewn in straps with snap buckles that attached to the trailer frame. It never moved a bit and certainly didn't cause any wear damage to the gel coat. I also had a fitted motor cover as well. Originally, I had wooden cross bows to keep and arch in the part that covered the front casting deck, but they did take a beating and always broke. He changed this to a support pole that snapped into the cover and fit into a bow seat base.

Highway speeds really put the cover to the test, but if it is well made and fits right, it should be fine. It also only took a few minutes to cover/uncover.

[AKRISONER]

i need to get a motor cover for sure. Ill probably buy a pool noodle and cover the windshield and trolling motor to try and avoid wear on the cover.

Some great info here!

[OhioFisherman]

On 3/27/2018 at 9:35 AM, AKRISONER said:

Marion Santee

We are camping at Santee state park for 4 days! Cant friggin wait.

Except for the drive that sounds like another fun trip! I have just seen pictures but it looks like a cool place to fish.

No idea what to tell you on the cover, it seems like a long way to travel without one on, but I was trailing a tinny.

[AKRISONER]

1 hour ago, OhioFisherman said:

Except for the drive that sounds like another fun trip! I have just seen pictures but it looks like a cool place to fish.

No idea what to tell you on the cover, it seems like a long way to travel without one on, but I was trailing a tinny.

Definitely not a drive to be made with family or kids or anything of that sort.

 

Its my 3 best friends in a truck for 15 hours...not really a bad time cause the company is good. Typically its no different than sitting around a campfire for that long. only thing we dont got is beers, the snacks, food and jokes are all plentiful.

 

the drive from ohio to pointe au baril seems worse!

Edited March 28, 2018 by AKRISONER

[OhioFisherman]

19 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

Definitely not a drive to be made with family or kids or anything of that sort.

 

Its my 3 best friends in a truck for 15 hours...not really a bad time cause the company is good. Typically its no different than sitting around a campfire for that long. only thing we dont got is beers, the snacks, food and jokes are all plentiful.

 

the drive from ohio to pointe au baril seems worse!

I tried most of the time to make the drive from Ohio to PAB after rush hour here on Friday evening, leave here around 7pm and hit PAB around 5am. It's been almost 30 years since I made that run, I can only imagine the day time traffic now.

Always fun to tool around town for 8-10 hours in an 18 wheeler, come home and take another ride? The destination was though a lot better!

[Old Ironmaker]

I consider towing the boat like driving a convertible, when it's raining or put away top up. I never leave anything of value left in the boat unless I'm fishing in it like electronics and tackle, never.

[hirk]

Wrap the gunnels and any other contact areas  in plastic wrap before putting the cover on. Doing a trip that long even with a factory cover may result in gel rub spots, the wrap will prevent that.

[AKRISONER]

46 minutes ago, hirk said:

Wrap the gunnels and any other contact areas  in plastic wrap before putting the cover on. Doing a trip that long even with a factory cover may result in gel rub spots, the wrap will prevent that.

now that is a fatastic idea.