Trailering with full cover on the boat
 

Does anyone trailer their boat with with the full cover on it? I normally do not have any cover on it when I trailer. Reason I am asking is when "love bug season" comes around down here I am thinking of trailering with the cover on. I have the full custom cover for my Fountain, but my worry is all the buffeting the cover will do on the gelcoat.

I only trailer with my Cockpit Cover - not my full cover. Mainly because of exactly what you talk about - all that friction is bound to do some damage after a while.

The only time I've ever trailered with a cover of any kind it blew off on the highway (snapped cockpit cover). $100 to fix the holes in it afterwards. I'll never trailer with a cover.

If you have the twist lock style on the Fountain...maybe.

I always cringe when driving down the highway, passing a boat that has had a corner snap pop loose flapping the $hit out of the gel.

I tow with my cockipt cover on. I tape the front of the cover to keep air from getting under it and make sure the support pole is good and snug. No problems and I put about 4000 miles a year on my truck just trailering. My longest tow is from Tennessee to Michigan and no problems at all.

love bugs stained the grill of my ford. They must have some sort of acid in them or something caustic. the cover would probably be messed up also.

I am ok with the cover getting stained it is the boat I want to protect. I only go about 3-4 hours one way for the most part so I huess I could just wash it down really quick when I arrive.

Used to trailer the Slingshot with cockpit cover only, do not have cover on at all on the OL when trailering. Too risking....

I go without unless short trips less than 45mph. Maybe try to coordinate your trailering so you aren't towing at the buggier times of day.

cockpit cover only, rarely with no cover at all. Keeps road dust out.

Bug guts easier to remove than rub marks from a full cover flapping against the sides.

cock pit cover only, mine fits very tight.

I am always amazed when I see someone towing with a full cover and it is fill with air. Beside rubbing on gel and tearing up the cover,I don't like trying to pull a parachute behind me.

Cock pit cover only. Keeps out the road dirt and I've been caught in the rain all of the sudden. I installed extra snaps along the leading edge about 8"apart. I keep the poles up and cover nice and tight. So far so good

I trailer without full cover and without bow cover. Sometimes will trailer with the cockpit cover on, but only if the weather is calling for rain.

I'll never forget driving out of KW following a large OL with triple Arnesons and the cockpit cover blew back over the drives with the props on. It was shredded in seconds. Cockpit covers work, but they have to be real tight and tape the front.

I trailer with the cockpit cover on. its only 2 seasons old so it fits perfectly with the pole up extra tight. Its peace of mind. What if some d-bag throws his cigg out the window and lands on my vinyl. I know my boat is no quarter million dollar boat, but i have spent a lot of money redoing the upholstery and keeping it clean. I dont need any holes burnt!!!:eek:

I do make sure everything is snaped one last time before leaving, as kind of a "pre trip inspection".

I usually trailer with no cover. I think I might just get some plastic and 100mph tape (duct tape) it to the areas where the bugs can hit (windscreen, the front/bow-both sides of the boat). When the love bugs come out there is no real good time that I know of to travel. They are bad in the day and worse at night. I am going to look at an air deflector (like the big rigs use) for the roof of my truck to deflect them away as well. Thanx for all the info

I trailer with my chockpit cover or no cover at all.

Been thinking about adding some of these, my sea-doo covers all had them and the cover would really suck down tight. I wonder how it would work on a big cover?

http://www.commercialsewing.com/vacuhold.html

I trailer with a full cover. I havent had any problems with the full cover. On my old boat I tried just the cock pit cover before and it blew off at 65 mph on the hwy. I will never do it that again.

My gel still looks great. I worry more about rocks hitting it and like big blue said about cig`s.

Oh man!:eek: I guess it would depend on how the wind hits the cover. I was going down at night in a horrible thunderstorm. I could barely see the boat!! Windy as hell, thunder, lightening, the works!

Got to where I was going and the cockpit cover was still there. It was dry inside too. Again, mine is only a few seasons old.

My buddy has an 87 Formula, cover has quite a few yrs on it. Like probably 6+ years. He didnt have a problem either.

Might be the aerodynamics i guess.

I've trailered with with the cockpit cover on, and with no cover. It looks way better with the cover on, and it seems to ride ok.

Even though it seems to ride ok, I will probably go without the cover going forward except maybe short trips. I mean heck, a long trip you are looking at a couple of hours at near hurricane force winds beating on it, so even though it looks ok, it has to be tough on the seams.

x2...we use electrical tape on the front. it doesnt leave any residue or glue when peeled off.

Well I went and got some rope and pipe insulation for my cover to snug it down really good. The pipe insulation should keep the gelcoat protected. I am taking a 3 hour trip to the lake tommorow so I will see how it works.

Gorrilla brand duct tape in the front will hold even in rain. Has a lot of adhesive. It comes off very first thing upon arrival and doesn't leave adhesive. I know it would leave some if I left it on for a while.

I trailer with a full cover, but only with covers made specifically for trailering. I have had full trailering covers made by the same local company for several of my past boats. These things are skin tight and do not move at all in the wind! Here are some pictures.

The first is one is my current boat, a 2005 39 Top Gun.
The second picture is a 2003 Canopied Gladiator.
The third picture is a 2000 38 Top Gun.
The last picture is a 1996 28 Pantera.

Duck now thats a trailering cover. Does it zip at the bottom aft of the bow stop?

Boat Cover
 

Duck, can you post the name and phone number of the company that makes your boat covers. I pull my boat back and forth between Florida and Ontario, sure would like to get it properly covered. Thanks

That is some nice looking covers, what's the number?

That is exactly the type of cover I need. It worked out ok this weekend but I had to really snug the cover down in the back, all over for that matter. I also had to wipe the boat down because of all the pollen and fine dust that was in the cover blew loose all over the inside of the boat. I will be trailering as normal with no cover and hoping the bugs don't get that bad this year until I get one of those one of custom covers.

Yes, it has a zipper from the bow stop down and the finish of the boat is protected from the zipper by a flap of material just like the zipper on a pair of pants. It also has a zipper across the windscreen in front of the cockpit. With that much material it is much easier to handle the cover in two pieces when it is off of the boat.


The guy that makes these covers use to work for a company called Canvas Experts, but he had a falling out with the company owner last year and now has his own company. His number is (443) 366-5825 (ask for David). He personally does everything on these covers from the initial patterns to the actual sewing to the final fitting.

The only catch is that he will need your actual boat to make the patterns. I talked to him about mass producing these covers, but he will not do it because he does not want to sacrifice the quality of the fit and finish. Not every boat is the same (even the same model of boat) and he builds reinforcement into all of the stress areas that will be covered. For example, even though two boat may be the same model, they may have different seats, different deck hardware, different hatches, different location for fuel fills, fuel tank vents, etc. He is that meticulous with his covers, but they last forever and they fit like a glove!

Duck, Thanks for the details. I'm thinking there is going to be a 10 to 11 hour drive in my future. Do you have any boating activities in your area this summer that would be worth the drive? How long I stay would be based on how long it takes to make the cover.

Nothing that I know of here in Ocean City, but check out these organizations because they host events within a few hours of here.

www.cbpba.com

www.njppc.com

just cockpit cover. Even if cover is made for it. Your going to have more strain on it