The poly tarp over my 16.5' Campion is finally starting to disintegrate and I'm wondering what I should replace it with. Been looking at Cabelas, West Marine, Overtons, and a few online merchants, but sure would like some input about what has and hasn't worked for others. What kind of blankie covers your baby?

Silver tarps work well. Make sure you have supports across the middle and it should be fine. I had a $200 boat cover which looked nice but let water in, so I still needed the silver tarp! The boat cover works great to keep solids out though.

I would look into getting a nice custom built cover for it so it looks nice sitting in the yard when not in use.

A good one also works for a travel cover when trailering somewhere. Keeps your gear out of sight from the stickey fingered scoundrels that are out there these days.

Really not that expensive and looks good.

Need a quote for a good one? I know where to getum!!

fp

I got a custom made one from Eastside Tent and Awning in Bellevue when I had my 16 footer. The cover was made of sunbrella fabric and it custom fit my boat. Where I live we get a lot of wind and a lot of crap coming down from trees and a lot of rain and snow. This cover held up extraordinary well for 10 years and I sold it with the boat a month ago.

The sunbrella was more expensive then standard canvas, but if you are going to have the boat for a long time it is worth the extra expense. The custom fit allowed me to tow the boat covered with no flapping around. Before I got this cover I had a Cabellas cover that didn't hold up too long, nor could I tow with it on.

I'm listening. Thanks for the input. The tarp I have is silver--a Costco temporary solution that has lasted a year. For the money perhaps it's best to simply invest in a new one each year--I live on the north shore of Orcas, so the wind might make short work of even more expensive covers.

A custom made cover sounds nice, but what would something like that cost? I'm leery of taking the boat off-island because of ferry fees, and because then I'd have to get around to replacing my trailer lights (hey--I'm half a mile from the put-in, and half of that is a private road). Might have to do that anyway, of course--sooner or later I'll need that outboard taken in for a tune-up.

What sort of cover do you have in mind, fp? And what, exactly, is "sunbrella" material, Mike? I guess I was hoping for something that could be mail-ordered...I don't get off island often.

Again, thanks for the advice...

I have a quality cover I got from Cabelas for my 16' Lund. It has held up very well. I just put it in the washer over the wekend and it came out looking like new. The newer ones have bungee tie downs that I would get if I was in the market. They offer several levels of quality. I trailer with the cove ron all the time. No problems.

fishkisser99,

Kinda hard to quote without seeing the boat and what exactly you want for your boat.

We use Dixon Marine cloth that is very high in thread count and nicer than the others.

You can have one that would be trailer friendly, with trailer tie downs or one that is custom built to your boat that is a very tight fit and looks good.

We would need to know if it was to be from the windshield back or the whole boat including a motor cover and lotsa other things that come into play.

If you are really interested I would give you the phone number of my son in Olympia and he could do it all for you.

Price: He can do it at what you can afford to do.

He built my Willie Predator a complete binimi top with all the windows and curtains and it is just to nice.

He just did a complete travel cover for a boat shop and it turned out great. Motor cover and all. Darn, I forgot to take a picture of it.

fp

Custom made with a material called TopGun, GREAT STUFF!

fp

Get me a quote on an open 22' Alumaweld Super Vee Pro.

Doc,

No problem but, Open boat? Windshield? Tiller or counsel? Fit to boat? Fit to trailer?
Motor cover? Bow to stern? travel cover? Bimini top? All that good stuff, ya know....I really enjoy all my covers he made for me when it rains. I haven't got a travel cover yet.

Sure would be better if we could look at it. My son comes to Westport almost everyday so it wouldn't be any problem stopping by and doing some measurments for you.

fp