How do you cover your boat for the winter?
 

I am looking for options to cover my 21' this year.
I have on the fence about getting either it wrapped or looking for a temp shelter like Northeast covers.
What do people do and not have to , shovel snow off of it or pull the cover out of the boat repeatedly.

Let us know.

Bill

I'll be winterizing the toilet and a few other things when it really starts to get cold in a month or 2 .
In the past I have pulled the boat end of dec or early jan.
I'll most likely be out of the water before dec 1 this year as I have made changes in my ins policy!
That about all I do, pilot house boats don't really need to be covered!
With the new ethanol gas, drain the tank and all lines & filters empty !!!

Here we go again ><><

I don,t ////////// its in the slip 24/7


& the tin boat is in & out of the garage all winter -being used :faga:

shrink wrap is best...but the traveling guys that do it are getting out of hand price wise....cheaper to buy a tank..torch...roll of wrap..line if your going to hang onto your boat for years to come...if not, you can always sell off the stuff.

Any body own a gun? want to rent it out?

Bill

I made a frame that kind of shells the boat out of PVC then I cover it with a green tarp 20X30' if we get big snow I'll go out and use a broom to clean it off,I also have acess to it all winter this will be year 4 ,my fish boxes are not self draining and they have not filled up over the winter ,come spring the antifreeze is still in the fish box.
I disconnect the PVC in spring and put away till next year.
Always tie off your tarp ,bungee's stretch and snap
LinkSr.

There is a variable up to 500,000 BTU proprane torch at HD for 45 bucks.
Do people buy the 400 dollar unit to shrink wrap?
I am buying the DVD today.

I also made a PVC frame, make it rigid, and use a large job lot tarp. Worked every years so far. In a heavy snow you might just have to broom off a little. I use 1 gallon water jugs filled with water and tie to the edge's of the tarp. The tin boat I just flip over on wooden blocks. If I could afford it I would buy a shelter. P.

1" PVC conduit frame and $20 Job Lot Tarp. Sheds most all snow except the real sticky stuff. Then just use a broom. Would also buy a 10'x20' shelter if I had the $$$$$$.

I have a boat cover I bought from Cabelas six years ago to cover my 20' CC with out t-top. What I do is put some milk crates with beach balls on the deck to create peaks, it works well for me.

I f you don't have cracks or other gel coat issues just let it be. Make sure it's blocked up at a good angle so the ice melt will run off and don't worry about it. Shrink wrap is more trouble than it's worth, between the boat geeting dirty and the cindensation inside, it isn't IMHO worth it.

For several years I fought the wind blowing the tarp off the baot. Last year I took a long rope and wrapped it around the tarp (like a belt) just below the rubrail. I found that the wind couldn't get under the tarp to lift it off.

I build a simple frame out of 2x4s to shed all the water over the sides. Without the frame, the tarp sags to the floor and the boat fills with water. My Job Lot tarp is still going strong after 4 seasons.

save 1 gallon milk jugs to hold the cover down. never tie your cover to the trailer. fill em with water or sand and hang em every 3 feet or so.

I, too, go the tarp route, 20X30 and it has done me right for some time now. I build a T-type wood thing to place on the foredeck/bow and lay a 2x2 from my console to the bow, then from the console to the top of the outboard. Tie them together, put carpet or an old towel over the edges/corners of the 2x2's so the tarp won't get rubbed through, then run one long line from the "spine" out to the bowrail to the gunwales for additional support for the tarp then tie the grommets on the tarp off underneath the whole boat, has worked for almost 20 years. Lately, as an added precaution and because we have the extra rope, we take the rope and spin it around the whole boat so the tarp really won't come off. Doesn't take long and have never had a single issue. This is for the most simplest Center Console non-T-top boat, however, if I had any other boat, I'm sure I'd do the same thing and in no way would I pay the however-much-it-is to shrinkwrap the boat, had I the money then maybe, but I'd save it and tarp it up, it is only for what?, 4 or 5 months or so.

why?

I perfer shrink wrap, boat is always very dry inh the spring. I have done the tarp, but water always finds a way in the boat.

Shrinkwrap....

Shrinkwrap:uhuh:

Shrink wrap once again this year. The portable garages cost more than I'm willing to spend or can afford right now.

I still want to know why I shouldnt tie tarp to trailer. I have been doing that for years. Well, not exactly tie, but bungee. Sometimes I have tied in a few spots up front, though.....

whats the scoop likwid????

Maybe it will rip if it get's loaded with percipatation ?

I always tie to the trailer.:fishslap: I just got done putting the light duty tarp on to keep the leaves out. I hate a boat full of decaying leaves.:hs:

Tying to the trailer is probably ok. Likwids point he is trying to make is never tie off to jack stands. This is an absolute no no. Stands get a little loose over time and if the wind catches the tarp and pulls the stands out....... over goes the boat.

I usually cover my boat with snow!

I like the now muss no fuzz of a shrinkwrap solution.
I have been going out there with a broom for 25 years, snow in my boots, up my sleeves, so on.
Anybody own a shrinkwrap gun they want to rent?
You can do it yourself for reasonable money except for the dang heat gun.

A Taylor made boat cover. Instead of using the pvc stuff for the peak this year, I'm going to use one of those big pool cover pillows.

I can't really believe this is much of a question. All the money we spend on our boats why wouldn't we want to protect them the best we can over the winter months? Unless you have some type of indoor storage shrink-wrap is the only way to go.

Someone mentioned not covering it all..? That leaves you open to stains from leaves, branches, sap and anything else that can land in your boat. It also opens you up to water entering then freezing and potentially expanding in areas it shouldn't. The boat will become more weathered sitting out all winter.

If I had a small older inexpensive boat I may consider a tarp, but that would be the only time. Who wants to go out and put another tarp on thier boat and shovel it out after it ripped during a blizzard, or just high winds? Not me.

Winterize it, clean it, wax it, wrap it, and open it up in the spring ready to go. On colored hulls you can wrap it to the waterline to protect it better and it won't scratch like a loose tarp can. Make sure you cut some vents with flaps for air and you are good to go. I've been wrapping my boats for years and have never had one rip or any any issues at all. I also install a door on the bigger boat so you can work on it during the late fall and spring before you unwrap it. It's nice knowing you don't have to worry about your boat all winter.

You get what you pay for, you can do it cheap or you can do it right.

As mentioned above, several of us succesfully use tarps. I purchased mine 4 seasons back. It does not have a tear, it does not let a drop of water in the boat, and I only paid 79 bucks for it once.

Too many other unavoidable costs in boating to fork over 200-300 bucks for shrink wrap every year when I can pay next to nothing and still have access whenever I want to the boat without cutting into a shrinkwrap job. I'll take some pics in December when I pull the boat out of the water.

I've never gotten a scratch from a tarp. And if I have to replace the tarp in a few years I will still have paid less than one season of shrink wrap costs.

Wanna see a boat learn to fly if we get the right storm? :D

Its been done to boats on trailers too (pull em right over.... esp. if the lines get loose)

Just run an extension under the hull to keep the edges against the boat so its nice and super tight instead of going to the trailer.

Also helps keep the mice and other critters out if its against the hull.

I go thur a tarp every 3 or 4 years, been doing it like this for 15 years!!

I run a 2X4 from the bow to the stern, (takes 3 bolted toghter) I stand them on end for extra strength!

Cover with tarp and tie tight as you can with out pulling the grommets out!

Most tarps give out cause they are left to lose and allowed to flap in the wind. And sharp points!

I cover any sharp corners like the windshield with pipe insulation

Always dry all the time. If you make it tight and a good angle, the snow will slide right off and no problems!

Found this doing a search....

Cost to shrinkwrap my boat went up a buck a foot, to 15/ft. $300.00 for my twenty foot Grady. Looked at Boatcoversdirect.com and for my specific model it was $370 for a custom cover with a 5 year warranty. Seemed like a no brainer. We'll see when it arrives Thursday. (No shipping if you order over the phone.

I would still build a pvc frame under it. I have a custom cover that came with boat but if I just put it on it would get full of snow in low spots and rip sure than sh((*^&*t. With snow I need the extra support. Mine is a walk around though.

Done it every way. The best? No question the best is a boat house with a concrete floor. Drive in, unhook block and close the door, turn on the light, and work on your boat indoors all winter!:) I know two guys that had them built on their property for their boats and it is friggin awesome. All your stuff is in there. One guys has heat, a small fridge and TV along with his workbench and tools. The other picked up a steel building on the cheap and had a concrete floor poured, has the yard deliver the boat into his house... a I could hang in there all winter.

But for covers....I think the best is to get a buddy that has a shrink wrap machine and you help him. You can do it for close to cost. (about $100 or so)
Also, if you do it right, you make the shrink wrap in such a way that you can untie it and you can re-use for several years (the most I have ever got out of it was 3 years, the least 1 year.. because of birds pecking it due to something that was on it) He built a belt like band into the base and you just loosen the belt and lift the cover off. It works great and if the plastic is not badly damaged it will last for several years.
This breaks down to $30-$100/year...not bad.

The entire frame and tarp thing is a PITA and takes the better part of a day and you spend a lot of time adjusting it all winter. My dad did this on a big fly bridge boat and it was a waste of an entire weekend each winter. I hated helping him cover the boat. (he always picked a freezing cold and windy day to do it)

This year I don't plan to do anything...close the door and that is it. I may tape the pilot house with shrink wrap tape to seal out any blowing snow. I may chicken out and have it wrapped but I as of now I am planning on letting it take the ice and snow.

I do like shrink wrap for most boats. It is pretty weather tight and allows air to circulate and there is a little greenhouse effect too.

I build my covers as tall as possible so they shed snow readily. Three colums supporting a ridgepole, all out of 1x3 strapping. The columns have plywood bases. I use clothesline to hold the ridgepole in place and support the tarp. Put the old tarp on first and a new one over it. Wrap them around the boat. Only thing that's ever gone wrong was when a tree fell on the boat in a spring wind storm. A new tarp is $50 every 3 or 4 years. More clothes line is $10 a roll. Cover costs me less than $20 a year and it basically recyclable. Shrinkwrap is great if you can afford it but a waste of resources IMO.

I did the custom cover from here and has only gone through a single winter but no problems with the snow etc. The snow slides right off and with any sun the heat builds up under the cover to melt the remainder. This is a breathable cover so no moisture buildup inside however in a pounding downpour water will penetrate as with any water-resistant synthetic. I can easily put on/off by myself. My cover has a zipper on either side so as to permit easy access into the boat whenever I want.

I also attached a couple small solar panels (one to each battery) to keep batteries charged throughout winter (I don't remove from boat nor did I disconnect).

I reuse my shrink wrap, this will be year #4. Put the same basic frame together each year, start from the front and pull the wrap back to the rear. Tie it together with plastic strapping from 1 side - under the hull to the other side. No issues so far and the boat is a lot cleaner in the spring.

Shrinkwrap online, I am down to about 4.50 a foot. I don't reuse it.

Interested in PRBuzz's solution as that would fit year round

Although I have not done it, supposedly you can tow while the cover is in place.

Takes about 10min to remove cover and maybe 2-3X that to put on. I have not tried to do in a hurry as the cover has only been on the boat 2X: once for practice and once for the entire winter. The 3rd time is quickly approaching, maybe early Dec.

Boat sees the worst weather on the water- saltwater/salt. It's all fiberglass, why cover it?

I jack it up, take off some electronics, everything else in the boat that might mold/corrode, check on it thru the winter, go clean it up in the spring. I don't see the reason to bother covering it.

Almost what I do, 2x4 up high from bow to stern with 3 stands out of 2x3 to hold it up like tent poles. Then I just make kinda "ribs" with cheap poly line from side to side and over the 2x4, attached either to the boat railing or cleats or to the trailer. I bought a quality grey/black tarp from McMaster Carr. Going on its 13th season (NO HOLES)...Then lots of bungee cords from tarp to trailer. DONE....Tall tent with a bigger tarp so its steep and the snow never stays.

Add stabilizer first, then FILL the tank. Repeat FILL the tank.