boat cover at dock

[Whitetail15]

how do you guys cover your boat for a one night stay at the lake. the cover i am going to use is the nautique cover my boat came with, it has the draw string that pulls under the rail all the way around.
the problem is i keep my bumpers attached in the boat in case i pull into another dock and i can not access any of the boat cleats with the cover on.

[LT206]

I have always found that trying to cover a boat while in the water is more trouble than it's worth. I don't cover mine when sitting at the dock overnight. If it rains, the cover will do no good anyway because you can't secure it not to pool water and you end up dumping all that water thats pooled up in the cover into the boat when you try to take it off after a rain. For morning dew, a quick wipe down takes care of that.

[Jbar]

We had the same problem and there is no way my 80k boat is going to sit uncovered in the rain or if we are not at the dock for a day or two but want to leave the boat in. We had local upholstery shop add the rubber cleat grommets to all the cleat locations. Same ones used from factory on the bow and tern lifting rings. This way the boat cover can get put on exactly like if it was on the trailer with the tent poles so no water pools.

[wake4life6]

Sell your cover. Buy a cover sports cover absolutely no puddles it takes 3 minuets to put on by yourself

[Whitetail15]

explain to me how your cover sports cover that goes over the rail is gonna allow me to access the boat cleats and hang bumpers to protect it from the dock. those covers are nice, but they all work when you boat is floating in the middle of the lake. i love that picture by the way.

[swc5150]

Coversports will cover your cleats. Whenever I've been in your situation, I've tied a rope to a rear grab rail (tied to the dock), and one to the bow eye (tied to a tree on shore). The boat will form a triangle between the dock and shoreline, floating safely from touching anything.

[wake4life6]

I just let the cover go over the bumper line. It still covers just sticks out a bit.The cover has internal hooks that hook your rub rail and they are adjustable. Man coversports needs to start paying me The only things I could say to improve would be optional cut outs for cleats which are not needed it would just be a cleaner and more convenient. Also vents for the hotter states.

[NautiqueJeff]

I agree. Get a Cover Sports and be done with it. Add waterproof zippers at the cleats if you want to.

[LT206]

I have a rankin cover and unless there is a huge difference between rankin and coversports - I don't see how you put that cover on while being in the boat - you have to have access to the sides at the tower to disconnect and reconnect the pull string when getting the cover around the tower, and the cover has to be pulled mostly over the boat before you do this. Admittedly I have never tried to put the cover on while the boat was in the water, but seems like a lot of trouble. I'll try this weekend and maybe I'll find out how easy it is......

For a few days in the water while you're gone, I understand why you would want to cover it, but just overnight I don't see it.

[wake4life6]

Easy hook the nose roll back till you get to the tower zip it up clip the strings with the attached buckles, then roll out till next tower leg zip, clip roll out the rest of the way tighten the back a 3 year old could do it. I dont usually tighten the string cover stays plenty tight with out using it. I usually just pull 3 of my back straps tight which works plenty good