Winter Cover Alternatives

[Brettlosey25]

Nearly everyone at our marina will use shrink wrap on their boat in the winter. At a cost of $400+ per winter I've always wondered about alternatives.
Does anybody do anything different for a winter cover?

 

[jgoedd99]

Nearly everyone at our marina will use shrink wrap on their boat in the winter. At a cost of $400+ per winter I've always wondered about alternatives.
Does anybody do anything different for a winter cover?

I do not shrink wrap, but my son does on his 270DA. Shrink wrap is probably the best winter protection you can get, short of indoor storage, which is what i do. If properly removed and stored you can get 3 to 4 years out of a shrink wrap cover, making it more cost effective.

 

[Golfman25]

I used a heavy duty tarp. Works reasonably well and is less than $100 online. Made a frame for the boat and throw the tarp on over it. Years ago I could get several years out of a tarp. Theses days maybe 2-3 years as the quality as gone down.

 

[Spark600]

I had a custom cover made or my old boat by Fisher canvas that fits like a glove, I will get 8 to 10 years out of it, Its 3 years old now and looked brand new when I just sold the boat.
I paid $ 3,000.00 for it and when I sold the boat I sold it as an option for the boat for $ 2,000.00
Fisher canvas is giving me a price right now for a cover for my new boat, They said it will be two pieces.
My guess is it will cost around $ 1,500.00 to shrink wrap the boat and the cover will cost maybe $ 4,500.00 ( waiting for a price ) for 8 to 10 years.
The best part is I do not have workers that don't care about the boat walking all over it, especially the interior.
I will not have any scratches on the hard top from there ladders.
Fisher canvas is great people to work with.

 

[Air O'Nautical]

One alternative I’ve done is to DIY.
Get a group of boaters together to split the cost.
It’s approx $2/ft after that..

 

[lawndoctor]

I’m going on 14 years with my Fisher winter cover for my 225WE, and I left it on the boat year-round for two of those years. It’s beginning to wear out so I’ll probably replace the cover with a new one next year. Their product is great and they are super nice people to work with. http://www.fishercanvas.com/. The last time I had my 330DA shrink wrapped (boat since sold) the installer taped the bottom of the shrink wrap to my gunwale around the entire perimeter of the boat, creating a pocket that trapped rain water and snow which froze and thawed all winter and left a trail of mildew in and around the entire rub rail, not to mention the tape leaving a glue residue mess on my hull and rub rail. I’m not looking forward to having our Princess shrink wrapped this winter, but we’re at a better yard so hopefully they’ll do it right.

 

[sbw1]

What do you do with a canvas cover for a 34’ boat in the summer time? Must weigh a ton and is very bulky.