Boat on dock, to cover or not to cover?

Disclaimer, I have IDO searched all that I could on this boat cover debate but for the most part all I have found is about storing boats for the winter.

Here is my situation. I would love to hear your option/thoughts.

Boat: 1997 Warrior V177 75HP Tiller (besides a couple winters, its always been stored inside and has crisp, non faded paint, and a rock solid floor)
1) Tied up to a 8 x 20 floating river dock from April till Nov.
2) Will have 110V ran to dock
3) I have a current custom warrior cover but its made to strap around the boat on the trailer

So should I modify the cover and cover it every time its dry? Or just always keep it open to the elements? Cantilevered Canopy off floating dock? Or is there another option?

Thanks in advance.

I’d personally want fully snapped-down mooring cover as opposed to a trailering cover for this.

Leaving it open to the elements for several months sounds like a good way to get rid of the crisp paint & solid floor.

I have seen guys use trailering covers as mooring covers in a pinch, if an unexpected rain comes up or whatnot, by attaching weights to the straps and dropping them in the water to pull the cover down tight over the boat. Sounds like a good way to ruin that trailering cover over the course of a summer?

pool2fool wrote:

by attaching weights to the straps and dropping them in the water to pull the cover down tight over the boat.

Intriguing! I wonder how this would work long term if you used a correct weight that didn’t put too much stress on the tie down points.

Something like the pic below

“1000D Cordura® fabric is puncture resistant up to 1200 p.s.i.
Polyurethane rubberized coating on inside of bag for waterproofing and dust containment.
Includes steel bag ties.
Holds 50 lbs of sand or stone.”

Attachments:

1. 

   nylon-sandbag-heavy-duty-14x28-black-10-pack-60.jpg
   

Could be worth a shot and a lot less costly than a custom mooring cover. Just keep an eye on the stress points on the straps and the cover itself, monitor for wear, and adjust weight distribution as necessary?

I got the idea when researching a camping trip. We never ended up having a rainy overnight on our trip last year, so I never tried it out.

A good snap on mooring cover is what you want. Also be sure to have a automatic bilge pump and make sure it works. Multiple bumpers are also a must. Check your ropes you tie up with for wear. Last thing you want is a rope to come lose and the boat to bang against the dock for a week.

I wouldn’t use the weights as a permanent solution. Any fabric that is continuously wet will start rotting. It will also soak up the water and wick up to the cover and the hidden areas and threads will begin to mold and rot.

If the current cover still has some life to it bring it to a boat cover maker and see what they can do. A snap-on cover is much easier to work with.

There’s no way I’d leave it uncovered. That floor would be shot in a season at best.

If you love the boat, get yourself set up with a nice snap on cover and a set of mooring whips. It’s gonna cost you some cash, but you’ll sleep good at night.
Especially when the weather man is calling for overnight storms.

Snap on covers are PIA to put on while on the water though.

Same boat as you Evan. Luckily my floor is out of boat so throwing in new auto bilge, new aeroter, new connections and silicone on livewells, and new plug orifice is easy yet. Not taking chances on 20+ yr old stuff. I’d cry if I came up to Marina and my boat was on bottom of river.

I have a custom snap on, granted its original and a biatch to get on cold I’m looking for something easier to throw on. Those snaps take forever, and after a night of catfishing at midnight I’m not gonna want to deal with snaps.

Also will br following replies here.

Other then snaps you really don’t have many options unless you get a custom cover made. My travel cover in addition to the straps has a ratcheting strap that pulls things tight below the rub rail. Don’t know that would work for you.

It might be better to just pull the boat when you leave and put the cover on instead of leaving it in the water.

Personally, I’d scrap the cover idea. If I had a boat on the water, no way would it be “tied” to a floating dock for 6 months. I’d skip the custom cover and purchase a boat lift with canopy.

no way i would leave it exposed to the elements/critters. i vote custom snap on cover. my boat is tied to the dock at the in-laws cabin may-september. i have been using a trailering cover with bungees run under the boat to bungees on the opposite side and its done a fine job keeping it dry but the noncustom shape left some openings for snakes to infiltrate the boat (seriously) and i couldn’t connect the bungees without a long tool, shallow water and willingness to get wet everytime i don or doff the boat cover. Needless to say its time for a custom snap on cover.

Only a snap on cover will be worth a dang. The #1 enemy of slip-kept boats is water pooling on the canvas and tearing it or slow-leaking into the boat to cause water damage.

Keeping a boat in a slip is beating it like a rented mule IMO. The sun bakes it. The rain rots it. The water covers the hull with green slime. If you have a good boat now, you won’t have a good boat after 2 summers in a slip.

If you want the whole marina advantage AND want to keep your boat nice, dry stack is the only way to go. Did it for years with our big pleasure boat, only way to go IMO unless you don’t mind beating your boat.

Grouse

ClownColor wrote:

Personally, I’d scrap the cover idea. If I had a boat on the water, no way would it be “tied” to a floating dock for 6 months. I’d skip the custom cover and purchase a boat lift with canop

The dock is on the river where we get about 10′ in water height variance a year. So the only real option to keep it out of the water is a floating drive on to thingy.

Evan, something like this would be pretty cool?

or this. This option looks cheaper.
Floating Dock Canopy

The snap cover idea is asking for issues unless you had a way to keep air moving…fan? You’ll have a mold farm going if you just snap a cover on a wet boat. You don’t strike me as the guy who only goes out when its nice and sunny, so a wet boat will be an issue. The canopy option would be best for the boat and a lot easier for you each fishing trip. Good luck

How about modifying a couple large patio umbrellas to sit nice and flush with boat gunnels?

Should repel most rain, but allow to breathe, and simply snap into a boat seat post and off ya go seems simple.

Updrafts shouldn’t be an issue causing issue with umbrella since it’s so low and tight to boat?

Dutchboy wrote:

A good snap on mooring cover is what you want. Also be sure to have a automatic bilge pump and make sure it works. Multiple bumpers are also a must. Check your ropes you tie up with for wear. Last thing you want is a rope to come lose and the boat to bang against the dock for a week.

What Dutch recommended and make sure the cover has good vents. You will get condensation and need to let it breathe out.

It won’t look new in a few years, but if that is how you will use and enjoy it then go for it. All boats look great if you leave them in the garage all the time. But no sense in making it a museum piece.

I wasn’t going to comment on this but…. I have a 2004 Warrior that goes to Mille Lacs opening weekend and stays in the water tied to the dock until September. I may take it out of the lake to go to another lake, but then it goes back to the dock. I have never covered the boat because I don’t want a mold factory in the hot summer sun with a wet floor. My floor is in good shape yet. I wax the gunnels several times a summer to prevent sun damage. It’s a floor in a boat! It’s made to get wet and then dry out. Covering it prevents one of those key events from happening….drying out.

And the green scum line, about a hours worth of time and a bottle of hull cleaner from fleet farm and that scum line is gone!

Making sure you have a working auto bilge is very important as Dutch says. I can attest to that But it will be at your house and you are looking out the window at the boat every morning and I’ll bet most morning you will walk down and sit in before work just because you can.

Evan Pheneger wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bob clowncolor wrote:</div>
Personally, I’d scrap the cover idea. If I had a boat on the water, no way would it be “tied” to a floating dock for 6 months. I’d skip the custom cover and purchase a boat lift with canop

The dock is on the river where we get about 10′ in water height variance a year. So the only real option to keep it out of the water is a floating drive on to thingy.

Copy. Makes sense.

sticker wrote:

But it will be at your house and you are looking out the window at the boat every morning and I’ll bet most morning you will walk down and sit in before work just because you can.

If I am walking down to sit in it, then I am taking it out fishing….oh wait I am married….yes just sitting in it for a few mins sounds like a great plan

Joe Scegura wrote:

Evan, something like this would be pretty cool?

Joe, the one in the video would be super cool, that’s why I first mentioned a cantilevered cover, but I believe that model has poles that go down to the bottom on the dock side. I would have to change the dock design some to get the second one to work but I like that.

What be cool is if you would add a lift that lifts telescoping poles on the awning instead of lifting the boat….then you could drop it down to cover in during rain and lift it back up to allow sun to dry….hmmm