What cover do you like best?

I have been tossing around the idea of getting a new cover, so I have been checking into them. I have one but it has all the straps and I can't really trailer with it. Looking into a snap cover, but don't know about all the snaps all over the boat. Then I saw those covers that are tight and suck down to the boat while trailering. Which one would you get and why?

Carver Covers. Priced Well. New Poly Pro Material that that fits tighter and is lighter than Sunbrella. Breathable. Mostly likely they have a custom pattern already for you boat. You do have to use straps to trailer but it holds well. I had a Sunbrella for my last 210 and I like this one much better.

Here is mine on my 210.

I have a new 210 with a cover without tie down
straps it has two strap ratchets in the rear to cinch it below the rub rail. It works well not towing but it blew off in high wind wile towing.
We have since modified it installing straps and replacing the ratchets with parachute clips.
IMO this is much safer than taking a chance of having big steel ratchets being dragged over the boat removing and installing the cover.

Evolution Covers!!! Made of Sunbrella, water repellant, breathable, towable, no straps to the trailer, tightens around the rub rail, as well as uses little padded hooks, no support poles, custom fit, and easy to use. Bought it last year and has never blown off (even at 85 mph). Not a very good picture but you can kind of see how the water beads off in the rain.

Evolution or Rankin put the others to shame. They are a little spendy but worth it. Why put a $500 cover on a 50k boat? Spend the extra $500 and get one that will last for years that is easy to put on and flat out works the best. They also look the best.

I'll second Rankin. Mine looks just like the one above. I think Evolution was branched off from somone that was an employee at Rankin, so the covers are almost identical. Custom, super snug fit, reinforced in all of the critical areas, water doesn't pool, etc.

My Rankin is money! It is great for trailering or just storing.

Scott, Aaron is the owner or Evolution I believe. He worked for Rankin for a lot of years. That is why they look similar. I can say that he was easier to get a hold of than anyone at Rankin. The only thing I have heard about Evolution is that they don't have as many templates as Rankin. I have also heard that Evolution uses only Sunbrella brand material and that Rankin may use some other cheaper similar materials. Also Aaron uses flat iron for the hooks vs round iron. Not sure how much of a difference either of those things make though. I believe both Rankin and Evolution have really good warranties on their product though.

Brett, I'm pretty sure his name is cory, at least that is the house I dropped my boat off at and he did all the work there.

Moon, yeah that is his name. I kind of thought I had it wrong.

I have a the same as the Evolution made of sunbrella the company I bought my boat from has them made custom to each boat at a place called the Top Shop. Their phenominol tops not a drip gets through they breath and tow well and are very easy to put on. The only thing I do is when I tow for longish periods of time I take blue painters tape and put it on where the felt hooks hold the top down so I don't get rub marks.

Evolution covers (formerly called covercrafts) are the best covers out there period. Cory is the owner and he's a one man show.

Rankin covers are amazing... I've had Rankin's for years and swear by them. Evolution Covers are very nice too. From a quality standpoint, the two covers are nearly identical and you can't go wrong with either. While I'm a Rankin fan, I am very familiar with Evolution Covers (his name is Cory, not Aaron). He worked for Rankin covers for a period of time, which is where he gained all of his experience prior to opening up his own company.

There is a lot of misinformation about Rankin covers on the internet... Rankin uses Sunbrella fabric and the hooks are not as Brett described -- the hooks between the two covers are identical or nearly identical. Rankin covers are very well built, and have soft fabric protectors beneath the zippers and other key wear areas like the bow eye and tow hooks, some of which Evolution covers do not have (and yes, I've compared the two closely, side-by-side). Price-wise, they are basically the same at around $700-800.

All businesses have quality issues at some point. For Rankin, that point was about 2 years ago... when some covers went out that were less high-quality, and Cory capitalized on it. I had one from the bad batch. Those problems were addressed and Pat has become more involved in the day-to-day production.

After I complained, Pat replaced my old cover with a brand-new cover. The quality of my new cover is better than any Rankin I've had in the past (I've had two personally and my family has had two others). Pat stands behind his product, and took very good care of me... and the simple fact is, there are a lot of rumors out there that keep being spread... and if people don't have first-hand experience with Rankin, I wish they would help by only posting what they know to be true.

I hate to see somebody's business and reputation damaged because of a few un-truths on the internet. I do not work for Rankin and am not associated with Rankin or Pat in any way other than as a customer, and having a good understanding of the relationship between the two companies and wanting to support the one that has done it the right way, and been there for the long haul.

Sorry for the long post... but just trying to help set the story straight.

http://rankincovers.com/
425-483-9266

And I realized a lot was cleared up while I was typing... so sorry for the redundancies.

And to state the obvious and answer the original question... my favorite covers are Rankin Covers for their trailerability, ease of taking on/off, snug fit, and overall quality. I'm not a fan of snap covers because they can stretch out over time and need support poles.

(Message edited by phenom_1819 on May 05, 2009)

I have both. Full cover for on the lift, and snap cover for trailering.

Rankin is money. I special ordered one for my new boat, because I was so happy with the one I had on my old boat. It stood up to some harsh stuff including:
- River Otters eating craw fish on it
- Seal eating fish on it
- Sea Gull Poo
- Seal puppy crawling all over it at night, when mommy fished
- wind, rain, etc

When you trailer with the cover, you have to be really carefull to strap it down really well.

They design the cover to be soft on your gel coat, but if you don't have them stapped down really well they will rub and mess up your gel coat.

If you strap it down correctly, you shouldn't have issues.

custom cover made in La.

[IMG]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc100/kkotige/bimini018.jpg[/IMG]

I bought my boat used and it already had this custom snap cover. I not sure i could bring myself to drill that many holes in my boat but i must say the snaps have caused no proplems what so ever and i do love the cover.Tows great I tow alot of boats and imust say this cover is the best i have ever towed hands down. easy on and off sheds water good and drys fast.Its made of material they refer to as shark skin.I must say it has held up very well.It was made in 03 and still very strong and showing no signs of needing to be replaced.The only con is that it does not cover the transom or the platfrom so i am going to have it extended to take care of that.


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Does anybody know anything about the Sur-last covers? There are a bunch for different Mastercrafts on Ebay. From what I can see they look pretty nice. They are alot cheaper than the Rankins, but from my experience you usually get what you pay for.

Ok, so is everyone saying snaps are not good?? I looking at a boat that needs a new cover because its sits on a lift with out a canopy. I was thinking snaps, but not sure now.

Snaps are fine, but IMO they take longer to put on, you have snaps all over the deck of your boat, and you have to use support poles to keep water from pooling, and I don't like using support poles.

I like towing covers like Rankin and Evolution better because they are very easy to take on and off: you hang it over the nose of the boat and walk it back... zip it around the tower legs, and all the straps pull together at the swimstep -- a must if the boat is on a lift.

All covers stretch over time. Because there are no fixed attachment points (like snaps) on the Rankins and Evolutions, you can adjust them over time as needed. Even the rub-rail attachments are adjustable. And because the cover pulls together in the back, you do everything from the swimstep, and you will always be able to get the cover as tight as you like it... and I like my cover tight... and (insert immature and inappropriate comparison here ).

my friend cut open his foot real bad on a snap last year jumping in the boat from the dock. it ruined a 3 day camping trip for him. no snaps for my boat...

I second the "no snaps"! They are a pain and I had one pull out of the gel coat on my last boat. If you are going to attach to the window the snaps fit in a slot on the window frame and they are not in a fixed position so every time you put the cover on, you have to slide the snaps around.

I just got a boat that has snaps. I don't really like the look of the snaps on the boat and they are kinda a pain putting on and off. And like Sandy said, I've had a couple pull out of the gel which really sucks. That being said...I read a post on here awhile ago where someone had the snaps installed just below the rub rail. I thought that was way cool because then they are basically hidden. And also, I took my boat out for a test run the other day with my son. I was able to leave the front bow cover snapped on and my son just brought the heater up there and it created a really comfy warm spot which wouldn't be possible with a full cover.

Sunbrella is the best as far as material.I had a Sunbrella cover for 15 years on my old boat.My new boat came with a cover that seems to be canvas with a coating over it not sure what it's called but it's no where near as good as the Sunbrella.

I bought my old MC used & the previous owner had installed a snap on bow cover & a separate snap on cover for the main cabin. All the snaps were either in the fiberglass or in the windshield. The boat also came with a factory MC cover. In the 7 years I owned that boat I primarily used the factory MC cover & the bow cover. I rarely used the snap on cover for the back of the boat because it was such a PITA to put on. And then I had a number of the snaps crack the gelcoat. And the snaps on the windshield would scratch of the black powdercoat.

After the experience with those covers, I told myself I would never own a boat with snaps in the glass or the windshield frame again. I've considered putting a bow cover on my Vride but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

just received a custom fit Sunbrella cover from Westland covers for my 2002 Centurion. I ordered it from Barts Water Sports. It will be replacing the rotted, original canvas cover. I will definitely let others know about the fit and quality (have not got my boat out of storage yet). It costs around $800 for a custom sunbrella cover that also covers the teak platform.

http://www.rankincovers.com/
http://www.evolutioncovers.com/

Their both great, ask them for a discount!

Sounds good, I'm going to check into both of them and see who will give me the best deal.(Rankin and Evolution) I don't think I could stand all the snaps all over the boat. thanks guys

Well, its a no go on the evolution. They don't make one for my boat. Lets see if Rankin does?

evolution doesnt make a cover for the Avalanche, but I live close to him. he said he could take my boat then two days later have mine completed, and then he will have the pattern for anyone else who needs an avalanche cover, or any thing centurion makes in that size. I am really wanting it for this seattle rain trips to chelan/crescent bar/ roosevelt. it is alot of cash though. Bring Out Another Thousand.

Over the winter I had these guys make a custom cover that goes to the waterline because our boat sits on a lift in the summer. I haven't tried the cover, yet, but competition is good.

www.skiboatcovers.com

Steve, the cash is worth it. Last fall I dropped my boat off at Cory's house at around 11:00 am saturday and he had it done by the next day (Sunday) around noon. It probably depends on how busy he is, but if he's got your boat then I'm pretty sure that his priority first.

Just received a custom fit Sunbrella cover from Westland covers for my 2002 Centurion. As you can see it fits a bit different than the original cover (tighter)and does not go around the tower mounts as good as the original. BUT....I am happy with the quality and its tight fit should not allow it to puddle water as the original did, and it covers the teak platform. This is good because my boat is almost always stored outside. Got is from Barts water sports.

^^^Looks like it goes around the tower mounts better than the original to me.

Ok so today I dropped the tug boat Off at Cory's house (evolution covers). I am hoping to have it back by friday, I will post the end result. Steve

here is the new cover. A very nice piece, fits like a glove! steve

Steve, good choice on going with evolution, the cover looks great. Also, is your tower mirror made by dbot5? If so, do you leave it on while you are towing the boat? I'm asking cause I just got one and put it on the boat today. Seems very sturdy, but wasn't sure if others keep it hooked up all the time or remove it when towing the boat?

Moon

Where did you get your wakeboard rack covers?

wakeboard rack covers from here= http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-AERIAL-WAKEBOARD-TOWER-RACK-COVER-BLACK-COVER_W0QQitemZ320362988496QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item4a971f43d0

And yes I do tow with it on, when i got mine it didnt come with the tensioner for the arm to mount to the clamp. The arm has infinite adjustment, and the tribal style goes with the flames. steve