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VLX Cover Help


Blindside_137

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Hello everyone,

Some of you might know me from wakeboarder.com, if not, we just got our new 'bu to the lake last weekend and I still can't believe that we actually have a malibu in the boat house...

Anyway, when we ordered the boat, we elected not to get the $560 cover that came with it because it didn't cover the tower or swim step and we thought the price was high. Since the boat is kept at my aunt and uncle's lake house, it gets smothered a lot of nights with spider crap. That's why we ended up getting a cover that would include the swim step and tower collapsed underneath. However, the current cover is absolutely terrible and my dad recently decided he wants to trailer the boat all the way up to Glen Lake in MI this summer (the boat is at Lake Gaston in NC) and he's sent me on a mission to find a better cover.

We don't really need a traveling cover because we'll only be doing this once a year, maybe even every other year... I think what we need is a nice cover for storage (mooring?) that can be tied down for one time trailering use, if that's possible.

There is a red and black wakesetter 23lsv on the lake that has a very nice cover with tower cut outs that includes the swim platform. It doesn't look anything like these Rankin or Evolution covers I've seen and i think it's exactly what we're looking for. The only problem is that I have absolutely no idea who does make it.

Could somebody please help me out with finding a nice mooring/storage cover with tower cut outs that will cover the swim platform as well? And because of the spider issue, if we end up with the nice cover with tower cut outs, are there any companys that make a cover to protect the tower and the tower speakers while its stored in a boat house?

Thanks!

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Hello everyone,

Some of you might know me from wakeboarder.com, if not, we just got our new 'bu to the lake last weekend and I still can't believe that we actually have a malibu in the boat house...

Anyway, when we ordered the boat, we elected not to get the $560 cover that came with it because it didn't cover the tower or swim step and we thought the price was high. Since the boat is kept at my aunt and uncle's lake house, it gets smothered a lot of nights with spider crap. That's why we ended up getting a cover that would include the swim step and tower collapsed underneath. However, the current cover is absolutely terrible and my dad recently decided he wants to trailer the boat all the way up to Glen Lake in MI this summer (the boat is at Lake Gaston in NC) and he's sent me on a mission to find a better cover.

We don't really need a traveling cover because we'll only be doing this once a year, maybe even every other year... I think what we need is a nice cover for storage (mooring?) that can be tied down for one time trailering use, if that's possible.

There is a red and black wakesetter 23lsv on the lake that has a very nice cover with tower cut outs that includes the swim platform. It doesn't look anything like these Rankin or Evolution covers I've seen and i think it's exactly what we're looking for. The only problem is that I have absolutely no idea who does make it.

Could somebody please help me out with finding a nice mooring/storage cover with tower cut outs that will cover the swim platform as well? And because of the spider issue, if we end up with the nice cover with tower cut outs, are there any companys that make a cover to protect the tower and the tower speakers while its stored in a boat house?

Thanks!

Check the group buy sections of this site. Evolution & Rankin are the covers most prefer. I've had both and currently have an Evolution.

Evolution

Edited by crescentbar
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After spending 3 days refinishing my platform last month, I had a platform cover made for my Rankin cover (my next cover will be from Evolution). It only covers the back of the boat & the platform while hanging on the lift. I wont tow with it. It's easy to put on and off and is anchored well enough to not come off in high winds.

post-5-1210205468_thumb.jpg

post-5-1210205485_thumb.jpg

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Check the group buy sections of this site. Evolution & Rankin are the covers most prefer. I've had both and currently have an Evolution.

Evolution

I'd also recommend the Evolution or the Rankin, but neither one comes with a cover for the swim

platform, at least not that I am aware of. They both ratchet down off of the handle off the stern and

off the D-rings. But, they are, IMO, the absolute best covers available for mooring and/or towing.

They each have cut-outs for the tower legs, but the sleeve for the base of the legs rises up and

has an elastic cuff that fits snugly, so spider spots around the base of the legs tend not to appear.

I started off with a "factory cover," made of Sunbrella and with the "Malibu boats" logo on the front.

It does come all the way back and over the edges of the swim platform. However, it needs poles

to keep water from pooling on it, and the cut-outs for the tower legs are a little generous, leaving

a 2 in. or so ring of exposed fiberglass around the bases. The cut-outs wrap around and then are

joined by Velcro. It's an adequate cover, but my biggest beef was that there was always spider

crap all over the exposed deck around the cut-outs. My second biggest beef was messing with

the poles and trying to get enough tension on the cover to prevent water from pooling while at the

same time not getting too much tension so that the water would just trickle down through the tower

cut-outs.

I much prefer my new cover (Rankin). You can get a separate cover for the swim platform.

As far as the tower is concerned, I typically just remove the bimini and store it beneath the

cover when moored for any length of time. Sure, spider webs appear on the tower, but they

wipe right off.

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thanks a lot for the help!

We only really need a swim platform cover for storing it and protection from the spider crap. Towing without it shouldn't be a problem.

I've been doing a lot of reading and have seen that Evolution seems to be making better covers with better reliability and that Rankin has slipped over the years.

Is Rankin the only one that offers the swim platform cover add on? Based on what I've read I'd rather go with Evolution.

And with the tower. I'm not to worried about spider crap getting on the tower when I'm up at the lake, since I'm always down on the dock wiping down the boat. What I am worried about is the months from August to May when I'll be off to college and won't really be around to clean off the boat. I already live an hour from the lake... I don't want the white tower to turn black Cry.gif

If there's nothing I can do about the tower for long term storage, should I atleast try to find some speaker sock for the tower speakers? I've seen them somewhere before.. any brands you recommend?

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yes, the boat is kept under a covered boat house. The spiders are relentless when it comes to spinning dinner webs in the rafters and ceiling trusses so their dinner always ends up on the boats...

We have the Illusion X.

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also, what is the price of the rankin or evolution. And how much for the extra swim platform add on?

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blind side give Rick a call over at bakes marine. he can make you any kinda cover you want. he does top notch work and I have seen him make the cover that you are talking about. you will need to lower the tower and the swim step is its own cover. Rick will stand behind his product. 425-395-2555.

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thanks a lot for the help!

We only really need a swim platform cover for storing it and protection from the spider crap. Towing without it shouldn't be a problem.

I've been doing a lot of reading and have seen that Evolution seems to be making better covers with better reliability and that Rankin has slipped over the years.

Is Rankin the only one that offers the swim platform cover add on? Based on what I've read I'd rather go with Evolution.

And with the tower. I'm not to worried about spider crap getting on the tower when I'm up at the lake, since I'm always down on the dock wiping down the boat. What I am worried about is the months from August to May when I'll be off to college and won't really be around to clean off the boat. I already live an hour from the lake... I don't want the white tower to turn black Cry.gif

If there's nothing I can do about the tower for long term storage, should I atleast try to find some speaker sock for the tower speakers? I've seen them somewhere before.. any brands you recommend?

I just ordered an Evolution from Cory and anticipating it's arrival next week. I have a factory cover that covers the swim platform and liked that feature but it wasn't a deal breaker for me and the Evolution.

I would bet that you could call a local awning / canvas shop and have a cover made for the tower, I invision a zippered baggy thing almost like what you would have for a bimini in the stored position.

Good Luck!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I've been speaking with Cory over a couple e-mails and would like to get a cover from him but I don't really know what we will do at this point. I'm not the one footing the bill and the evolution costs more than 50% greater than the regular malibu cover. And the fact that the evolution has no swim step cover doesnt help...

My only remaining question now is, is the regular malibu cover able to be used while the boat is being trailered? at highway speeds? and for long distances? I really like how tight fitting the evolution is and my only fear with the malibu cover is it will get some ripples when in tow (if it even can be towed) and i'd hate to pull over every 30 minutes on a 17 hour trek.

If the answer to that is that it works fine for trailering, then I think we're going to go with the malibu cover... Then later on down the road when we're looking for a new cover we might be talking with cory again.

Please let me know!

Thanks

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Well I've been speaking with Cory over a couple e-mails and would like to get a cover from him but I don't really know what we will do at this point. I'm not the one footing the bill and the evolution costs more than 50% greater than the regular malibu cover. And the fact that the evolution has no swim step cover doesnt help...

My only remaining question now is, is the regular malibu cover able to be used while the boat is being trailered? at highway speeds? and for long distances? I really like how tight fitting the evolution is and my only fear with the malibu cover is it will get some ripples when in tow (if it even can be towed) and i'd hate to pull over every 30 minutes on a 17 hour trek.

If the answer to that is that it works fine for trailering, then I think we're going to go with the malibu cover... Then later on down the road when we're looking for a new cover we might be talking with cory again.

Please let me know!

Thanks

My boat came from the previous owner with what looked like a factory cover (minus the malibu logo) If fit the boat fairly well extending over the swim step with a drawstring and cam lock system just below the rub rail. It had tabs along the hem to connect trailer tie downs which the previous owner had never done. With out the straps pulling tight down to the trailer the canvas would sag in the seating areas both bow and stern; water would pool there and then soak through. I put the straps on and secured them to the trailer and made one trip and it ripped right behind the starboard side tower cutout over to about the center of the boat (about a 4' long rip). I believe that because the cover extended all the way to the swim step that is where there was a large opening that couldn't be sealed tight against the boat and rushing air would get caught there and balloon the cover while in tow. Hope that makes sense I'll see if I can remember to take pics of the gap I'm talking about next time I'm out at the boat before the new cover gets here (which should be today Clap.gif )

I also like that when I want to store my boat in the garage and need to remove the swim step, I can still have the cover securely fitted (couldn't do that with the extended swim step cover).

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