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Covering poll


lewistonskier

When do you cover your 'Bu  

210 members have voted

  1. 1. After a day on the water, how long do you let your boat dry before covering it?

    • Right away
      44
    • A few hours
      69
    • Over night
      40
    • More than a day
      30
    • leave it uncovered all summer
      31


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When I was a kid, we kept our boat in the grauge, so we would usally let it dry out for two or three days before covering, or if we were going to use it again soon, not cover it at all. Now that I have my own, it has to live out side, and I'm just wondering what's the right balance of letting it dry so it won't get moldey, but not letting the interior sit in the sun too long. Let me know what you think.

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Our boat is on a lift. Unless we're leaving the lake, say on Sunday, I usually let it dry out for a few hours before I cover it up for the night. It has a canopy, but I'm not a big believer in that being the only protection for my boat. Cleaning up the bugs alone from an uncovered boat would drive me to drink...more.

I'm not a fan of covering when it's wet at all, but if you have to, I'd give it some time to dry out a bit.

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I am usually only out about 3-4 hrs a day (depending on how many riders) by then the sun is on the other side of where I park the boat so i will leave the boat uncovered until dusk. The interior is usually dry by then and I will throw on the cover.

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Ours is on a lift in a covered slip at a marina. I let it dry out if I have time. Wet vac it out as much as possible.

My cover is not very waterproof anymore so I bet it breathes pretty well. Still does a good job keeping dirt and spider poop out though.

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Ours is on the water at a marina, so we always put the cover on right after we use it and leave. I've never had a problem, sometimes if we have a lot of people out on it and the carpet gets really wet, I'll soak it up with a towel before I cover it, but never had a problem. Sometimes it will smell a little bit like wet carpet when we first take the cover off, but there's really nothing we can do about it. No electricity on the dock to wet-vac it and no way I'd leave it uncovered when we leave. You do what you have to do.

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It's usually dark when I get home, so I leave it open toss the wet gear out, open a couple of hatches and clean it up and cover the next day.

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With me it depends. When I ski in the morning before work I frequently will cover it right away. Sometimes I will try to let it dry. In general even if I cover it right away I don't get any mold issues. I do take any wet towels with me but I leave the kids skis and ropes in the locker in the back.

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Usually if we spend the day out on the boat and it will be nice the boat stays uncovered until bedtime. THen we will cover it just to keep away prying eyes. If we sepnd the weekend camping and boating I will take the boat home and back it in the garage and open all the compartments and lift off all the seats to let it dry all the way through. It will stay like that for the week until we go out again.

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When it is moored I just put the cover right back on and everything dries out well when it is sunny - which it is not today Cry.gif .

If I trailer the boat home, then I throw in the DryWave into the boat while it is in the garage.

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Cover mine right away as the last step before trailering back to the storage lot. I have a Bilge Wizard that I activate before I leave the storage lot. I contact cemented some velcro to the Rankin Cover and to the back of the solar panel, so the solar panel stays put nicely. It's hot and sunny here in VA, so the boat dries out nicely with the Bilge Wizard activated. No problems with moisture or dampness so far.

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Cover mine right away as the last step before trailering back to the storage lot. I have a Bilge Wizard that I activate before I leave the storage lot. I contact cemented some velcro to the Rankin Cover and to the back of the solar panel, so the solar panel stays put nicely. It's hot and sunny here in VA, so the boat dries out nicely with the Bilge Wizard activated. No problems with moisture or dampness so far.

Does it work while my boat is moored :)

Dontknow.gif

Well I try and let it dry for a few hours, but for these early mornings, when I have to go to work, or late night runs untill the sun is out, it has to go on right away. I do try to use many towels and take them out to dry back home

BB

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Uncovered during the day, covered at night at the dock. Covered when away. All gear removed to the boathouse, except the crappy orange life jackets!

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We travel w/ our cover to and from the lake. Once at the lake we usually leave the cover on at night and then remove it in the AM then hit it. Once we get home and put away in the garage, the cover is removed and we remove EVERYTHING all seats engine doors are opened and carpet saver removed to let it dry. So I vote foor more than one day, but things dry quickly here as the humidity levels are low.

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We travel w/ our cover to and from the lake. Once at the lake we usually leave the cover on at night and then remove it in the AM then hit it. Once we get home and put away in the garage, the cover is removed and we remove EVERYTHING all seats engine doors are opened and carpet saver removed to let it dry. So I vote foor more than one day, but things dry quickly here as the humidity levels are low.

Ya, I'm with D-Goose and M-Dude: garage, uncovered, open compartaments, and sometimes open the garage side door to allow fresh airflow (however, my 12 year-old security labrador is getting old and lazy...so it's time to install a window in the garage;-). I also have a downward facing fan for the boat and when I'm working at the workbench.

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Mine usually sits either in the boat slip or in the driveway. I cover it at night, or if I'm leaving the area. With a Sunbrella cover, it makes less of a difference because it can breathe & will dry out, even if the weather isn't so good outside.

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My boat live's in the garage and I don't cover it up. I will open all lockers and pull some seats, then put a small fan inside to dry things out.

Exactly my situation, fan and all Thumbup.gif

Edited by apwrx
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My boat live's in the garage and I don't cover it up. I will open all lockers and pull some seats, then put a small fan inside to dry things out.

Exactly my situation, fan and all Thumbup.gif

Yup, me too. I don't pull any cushions, I just make sure that everything is open & that air can move through. Our climate is incredibly dry, so it's never a problem. My biggest issue is air flow in the garage, it's so well insulated with no windows that getting air movement as well as fresh air can be difficult. If the new shop would ever stop bleeding pitch from the rafters, we could put her away in her new home.

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We only cover if we are leaving it outside for the night (which is fairly rare) or if we are towing any distance. It stays in our garage 99% and it is only covered when it's winterized. Other then that the cover is off and the hatches are open so the cat Mad.gif is free to roam all throughout and leave hair EVERWHERE Guns.gif

We have only used the cover on this new boat once and the straps left marks on the black gel coat Cry.gif so we are either going to have to modify the cover or never use it Dontknow.gif

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We only cover if we are leaving it outside for the night (which is fairly rare) or if we are towing any distance. It stays in our garage 99% and it is only covered when it's winterized. Other then that the cover is off and the hatches are open so the cat Mad.gif is free to roam all throughout and leave hair EVERWHERE Guns.gif

We have only used the cover on this new boat once and the straps left marks on the black gel coat Cry.gif so we are either going to have to modify the cover or never use it Dontknow.gif

Same here except for the cat. Given our high humidity and frequent use of the boat, trying to cover it during the Summer is a lost cause that I gave up on a long time ago.

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My boat live's in the garage and I don't cover it up. I will open all lockers and pull some seats, then put a small fan inside to dry things out.

Ditto here.

We used to cover our boat even in the garage to try to keep the dust/dirt out, but the cover was so dry, it left more dust behind when we pulled it off.

Like D-Goose, the boat is in the garage with all the compartments open to dry out.

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Mine sits outside but under a canopy so I'll leave it uncovered for the day but throw the cover on at dusk before the moist air defeats the purpose of having the cover off in the first place. Cover is very breathable so the rest takes care of itself. If we're skiing in the off-season, I leave a little west marine ambient air fan/heater thingy in there to dry it out.

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I cover mine as soon as I get home. But I have a two hour drive home and nowhere near the humidity of most of you have. So it's plenty dry when I get home. If there is any water left in the ski locker or in the bilge, I still cover it up. I never get any mold or mildew.

About the only time I will leave it uncovered, is if it rained on me while I was at the lake or on the way home. This only happens during the winter.

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