Anyone with a touchless cover in the South?

[flapjack]

I've seen touchless boat covers advocated in few threads. They look like a great way to keep moisture and sun off the boat. I really like the way they would allow air to flow through the boat to help dry out the interior.

I keep my boat on the lift. The main reason I cover my boat from is to protect from insects and their poop (we go weeks or months without rain in the summer). Spiders, weird flying things, etc. can make a mess of my boat in a couple of nights. If there is a mayfly hatch (only a couple times a year), it's only a couple hours before the boat is covered with bugs.

So... anyone have luck with a touchless cover in a "buggy" area of the country? Are my concerns valid?

[jesutton3]

I've seen one in person on a lift in NC. I lived with the guy in college but haven't spoken with him in a year or two.

They're nice covers. But I don't think it would work so well for bugs. I have no experience with it though. We get Mayflies on our lake and I'm pretty sure with the amout of room around the touchless cover it would only slow them down. They get everywhere!

[wakesetter8796]

We have this

Works great

[flapjack]

We have this ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359137035.896609.jpg

Works great

I agree, a closed garage keeps the bugs off. :-)

Our regular cover works fine, I'd just prefer to not have to put it on and take it off all the time...

[wakesetter8796]

Yea lol but we keep it on the lift, the pictures were just taken at the canvas shop.

[JoeA]

I don't have a touchless cover but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last week......and I also talked to the dealer out of Huntsville this past weekend at the Chattanooga boat show. I asked him the same question as I have a problem with spiders and the mess they leave behind. The cover does not keep spiders from crawling inside it. It does have a few vents in it to help the boat dry out. These things are $4K+ so I think I'd give great consideration to a cover like bamabonner has. These guys may have one for your boat. http://skiboatcovers.thecanvasshoppe.com/index.php?route=common/home

[augie09]

Saw the touchless covers at boat shows this month. All I could think was 'that won't keep bugs out of my boat'. My boat might be dry and fully shielded from the sun, but wasps and spiders will be everywhere.

[Falko]

Couple boats ago, the boat came with a cloth like cover as well as canvas. It was great for summer as it had great ventilation and kept the creepy crawlies out. Leaked like a sieve in the rain though, not what it was for. If you knew it was going to rain, change the cover. But it did keep the boat dried out when used after a day on the water.

You can get solar powered fans that fit in the cover and force vent the boat. But all of this requires installation of a cover on the boat, but to keep out insects, not sure there's a better option.

[bamabonners]

I don't have a touchless cover but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last week......and I also talked to the dealer out of Huntsville this past weekend at the Chattanooga boat show. I asked him the same question as I have a problem with spiders and the mess they leave behind. The cover does not keep spiders from crawling inside it. It does have a few vents in it to help the boat dry out. These things are $4K+ so I think I'd give great consideration to a cover like bamabonner has. These guys may have one for your boat. http://skiboatcovers.thecanvasshoppe.com/index.php?route=common/home

That is (was) my VLX in the picture with the blue cover on it with the side skirts on their website. I ordered the water line cover, then additional side skirts on that to protect down to the trailer. If your boat is on a lift, I would just do water line. I also ordered the Goretex thread as well. These are great covers and very well made. i will be ordering another one. Just for reference, I paid just over 1k for that cover. One for a VTX with water line would probably be in the 850 range (just guessing here).