Evo cover arrived and she’s a piece of art!

[shawndoggy]

I had both on the 14 lsv and liked the factory cover more.  The evo was like an inch too tight and if you didn't have someone (preferably two people) standing on either side of the bow to hold the rope under the rub rail it would frequently come off towing.  If you got it "just right" it was fine, but that was real hard.  I am often tasked with putting the cover on solo, so I found this to be super frustrating.  

1 hour ago, COOP said:

The Axis covers dont fit well around the tower.

Agree.  kindof a haphazard design.  But I can put it on by myself no prob. and it does keep the boat dry.  I've given up on towing with a cover on so that's not a concern.

[vanamp]

I'm guessing some of the mixed reviews on different covers is probably due to slight variances in boats and in sewing.  If the variance in the boat build and the cover sewing are to the opposite extreme the cover probably fits poorly and if the variances are in the same direction things work out.  My old cover fit perfectly and I have seen a lot of complaints about the older covers.  Guess I was lucky with that one and unlucky on my current one. 

[ahopkins22LSV]

Again, not to clutter this thread up....

Buuuuuuuuut...

If that is your new boat I'd be asking for a replacement cover @vanamp! That is definitely not right. 

[IXFE]

6 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

I had both on the 14 lsv and liked the factory cover more.  The evo was like an inch too tight and if you didn't have someone (preferably two people) standing on either side of the bow to hold the rope under the rub rail it would frequently come off towing.  If you got it "just right" it was fine, but that was real hard.  I am often tasked with putting the cover on solo, so I found this to be super frustrating.  

Agree.  kindof a haphazard design.  But I can put it on by myself no prob. and it does keep the boat dry.  I've given up on towing with a cover on so that's not a concern.

So you prefer towing with a loose cover because it’s easier to put on??

And two people? Seriously??  That’s never been my experience. I’ve owned five Evo covers and never needed two people and never had anything slip off the front. Those pics above.... brand new, fresh out of the box, installed in 10 mins, by myself. Is it tight?  You bet your a**, tight as a drumb, just as it should be.  Installing an Evo is all about getting the cord just barely over the rear corners, then watch as you pull the cord and it sucks down the rest of the way.   Hint: the corner straps are your friend!

Don’t take this the wrong way doggy, but it was actually on your multiple recommendations that I relented and ordered the factory GL cover last year. I can’t beleive you think that’s a good cover. “It vexes me. I am terribly vexed.” My GL cover pooled water like a mofo and looked like MC Hammer while towing. Ask Stevo or PNWrider.  They suffered with me on the long drive to Norris with that cover. Do you know how discouraging it is to look in your rear view mirror and see the cover flapping constantly against the your brand new boat FOR FOURTEEN STRAIGHT HOURS??  Every stop we inspected, adjusted, and tightened. Didn’t matter. Or picture me bailing water with a Tupperware out of that cover at 2am in front of my house on the first night I owned the boat because some rain came thru.  Yep, that happened too.  I knew then I’d made a mistake because that would never happen with an Evo. 

[shawndoggy]

If the cover COMES OFF WHILE TOWING, it doesn't really work to tow with,  tho does it?  Oh man, must've done it wrong that time, better get it put on better next time... well after having it come off on multiple trips I was very dissapointed with the evo.  That was the experience with the evo on the 14 without people to hold it under the rail on both sides while tightening... and maybe it'd stay on.  or not.  Completely stand by my prior statement that on the 14 I strongly preferred the GL to the evo.  This was especially disappointing given my prior experience with an evo on my vride (which I did tow with a lot).  

Alas as noted (and ignored) in my prior post I've given up towing with a cover on.  Too much hassle for zero gain.  It's hard on the cover (my vride evo developed a hole) and hard on the boat (the gel was fine on the vride, but the paint on the windshield frame got rubbed off in a couple of spots).

[IXFE]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

If the cover COMES OFF WHILE TOWING, it doesn't really work to tow with,  tho does it?  Oh man, must've done it wrong that time, better get it put on better next time... well after having it come off on multiple trips I was very dissapointed with the evo.  That was the experience with the evo on the 14 without people to hold it under the rail on both sides while tightening... and maybe it'd stay on.  or not.  Completely stand by my prior statement that on the 14 I strongly preferred the GL to the evo.  This was especially disappointing given my prior experience with an evo on my vride (which I did tow with a lot).  

Alas as noted (and ignored) in my prior post I've given up towing with a cover on.  Too much hassle for zero gain.  It's hard on the cover (my vride evo developed a hole) and hard on the boat (the gel was fine on the vride, but the paint on the windshield frame got rubbed off in a couple of spots).

Looks like user error to me. No way the cord comes up above the rail if you put it on right. Looks to me like the hooks aren’t adjusted properly. 

Pretty sure I have a GL pic just like that somewhere. Again, ask @Stevo. All those stops to adjust the GL cover involved pulling it back down over the rail and ratcheting down even tighter. Rinse and repeat at each gas stop (and there were a lot towing with the Yukon)  

The issue on the GL isn’t just the loose figment, it’s also a bad design. It sits too low on the new Malibu’s up front where there are indentations in the hull (those fancy body lines around the docking lights) so no matter how tight you ratchet it, you can’t seal the wind out (see green arrow showing huge gap) like you could with Evo’s cord that snugs up against the underside of the rub rail  

Also note the blue arrow showing how lose that material is.  Add 70 mph wind through those wind tunnels and what happens??

A) gel damage

B) ixfe anxiety

C) hammer time!

D) all of the above

 

Final point... look at how limp the cover is over the cockpit of the boat. You can literally see it resting down around the helm seat. With the Evo it’s a tight, straight, diagonal line from the windshield all the back to the sun pad.  The only hope you have of getting the GL up would be using the hang tight (I was instructed by dealer not to during towing) -AND- the supplied poles/straps. But isn’t all that mumbo jumbo just a crutch for a poorly designed / fitted cover. You shouldn’t need all that crap, and the Evo doesn’t. That’s worth something, no?  

[IXFE]

As for towing without a cover, I totally agree that I prefer not to. But that’s not always realistic. 

What if you have junk in the boat? What if there’s rain in the forecast (this ain’t Nevada)? We got dumped on for HOURS on the Norris trip. I have many memories of getting rained on during those Shasta trips we used to take. 

[ahopkins22LSV]

**disclaimer: my factory cover comments are for the CS cover. Over never used a GL cover. I’ll take a closer look today but the CS seems to fit a bit better then the GL pictured there 

[shawndoggy]

6 hours ago, IXFE said:

Looks like user error to me. No way the cord comes up above the rail if you put it on right. Looks to me like the hooks aren’t adjusted properly. 

Good eye!  But you see that's not my point.  Even adjusted improperly, do you see how on my first evo cover (the one pictured) there was no freakin way the cover was going to come off of the bow while towing?  At least it never did on me over thousands of miles. Tons of material to "hook" the rub rail and nose of the boat.  This was not so at all on the other evo cover on my 14.  at all.  No pics, sorry.  I don't usually think to take pics of a mess, but it would start rolling over the rubrail within a couple of miles of freeway speed towing.  disappointing to say the least.

 

6 hours ago, IXFE said:

But isn’t all that mumbo jumbo just a crutch for a poorly designed / fitted cover. You shouldn’t need all that crap, and the Evo doesn’t. That’s worth something, no? 

I'm not sure why you are reading my explanation of disappointment with an evo cover  on a 14 LSV as a defense of a cover you are disappointed with on a different boat?  I have NO IDEA how the cover fits on a 25.  So thank goodness  I wasn't talking about how a cover fits on a 25 either? Reread what I wrote.  please.

BTW I always tow with junk in the boat? (boards, cooler, etc)  What does that have to do with the cover?  What kinda junk are we talking about here?

[Stevo]

7 hours ago, IXFE said:

Looks like user error to me. No way the cord comes up above the rail if you put it on right. Looks to me like the hooks aren’t adjusted properly. 

Pretty sure I have a GL pic just like that somewhere. Again, ask @Stevo. All those stops to adjust the GL cover involved pulling it back down over the rail and ratcheting down even tighter. Rinse and repeat at each gas stop (and there were a lot towing with the Yukon)  

The issue on the GL isn’t just the loose figment, it’s also a bad design. It sits too low on the new Malibu’s up front where there are indentations in the hull (those fancy body lines around the docking lights) so no matter how tight you ratchet it, you can’t seal the wind out (see green arrow showing huge gap) like you could with Evo’s cord that snugs up against the underside of the rub rail  

Also note the blue arrow showing how lose that material is.  Add 70 mph wind through those wind tunnels and what happens??

A) gel damage

B) ixfe anxiety

C) hammer time!

D) all of the above

 

Final point... look at how limp the cover is over the cockpit of the boat. You can literally see it resting down around the helm seat. With the Evo it’s a tight, straight, diagonal line from the windshield all the back to the sun pad.  The only hope you have of getting the GL up would be using the hang tight (I was instructed by dealer not to during towing) -AND- the supplied poles/straps. But isn’t all that mumbo jumbo just a crutch for a poorly designed / fitted cover. You shouldn’t need all that crap, and the Evo doesn’t. That’s worth something, no?  

Yup towing with that cover would not be recommend. I like the idea of towing with a cover on, but in my climate weather doesn’t move that fast and flapping covers just cause more work for me.

there were a few spots on the gel by he windshield primarily (see blue arrow above) that required cut polish to remedy.

that being said, this cover is sooooooooooo much better than the dealer cover that came with the my 14’ ( I bought a dealer stock boat) and it came with a carver boat cover. Replaced it under warranty after 1st year because the fabric was disintegrating and flaking. Replaced the replacement the following year because the tower cutouts were not designed properly, and when it got water on the cover it just flowed down the back of the windshield and into the tower gaps. I can get this GLcover tight and set up so no water pools when utilizing the tower ropes.

I’ve never owned an EVO, but I’d probably go that route on the next boat.

[IXFE]

So let me get this straight, @shawndoggy... you had an Evo cover THREE boats and TEN years ago that you didn’t like, and you decided HERE and NOW was a good time and place to get on your soapbox and air it all out?  I’m curious if you ever shared this feedback with Cory when you were experiencing this “mess” as you call it. 

All I said in my OP was that in my experience having owned THREE times as many Evo covers as you that it’s a great towing cover. As I always do I added pics cuz who doesn’t like boat pics? I’m not sure why that post offended you so much that you decided to redirect the entire thread into your personal issues. Just goes to show, some folks can’t resist arguing with me. Or maybe you have some other beef with my post that goes beyond a boat cover.  Makes it real hard to want to stay around here and continue to provide the content that I do. 

If you think I’m wrong go do a search on “Evolution” and read what you find. It’s a who’s who of TMC (past and present) all unanimously saying how great the product and the company are. Shoot, it was a TMC tidal wave of recommendations that got me to order one for the first time back in 2012. Isn’t it possible Shawn that maybe just maybe you’re the outlier on this one? 

This will be my last post on the subject. I like my cover. You don’t. Let’s give it a rest. If it makes you feel better I promise I’ll post something else for you to nit pick in a few days. 

[teamerickson]

Evo covers look real nice! If I would’ve planned ahead enough, I would’ve got one for my 17. 

Edited July 5, 2018 by teamerickson

[IXFE]

So let me get this straight, @shawndoggy... you had an Evo cover THREE boats and TEN years ago that you didn’t like, and you decided HERE and NOW was a good time and place to get on your soapbox and air it all out?  I’m curious if you ever shared this feedback with Cory when you were experiencing this “mess” as you call it. 

All I said in my OP was that in my experience having owned THREE times as many Evo covers as you that it’s a great towing cover. As I always do I added pics cuz who doesn’t like boat pics? I’m not sure why that post offended you so much that you decided to redirect the entire thread into your personal issues. Just goes to show, some folks can’t resist arguing with me. Or maybe you have some other beef with my post that goes beyond a boat cover.  Makes it real hard to want to stay around here and continue to provide the content that I do. 

If you think I’m wrong go do a search on “Evolution” and read what you find. It’s a who’s who of TMC (past and present) all unanimously saying how great the product and the company are. Shoot, it was a TMC tidal wave of recommendations that got me to order one for the first time back in 2012. Isn’t it possible Shawn that maybe just maybe you’re the outlier on this one? 

This will be my last post on the subject. I like my cover. You don’t. Let’s give it a rest. If it makes you feel better I promise I’ll post something else for you to nit pick in a few days. 

[Stevo]

[shawndoggy]

Please reread what I wrote. Again, I guess. See the cover I took a pic of?  I was thrilled with that cover and had nothing but good things to say about it. Towed with it all the time!  (Which is the point my pic was intended to convey). In fact you could go search my old posts to confirm that.

I had had another cover on my 14 (not pictured) which would not stay on the nose while towing. That cover was a disappointment. 

I don’t think this is very confusing?

Edited July 5, 2018 by shawndoggy

[shawndoggy]

30 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Just goes to show, some folks can’t resist arguing with me.

Actually I think it's the other way around?  I haven't argued with you at all.  I just shared my personal experience.  Have I said anywhere in this thread that you were wrong or that your experience is invalid?  I don't think so. If there's any "arguing" in this thread it's about you saying I'm wrong or that my experience is invalid, yes?

[bamaboy]

1 hour ago, IXFE said:

So let me get this straight, @shawndoggy... you had an Evo cover THREE boats and TEN years ago that you didn’t like, and you decided HERE and NOW was a good time and place to get on your soapbox and air it all out?  I’m curious if you ever shared this feedback with Cory when you were experiencing this “mess” as you call it. 

All I said in my OP was that in my experience having owned THREE times as many Evo covers as you that it’s a great towing cover. As I always do I added pics cuz who doesn’t like boat pics? I’m not sure why that post offended you so much that you decided to redirect the entire thread into your personal issues. Just goes to show, some folks can’t resist arguing with me. Or maybe you have some other beef with my post that goes beyond a boat cover.  Makes it real hard to want to stay around here and continue to provide the content that I do. 

If you think I’m wrong go do a search on “Evolution” and read what you find. It’s a who’s who of TMC (past and present) all unanimously saying how great the product and the company are. Shoot, it was a TMC tidal wave of recommendations that got me to order one for the first time back in 2012. Isn’t it possible Shawn that maybe just maybe you’re the outlier on this one? 

This will be my last post on the subject. I like my cover. You don’t. Let’s give it a rest. If it makes you feel better I promise I’ll post something else for you to nit pick in a few days. 

 

30 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

Actually I think it's the other way around?  I haven't argued with you at all.  I just shared my personal experience.  Have I said anywhere in this thread that you were wrong or that your experience is invalid?  I don't think so. If there's any "arguing" in this thread it's about you saying I'm wrong or that my experience is invalid, yes?

You two are so adorable when you bicker.  It's one of the reasons I continue to love TMC.  Classic @IXFE / @shawndoggy battle

[Ronnie]

FWIW, I had the same problem with several of my EVO covers. They would be as tight as possible and the cover would lift at the edge of the bow at speed (between the bow point and the first rub rail grip). I never tow my boats so I quit using towing covers for the last several boats but I'd still go back to EVO if I needed a towing cover. Their platform covers are great as well. If he made a full over the top cover, I'd sure check it out.

[obski]

I have gone with green or navy blue covers, but I like how that grey looks.  Very nice.

I've only had 2 Evo covers, but I've only had 3 Malibus in that time.  First Malibu cover was from Rankin where Cory used to work.  Actually the first one from Cory was a 'Covercrafts' cover in 2006 before Cory changed the name to 'Evolution'.

[Pnwrider]

On 7/3/2018 at 9:51 PM, shawndoggy said:

If the cover COMES OFF WHILE TOWING, it doesn't really work to tow with,  tho does it?  Oh man, must've done it wrong that time, better get it put on better next time... well after having it come off on multiple trips I was very dissapointed with the evo.  That was the experience with the evo on the 14 without people to hold it under the rail on both sides while tightening... and maybe it'd stay on.  or not.  Completely stand by my prior statement that on the 14 I strongly preferred the GL to the evo.  This was especially disappointing given my prior experience with an evo on my vride (which I did tow with a lot).  

Alas as noted (and ignored) in my prior post I've given up towing with a cover on.  Too much hassle for zero gain.  It's hard on the cover (my vride evo developed a hole) and hard on the boat (the gel was fine on the vride, but the paint on the windshield frame got rubbed off in a couple of spots).

It’s confusing because you used to recommend the Evo cover. Yet three years later your opinion has changed? 

 

[3sport]

42 minutes ago, Pnwrider said:

It’s confusing because you used to recommend the Evo cover. Yet three years later your opinion has changed? 

 

Presumably he got his '14 after his July 2015 post?  

[oldjeep]

To further derail.  Are the current factory covers great lakes or commercial sewing? 

[COOP]

Its an option. Our sales dept. orders the Commercial Sewing cover.

[shawndoggy]

6 minutes ago, Pnwrider said:

It’s confusing because you used to recommend the Evo cover. Yet three years later your opinion has changed? 

 

Great find!  That's right about when the cover for the 14 arrived.  I wonder if I was still convincing myself to like it/blaming myself for putting it on wrong?

For the record, I'm not "not a fan".  I'm just stating that my experience on the cover for the 14 was not great.  

 

[Fman]

My 2015 22VLX had an Evo cover, I thought it was really nice.  Excellent build quality and about as tight fitting as they come.  I towed with it a couple times and it was fine.  I have not seen anyone ever complain about Evo other than @shawndoggy but maybe he had a bum cover?  My experience was great.

I would have ordered one for my current LSV but I forgot to take the oem off my order.  Kinda regret it, the current cover works but it's definitely not an evo