2015 212X Mooring Cover

[rrmidden]

I purchased a new 2015 212X just before Labor Day in 2015. So far it's been terrific. We store the boat at my parents cabin in Northern Wisconsin, between April - November of the year, and then store it indoors during the winter at a Storage Unit, a couple of hours away from the cabin and our home.

Currently, it's kept outside during the summer months. We have a custom snap-on cover that generally works great. When we are gone for extended periods of time, we also put the original shipping cover on the boat, for added protection. We put Damp-Rid in the boat when storing it between trips up north. The only real problem comes with heavy rain. Even with both covers on, there isn't a tight fit around the rear tower base. I wrap the base with towels to prevent debris from getting into the boat between the gap between the tower base and the cover, but if it rains a lot, quite a bit of water still gets in the boat.

I'm just wondering if the Mooring Cover provides a tight seal around the rear tower base on a 2015 212 X? My parents' pontoon cover has a nice little lace-up boot that goes around their canopy legs. So I figure if it has something like that, it should work pretty well.

 

[txav8r]

Welcome aboard @rrmidden ! Storing a boat outside is always a challenge, but it sounds like your trying to tackle the issue with a balanced approach. You may have read, or know, that the shipping cover does not breath, it wasn't designed to be anything more than a cover to get the boats from the factory to the dealers. But many of us have used them and some swear by them, while others know they create an abundance of humidity inside the boat and only use them for transit. Using damp rid is certainly a big help too. The mooring and trailering covers that Yamaha has made for them, are quality covers that serve their purpose well. But they are not 100% perfect. Both of my boats were SX models, and I didn't have a tower I had to fool with trying to seal around. I can't imagine the amount of water that could get in around it to be more than just a nuisance, but I have not ever had the experience with the tower. I can tell you that the covers are not "waterproof", they are just water resistant, and by design, they shed water only if they aren't allowed to "pool". Once a cover is allowed to sag, it will always have a tendency to hold water and leak, same with snow. But if you put the mooring cover on, and get the anti-pooling poles rigged well, it shouldn't pool or leak, but you may have wind driven rain get in or as you have found, maybe around the tower a little. I am wondering if maybe water not only gets in there, but your shipping cover seals the water in as well as humidity, and when the sun comes out, moisture condenses in the boat? The snap on covers don't do much to keep water out in heavy rains either. Heavy rain and wind can be hard to protect against with a cover only, but I would suspect a new cover would help. Even a new shipping cover may seal better but again, it will not breath at all. I am afraid there isn't a 100% guaranteed solution to your situation but I think the mooring cover would give you better protection for until the sun takes its toll on it. If you find out why your getting leaks around the tower, or a good solution, be sure to share your discoveries...and welcome to Jetboaters.net!

 

[rrmidden]

Thanks, I don't think it's condensation, because during dry periods I don't get any water in the boat. The snap-in cover that I have has a pair of anti-pooling pools that do a good job of preventing any standing water, other than one time when I didn't snap the back down because I was trying to let the swim deck dry off a bit, when a small storm popped up. I know nothing will be perfect, (until we build a pole barn with a 12'x12' door, and I can store it indoors at the cabin, without ever having to touch the tower), I just wish I could see the cover before dropping $700 and find out that it doesn't do a good job at the base of the tower. Everything else is very well protected by the snap in cover, but there is a 1/2" gap between the tower base and the cover on the inside of the boat. I figure I could try to create my own 'boot' that snaps onto the existing cover and covers the base of the tower, but it also sounds easier and neater if the Yamaha Cover did a good job of protecting the base of the tower.

 

[Bill D]

I have both the black and the grey mooring covers offered by Yamaha. I use the much older grey one for storage (outside) and the black one for travel. The grey one leaks at the seams. I make it a practice to clean and seal it with 303 fabric guard each year (I might change this practice to twice a year for the trouble spots) and it helps. But, I still get water in the boat when it rains hard. The black cover I have is used for towing and while on trips. It seems to be of better construction and leaks less, but it has also not seen the years of UV abuse that the grey one has.

 

[eticket]

I have the grey mooring cover and it does not have a tight seal around the tower base. It does not keep all water out. It does have a tight seal around the base of the cover, but I find that small bugs/spiders can still get in, either thru the vent it by the tower cutouts.