Bow & Cockpit cover

[Kevin M]

My original covers are starting to show some wear and I'm thinking the canvass is getting thin and may be ripping soon. My question is two fold..

1. I have the factory Yamaha Bow/cockpit covers and at the time of purchase, my dealer had a guy come out and install the snaps for those covers. If I purchase the new covers, the snaps will be identical right?

2. Should I stick with the Bow/cockpit cover or go with the full cover?

Thanks,

 

[Zarrella]

No the snaps will not line up. The last boat I had a cover made without the snaps. I then installed them on the canvas to match the placement on the boat.

 

[Seadeals]

A local upholstery shop just finished my new Bimini and bow cover this week. I had them make the bow cover a little larger than the old one since it was really tight. I am glad I did because the new one still barely had enough room to install the snaps. I went with Sunbrella which is thicker and I think it stretches less. It came out VERY nice. I also have the bow tent which uses a second set of snaps. These were pressure points on the old cover so they doubled the thickness a few inches in. I took the boat there for the snap install. After witnessing it and helping assure they all fit, you MUST take the boat if you want all snaps to fit. I too doubt the OEM cover would work if snaps are already installed. The Bimini can have a lot of slop and still work so no pressure there. I paid $800 for bow cover and Bimini in Sunbrella (no cockpit cover).

 

[Kevin M]

Ok then, maybe it's time for the full cover. Thank you!

 

[Dsitton]

Premium mooring cover works great and looks awesome as well. Easy to install and comes with the anti-pooling device. No snaps needed for it. Don't know what boat you have but this is a 2015 242LS.

 

[Kevin M]

@Dsitton , ordered the same one yesterday! Thank you and it looks great!!

 

[Chris K]

yea typically covers come with a bag of buttons, and you match up the new cover to the old snap locations. mark it with a crayon or something then take it back in the garage and vice and hammer the buttons on the locations ya marked.

 

[Kevin M]

@Chris K , that doesn't sound like fun to me.

 

[Jerry Ferrera]

A local upholstery shop just finished my new Bimini and bow cover this week. I had them make the bow cover a little larger than the old one since it was really tight. I am glad I did because the new one still barely had enough room to install the snaps. I went with Sunbrella which is thicker and I think it stretches less. It came out VERY nice. I also have the bow tent which uses a second set of snaps. These were pressure points on the old cover so they doubled the thickness a few inches in. I took the boat there for the snap install. After witnessing it and helping assure they all fit, you MUST take the boat if you want all snaps to fit. I too doubt the OEM cover would work if snaps are already installed. The Bimini can have a lot of slop and still work so no pressure there. I paid $800 for bow cover and Bimini in Sunbrella (no cockpit cover).

do you have pictures

 

[Jerry Ferrera]

do you have pictures
and shop info to order

 

[Seadeals]

This is the best I can do. I don't have any close-ups of just the cover or Bimini. You need to find a local shop. It is custom work on the bow cover to get the snaps placed exactly where they are on your hull. I did not let them keep my boat but I brought it over at the end for the snap installation. If I had left the boat they would have made it exactly the right size; but I don't like my boat left outside.

 

[TommyMcK]

My only caveat is that if you keep the boat on a lift, the full cover is a royal pain to get on. It's do-able and with practice it gets better, but snap on bow and cockpit covers are infinitely easier.

For what it's worth, I'm all thumbs and was able to properly install snaps (from West Marine, along with the special tool that comes with the snaps) on covers that properly lined up. Took about 2 hours....

If I trailered the boat exclusively, I'd go with full cover all the way (and did for years). I've gone through 3 full covers since I bought the boat new, so if you keep the boat outside in harsh conditions, don't expect it to last more than a few seasons regardless of the type.

 

[tocelli]

Has anyone ever considered having a full cover made that would snap on the boat as well? My previous boat had snap on bow and cockpit cover and only area that wasn't cover was the windshield wondering if there wouldn't be an easy way to have that added and snaps added. I currently have the mooring cover and yes as @TommyMcK says it is a pain in the A~~ to get on with boat on a lift.