Shrinkwrap or Yamaha Cover?

[CLBeerbower]

I am looking for your thoughts on how the stock Yamaha mooring cover holds up over a winter. I am being quoted $500 a year for my 212 and a whole new cover is only roughly $1000. If I could get three years out of it I am in the black! However I didn’t know about stretching or water intrusion. I live in Denver and we get snow but it usually doesn’t stick around long. Thoughts?

 

[Dave burke]

My indoor storage place is not available so I have to store my outside. I’m putting the the mooring cover and then the transport cover on top. I’ve done this before and it survived the winter fine

 

[Bluewater272]

The shipping cover is adequate until it starts to leak. If you have any snow load, I would not subject the mooring cover to it.

Your shrink wrap quote is expensive, I had my 24’ done last year for $300, including a zipper access door. My boat never came out of the winter looking so nice inside.

 

[Ronnie]

My vote is for the shipping cover in the winter and canvas cover the rest of the year. If you don’t have a shipping cover go with the canvas ones. I often find both types used for $300 to $400 and most last at least 3 seasons, more if you can alternate them during the year. Unless I could do the shrink wrapping myself i couldn’t justify the recurring annual fee.

Notes on shipping covers: Yamaha doesn’t sell them, they are produced and shipped with each boat made. Once Yamaha discontinues manufacturing a hull, like the 230 or the first gen 240s, they stop making the shipping covers as well. So if I see a shipping cover selling online for under $300, I buy it.

 

[Evil Sports]

I shrink wrap mine every winter and know Im coming back to the boat exactly how I left it. In New England I never know what our snow pack will be. Only once in the past 8 years have I had to knock the snow off it. I like the fact its bone dry in there when I cut it off come May. I expect the cost will go up this year since its all Plastic and wood to do it.

 

[Ronnie]

I shrink wrap mine every winter and know Im coming back to the boat exactly how I left it. In New England I never know what our snow pack will be. Only once in the past 8 years have I had to knock the snow off it. I like the fact its bone dry in there when I cut it off come May. I expect the cost will go up this year since its all Plastic and wood to do it.

Do you do it yourself or pay someone to shrink wrap your boat? If the former, what does it cost to do it yourself every year, including the equipment/tools, if any, that need to be purchased one a one time basis?

 

[mraz72]

Shrink wrap here as well, we get ~100 inches of snow a year. Last winter a "ice dam" tore the gutter off the rear of the house, that's the kind of fun winters we have.

Shrink wrap with a zipper door, now that sounds perfect, than I can get some work done during the winter....

Cost, I believe its $10 or $12 a foot, I forget. I do the acid wash as well which is a similar charge.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I used the Shipping cover last year. I bought one of those roof snow scrapers with the long handle to clear any snow that accumulated on top. Tightened it good. Put Damp rid buckets in it, pulled batteries, used poles and also put pool noodles over the window frame top, slit so they fit over. Worked out fantastic. Just made sure if it snowed to go out and pull the snow off the boat cover.

Also what was nice about it, was that I needed some measurements from inside the boat and we did get a few 50 degree days and I did some minor work on the boat and test fitted some fabrications I was working on.

 

[Evil Sports]

I dont do it myself, prices quoted above are inline.

 

[CLBeerbower]

So it does not sound like anyone recommends using just the mooring cover by itself due to stretching. I don’t have the option to store inside or under a car port.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Ibwould not use just the mooring cover.

 

[Ronnie]

I use a mooring cover if I don’t have a shipping cover but I don’t experience extreme weather, like snow or ice, during the winter months, just rain and lately not much of it. I also have a few spare mooring covers that are already worn, torn and patched so I don’t mind using them for long term storage. When you see dust the color of the mooring cover on the interior after you remove the cover it’s a sure sign the cover is about to fail.

 

[Bluewater272]

Do you do it yourself or pay someone to shrink wrap your boat? If the former, what does it cost to do it yourself every year, including the equipment/tools, if any, that need to be purchased one a one time basis?

I've looked into purchasing the equipment a couple times, and seems like to get decent stuff and enough material to do the boat for a couple years, will run you in the 8-900 range. Would definitely pay for itself after 3-4 years, but also seems like a real PITA job. The guys I hire come to the house and wrap it there, and are gone in about an hour. Nice work, too. Good perk of wrapping it over the tower is that you can do some work in there over the winter pretty easily, or more importantly, have some boat drinks with the radio on if you get a warm day.

 

[TimW451]

I didn’t want to risk the winter cold and snow damaging my mooring cover, nor did I want to pay $600 to shrink wrap my boat, so I bought a $200 cover on Amazon. It worked great this past winter, just needed it to be a little bit wider on the bow. (I think it would fit your 21’ well.) Even if I had to buy one each year it will be worth it, but it looks like new, so I’m sure to get at least a few winters out of it.

 

[Ronnie]

I would prefer a cover over shrink wrap so that o could take advantage of any surprise warm days that I could take the boat out in. If I shrink wrapped my boat I’d be very reluctant to take advantage of such days.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Ronnie isn't the weather good enough out by you to basically boat all year long or fish? If it is in the 50's without it freezing at night, it is boating weather.

 

[Ronnie]

I wish, I think you are thinking of southern Ca. We have a rainy season here in NCal. And it’s generally cold between October and April. Sub 50, maybe at night but I’m too old for survival/challenge boating anymore. Not long ago we would take the boat out to SF in January when the water was calm on a weekend. Now if it’s too windy we reconsider where we are going / if we are going since tubing has been a big thing for our family and friends lately. I also recently figured out I need to get my wife and I full wet suits so we can ride our Waverunners in late fall and spring, the half/spring suits I got didn’t cut it this year. I should have known when I saw the locals wearing full suits.

you do bring up a good point though. I can’t remember the last time I saw a shrink wrapped boat here in NCal at anytime of the year.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Ronnie Didn't know there was that much temperature change in California between North and South. I haven't been there since I was 14, so basically 38 years ago......