THIS is a PROFESSIONAL cockpit cover

[John C in PA]

Two years ago I paid someone who "stayed in a Holiday Inn last night" make and install a cockpit cover for my Sweet 16. When I picked it up and mentioned the humping up between the snaps I was told the Sunbrella would shrink and tighten it all up . A center pole was included for a vent and to keep the material tight. These pictures show the crap I threw my money away on :mad::mad::mad:.

Two years later and the humps remain. Guess what? Sunbrella costs so much because it doesn't shrink. But who was I to question? I was dealing with a $95 an hour expert who knew how to custom build a cockpit cover. Surely he knew what he was doing.
74911

This is how the hole in the cover for the center pole was left by the shop. I only found out when the crap, too short aluminum pole fell out and the vent pieces came apart.
74912


I had a local shop, a PROFESSIONAL, build me a tonneau style cockpit cover out of black Sunbrella and this is how it turned out. You could bounce a nickle off the cover its so tight and a center pole isn't necessary. The zipper is a plastic YKK with a velcroed cover (thank you Ed Donnelly). I had the shop use black snaps as silver would stand out too much. A work of art by someone who knows what he's doing!!!!

749137491474915

John C

[Bobby D]

Turned out very nice, where do you run your boat?

[VetteLT193]

sunbrella will shrink if exposed to heat, that's why when you are drying it after washing you should snap it on the boat immediately so it won't shrink up. That shrinkage isn't designed in to make a cover fit tighter though :hyper:

The new cover looks fantastic. I like the black too, offsets the teal very nicely!

Curious how it works running the boat with it on in racer mode, please post results! I have tried running mine with the bow cockpit cover on and it is amazing how much air pressure there is up there.

[Ghost]

The new one looks great John. (Ditto on the above, I like the black as well.)

[Offset]

Looks great John, I like the black with the teal. Will you be able to tow with that cover on or was that not what it was intended to do?

Nice.

[Ed Donnelly]

Gee John; The other cover was a real conversation piece. (of crap)

You must have paid triple over the other one to get it to look that good.

Oh wait quadruple as the original POS didn't have the zipper. Good thing too because the first clown would have sewn it horizontal.

You owe me a ride LOL....Ed

[John C in PA]

Turned out very nice, where do you run your boat?

Bobby, Blue Marsh during the week. Thousand Islands for vacation. Ghost mentioned Chesapeake Bay so that's on the agenda. And I intend to go to Smith Mtn Lake this year-Undertaker is a regular there and we've been talking about a caravan possibly with Undetaker and ???? Where do you go?


sunbrella will shrink if exposed to heat, that's why when you are drying it after washing you should snap it on the boat immediately so it won't shrink up. That shrinkage isn't designed in to make a cover fit tighter though :hyper:.

Curious how it works running the boat with it on in racer mode, please post results! I have tried running mine with the bow cockpit cover on and it is amazing how much air pressure there is up there.

Vette, yeah, well the EXPERT told me he made the teal cover that way so it would shrink and tighten up. My bad for believing a fellow Pennsylvanian. This style of cover brings me back to my younger days street racing my Datsun 2000 against American Iron. And beating them. Sometimes. I can reach back to the vertical wall of the rear seat so I think I'm gonna install 2 snaps down low to secure the open part. I'll have the wife take pix.

John C

[duckhunter]

Nice looking cockpit cover. Black snaps are a nice touch.

Poor canvas design and execution is one of the most frustrating things I have found in the realm of boat accessories. You pay out the butt to get custom stuff made and then grimace every time you look at it or have to deal with it.

When I'm throwing the cockpit covers on it's generally after a long day on the river and I'm sunburnt, tired, and ready for a sundowner. Last thing I want to do is wrestle with ill-fitting, poorly executed canvas. Just leaves a bad taste in your mouth at the very end of the day that you have to wash down with bourbon.

Snapping on your perfectly executed canvas is the opposite - just a good way to put the boat to bed and end the day on a high note, followed by some bourbon.

[John C in PA]

Gee John; The other cover was a real conversation piece. (of crap)

You must have paid triple over the other one to get it to look that good.

Oh wait quadruple as the original POS didn't have the zipper. Good thing too because the first clown would have sewn it horizontal.

You owe me a ride LOL....Ed

Ed, I haven't read all of the previous posts about you but surely someone must have mentioned in the past that you can be a dick :kingme:. ROFLMAO!!!!

Actually, this cover cost less than the old one. And the shop owner told me if I had any issues to call him and he would make it right. I'm waiting for my NEXUS application to be reviewed so I can set up the interview. Hopefully I'll have my approval in hand by June's vacation trip to the TI. We can get together and I'll give you the secret code for the name of the expert who made my first cockpit cover.

John C

[John C in PA]

Nice looking cockpit cover. Black snaps are a nice touch.

Poor canvas design and execution is one of the most frustrating things I have found in the realm of boat accessories. You pay out the butt to get custom stuff made and then grimace every time you look at it or have to deal with it.

When I'm throwing the cockpit covers on it's generally after a long day on the river and I'm sunburnt, tired, and ready for a sundowner. Last thing I want to do is wrestle with ill-fitting, poorly executed canvas. Just leaves a bad taste in your mouth at the very end of the day that you have to wash down with bourbon.

Snapping on your perfectly executed canvas is the opposite - just a good way to put the boat to bed and end the day on a high note, followed by some bourbon.

DH, you hit the nail on the head. I have an OMC/Donzi full size canvas cover for garage storage but use the teal cover for towing. Between the poor fit, the long center pole, and the oversize steering wheel cover I hated to look at it. This one is purty :hyper:. In regard to the black snaps, I had really wanted the covered snaps (like the yellow cover on Donzi Josh's webpage) but since the snap bases were already installed on the boat, it would have been significant extra manhours of handwork to cover them. The black snaps were my idea and they do look good.

Do you want a glass with that bottle of bourbon????

John C

[Conquistador_del_mar]

John,
That looks great! If a cover is made well it will last. Check out the original cover on my 1971 18" 2+3 after I spray dyed the red and white. 42 years old and still looks good. Sunbrella should easily last as long I would think. Bill

I should mention that the first cover you had made looks like a second grader's school project - lol

[mike o]

Sir, Pirates weekend I hope.......:cool!:
You can car pool with Kid Rock.....:kingme:

[John C in PA]

I should mention that the first cover you had made looks like a second grader's school project - lol

Bill, the gent who crafted my new cover explained to me exactly what the other guy did to allow those humps between snaps. It was a mistake only an amateur would make. BTW: you spray dyed your cover? That looks great!!!

John C

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Bill, the gent who crafted my new cover explained to me exactly what the other guy did to allow those humps between snaps. It was a mistake only an amateur would make. BTW: you spray dyed your cover? That looks great!!!

John C

Yes. The 42 year old original cover is a very thick vinyl with a cloth backing material - maybe 1/8" thick that was always tight. I used to pull the boat all the time with the cover on (rain or shine) - sometimes a few thousand miles like when I went to Florida with the cover on and never had it blow off. When I restored the boat a few years ago, I used vinyl spray dye to freshen it up since the original red and white were dingy looking. Even in heavy rains it remained dry inside the cockpit.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Yes. Longer post needs moderator approval. Bill

[Tim Morris]

Sir, Pirates weekend I hope.......:cool!:
You can car pool with Kid Rock.....:kingme:

The Kid don't ride with no dicks!

[Greg Guimond]

What exactly is "spray dye" ?

[John C in PA]

The Kid don't ride with no dicks!

I was gonna reply that Ed is a good dick but somehow that doesn't sound right :rlol:.

John C

[Tim Morris]

Any kind of dick with a bench seat doesn't sound right either.

[Ed Donnelly]

Tim; Matty, Farmer TX, Jim, Scott, to name a few have benches
and I am pretty sure some have bigger dicks :-) ..Ed

[Tim Morris]

Tim; Matty, Farmer TX, Jim, Scott, to name a few have benches
and I am pretty sure some have bigger dicks :-) ..Ed

Indeed; and some are still active and not yet retired.

[biggiefl]

It is like a thin spray paint that dyes fabrics, plastic, leather, etc. You can actually use it on a steering wheel and it holds up very well. I bought a blue leather wheel for my vette and dyed it beige, lasted 15 years and the leather started cracking, dye still looked good. If you want to spruce up some old seats, spray them. Never thought to use it on a cover though....let me know how it works out.

[yembo77]

That does look awesome dyed!! I thought of dying my covers once but because they're canvas it never crossed my mind to use the spray dye. I was thinking more like soaking them in a bucke of dye fluid. That's just like vinyl dye right? I've used that on vinyl for years and a good body shop supply carries oem matched colors in the can.

Matt

[Conquistador_del_mar]

What exactly is "spray dye" ?

Greg,
I have only used the spray can type dye. It is meant for vinyls and leathers and will flex with the surface. Be sure to clean any old surface to be dyed with something like Acryliclean to make sure there are no oils or grease or surface stuff. Here is a link to a brand I have used in boats. http://www.semproducts.com/product-catalog/sem-marine/vinyl-coat/ I used a different brand for leathers when I restored some older Jaguars - companies make matching color dyes. Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I made another longer post that needs moderator approval - :mad: http://www.semproducts.com/product-catalog/sem-marine/vinyl-coat/

[Ed Donnelly]

Indeed; and some are still active and not yet retired.

I swear I never told anyone you were retired...Ed

[biggiefl]

SEM is the bomb. Getting expensive though, $17 or so for an aerosol can. A single can will do a whole interior, probably take 2 to change color depending on color. The only thing about SEM is it seems to be too flat, I wish it was more gloss. The cheap crap at auto stores is pretty glossy and if you just want a basic color like white, black, grey, tan, red, etc it is great and about $6.

[John C in PA]

Will you be able to tow with that cover on or was that not what it was intended to do?

Yes, the shop confirmed that I can tow with the cover on.

John C

[Bobby D]

John,
I boat and keep my boat on the Susquehanna River in York Pa, the body of water is called Long Level.I also run the Delaware River from the PA/NJ turnpike bridge down to about the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge and spend time around the state marina. We should try and meet up this summer the Chesapeake is not far from me as well.
Bob

[CHACHI]

THE KID IS DICKLESS...................tell me it ain't true.

John what date you heading up to the river?

Ken

[John C in PA]

John,
I boat and keep my boat on the Susquehanna River in York Pa, the body of water is called Long Level.I also run the Delaware River from the PA/NJ turnpike bridge down to about the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge and spend time around the state marina. We should try and meet up this summer the Chesapeake is not far from me as well.
Bob

Bob, I don't know the Susquehanna at all. Except I thought it was kinda shallow in a lot of places :frown:. Google shows its about 95 minutes to the bridge and a bit over 2 hours to York. Are any of these places salt or brackish? I think it was Ghost who told me Elk Neck Park in Northeast has a ramp. Thats 2.5 hours for me. I'm sure we can set something up.


John C

[John C in PA]

THE KID IS DICKLESS...................tell me it ain't true.

John what date you heading up to the river?

Ken

Ken, we're up there June 17-21 with the Donzi and July 29-Aug 2 with the other boat. Seaway Slips in Clayton. Hope you are around. I took your advice BTW, and applied for my Nexus paperwork since I owe Ed Donnelly a ride.

John C

[undertaker]

John if you come to the Upper Chesapeake you wanna splash the boat at Anchor Marine in Northeast better set up than Elk Neck, IMO. Dr. Dan and myself splash there all the time....it's on the Northeast River (freshwater). We will talk come summer :biggrin: