Winter Covers

R

rem984

Member
Unfortunately, its time for me to start thinking about winterizing my Sunfish (early, I know, but I'm a student with no more time to go use it). I'm thinking about getting a fitted cover for the boat to make winter storage that much easier -- preferably a trailering type, that has a skirt which covers the sides of the boat.

I know a lot of places make fitted covers, but I'm curious to hear if anyone has recommendations as to the most durable cover material/best place to get one/all around best cover to own -- I know SailorsTailor has been recommended a couple of times, and I know Colie Sails makes pretty good stuff. I'm not averse to spending a good chunk of change if the cover is going to last a couple of years (read: at least 4-5).

Lastly, is there any real issue with storing the boat deck up on its trailer for the winter? I would be surprised if there was, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

So, any recommendations?
 
Yes there is an issue storing it outside deck side up; the cockpit. No matter how tight the cover it will collect snow/water/ice and sag in the cockpit area. I learned the hard way of course. So I ran up a rectangular frame that supported the boat inverted on the trailer with the cross bars supporting the boat contoured to match the deck surface so there would be a lot of surface area to carry any snow/ice loading.
 
I have covers made by Fabricraft. They make covers from various grades of fabric. I chose to buy their most expensive and heaviest fabric. The covers were new in 1993 and basically still look that way today. The construction is super high quality and the fit is VERY tight. When I bought them, there were multiple design options like having the handle cut through the top cover, a mesh to allow the bailor to drain etc

I can speak from personal experience of a few other brands:
Sailor's Tailor- The fabric has is nice. It seems to have some kind of a fuzzy material on the inside. That being said, the boat swims in their covers. It is a VERY loose fit.
Storm- Unless you get these free with your boat, they would not be my first choice. The fabric is paper thin and they do not last long.
Colie- Good quality, well thought out product. This is the closest thing I have seen to the Fabricraft covers, but I do not think they were available when I bought mine.
 
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