posted 08-09-2010 11:47 PM ET (US)        

I was wondering if any of you who have console covers have any suggestions or ideas that I should incorporate into mine. Let me know if you do. I was thinking about a zipper to access the console door on the port side. Not [expensive] but not sure if it makes a lot of sense really.

That console is big and holds lots of stuff and it has a huge door.

posted 08-10-2010 10:51 AM ET (US)            

Consider the wind forces when on a trailer at 70 MPH. Make sure the zippers close from the top down. I had to have a flap added with a velcro closure at the bottom of the zippers to keep them from partially unzipping themselves when on a trailer.

I'm not sure I would include to cooler in the cover. You may want to change the size in the future.

posted 08-10-2010 11:07 AM ET (US)            

We had a console cover and RPS cover made for our Montauk that worked great for hauling on a trailer many many miles. We had it made for while we were out on vacation and did not want and need to haul a mooring cover. It was made out of a vinyl impregnated canvas and had 4 swivel snaps holding it down. We had zippers to access the console doors so you did not have to remove the canvas to get into the console. Also, with the set up like this it allowed us to keep duffel bags between the console and RPS under under cover while traveling. There are some good images of this set up in this folder.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/dads%20whaler/ ?start=all

posted 08-10-2010 11:51 AM ET (US)            

I had a console cover on my Montauk that only covered the console, it had a zipper at the back center that allowed access to the helm door and snapped at the bottom, I also had a Mills RPS cover that covered the seat back & only to the bottom of the cushion portion of the seat. It had a draw string. Both worked well, but I do like the idea of one cover for the whole shebang and as Jeff said the ability to store duffles under it while hauling on the trailer.

One benefit I liked about having the individual cover for the RPS was that when I had my Montauk and was doing the North Channel and other trips, I had only the Forward shelter, fly-top and windshield. Obviously there was limited storage space when camping & running the boat in the rain. I could put a sizable duffle on my RPS seat, cover it with my RPS cover and it would stay dry while underway, as well as making for a decent leaning post so to speak.

I think you should consider the snaps, it seems that swivel snaps would be less likely to come undone when on the trailer, but then again things that do not have moving parts to wear out don't break, malfunction as easily, etc...

Pete,I don't know if you looked closely at the cockpit cover for hauling on the trailer on my Revenge when we were leaving Frankfort, but it's made with Top Gun Fabric instead of Sunbrella. Top Gun Fabric is like a vinyl impregnated Sunbrella fabric, it is indestructible and waterproof, my canvas guy, (SHAMELESS PLUG: The Kanvas King Livonia, Mi) demonstrated it by driving a screwdriver through it & then had me try to rip it open from the hole, I tried & tried to no avail, it's great stuff, I would certainly consider it for your application.

By the way I had my cockpit cover made so it used only existing snaps already in place for my Mills canvas Camperback Canvas, they are the regular snaps and none have come undone while hauling on the traielr, even for extended periods of time at 65- to 7-MPH on the highway. Good luck

posted 08-10-2010 02:21 PM ET (US)            

Andy, the Amish canvas man, already discussed Top Gun which is fantastic and looks totally bombproof. I told him I would worry about abrasion to the pristine gelcoat on my console and he said he has had some complaints about that with Top Gun in some applications. He did not say anything about Herculite but I will ask, Jerry, it looks like there are several different options for Herculite - which one is yours?

Andy also showed me a vinyl option with fuzzy backing but I am not sure how well that would hold up in the long run.

I have a Mills Bimini and Take A Tan Ellen mentioned something about "the fabrics should match buckaroo..." and I said "What?" but Sunbrella matches exactly.

AQUALON? anyone heard of Aqualon? I am calling Andy to confirm his first recommendation (fabric impregnated with vinyl) but I think it is Aqualon which is $5 bucks cheaper per yard than Sunbrella.

SNAPS VS TURN FASTENERS - Bart, previous owner of the boat, had a console cover for it but could not locate it when I picked the boat up last year and apparently hasn't since. The snaps are screwed into the bottom console brackets, each cooler mount (one each) and RPS. There were are very few snaps. Jeff suggested turn fasteners which make sense but canvas man warned that they stick out and passengers could stub their toes or they would catch things because they stick out. Since I broke my toe (really did) stubbing the sucker jumping around in my boat a few weeks ago, could be an issue. However I am thinking about having a few put in for extra hold power. They can shoot them in quickly, no big deal.

THANKS - I need to get back to Andy ASAP for final instructions and I don't want to drive him nuts.

AMISH shop - runs entirely on compressed air, impressive, all machines even the ceiling fan driven by air. Compressor is diesel powered, shop has air lines running all over the place. He has a fax machine (all in one printer wired to an inverter with alligator clips that he runs off 12 VDC battery. Freaking cool. I asked him about how all this fits in to their traditions and religion (garage is like two bay filled with buggies and wagons, his boys use a sulky to go fishing) and he said "Well we don't think you guys will go to Hell because you drive cars and have boats...we just like to live as simply as possible..." Makes sense to me. He said the mess around with solar and other energy sources.

You ought to see his their garden!! WOA

I'm hoping for the best result. Prices are great.

posted 08-10-2010 07:38 PM ET (US)            

I first started using this material over 40 years ago and the last about 10 years ago. At that time, there wasn't, as I know, any choices - other than the color.

I just told our local canvas shop - use double weave/interlocked herculite in the color that I wanted. Herculite is typically all around 12 - 13 oz per lineal yard (62 inch width) as I recall. On the boat cover, they asked if I wanted a soft interior surface to minimize abrasion - yes.

The boat cover is red, the tent (wall) floor is green, the packs (boy scout project) were bright yellow (so that I could see a bright yellow pack from a long way) and the panniers were a kinda dull yellow.

Some truckers are using the material - but I would suspect that those applications, as well as naval applications, might use a heavier fabric.

Your using an amish shop is great - as they do truly wonderful work - that they and you can be proud of for many years. Unfortunately, we don't have the amish around Idaho, but I visited one of their towns in Illinois several years ago and was truly impressed. --- Jerry/Idaho

posted 08-10-2010 11:38 PM ET (US)            

Also, consider having extra stitching done and make sure they use a high quality thread. These are weak points.

posted 08-11-2010 09:11 AM ET (US)            

He matched the Mills Bimini and will install a zipper for access to the port side console door which will be great. We agreed that the turn snaps are not a great idea for anything below the ankles because of toe stubbing hazard.

I can't wait to see it and will be picking it up later probably mid afternoon.

I think this will be perfect for my needs.

FYI - Andy's preferred material is Aqualon which I would have gone with except color match was off and I was advised by my regular crew canvas needs to match.

Next could be forward shelter. I might take my Mills 13 set to see what he says.