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MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 8:20 am
by Alibertucci
Give me the name of a vendor other than Wm. J. Mills & Co. that sells a full cover for a 2000 MONTAUK 17.

I want a full cover that does NOT go over the bow rails. I store the boat outside. I need a full cover that is easy to put on and easy take off, and a full cover that could be used while trailering the boat.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 9:39 am
by jimh
Alibertucci wrote:Give me the name of a vendor other than Wm. J. Mills & Co. for a full cover for a 2000 MONTAUK 17.
The Great Lakes Boat Top company makes some canvas for Boston Whaler boats. Whether or not something they have pre-made for a MONTAUK will be suitable for your use is unknown to me, and perhaps unknown to them as well.

The Great Lakes Boat Top company has a website at

https://greatlakesboattop.com/

A discussion of canvas makers for Boston Whaler boats was the topic of a thread begun about one year ago. See

BOAT COVER OPTIONS
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6417

Any cover you buy that is made to an existing pattern for a classic MONTAUK may not suit all your requirements for how the cover is to fit onto your boat.

I recommend you locate a canvas artisan local to you and have the cover you want made to your specifications. Plan to pay about $1,200 or more for a well-made, custom-designed cover made from premium fabric like Glen Raven Mills SUNBRELLA. If the artisan is a good canvas maker, the artisan will probably have a backlog of work that could delay deliver for as long as a year. Plan to leave your boat with the canvas artisan for a week or more to allow the custom designed cover to be made.

To find local canvas artisans, visit several large marinas in your area, walk the docks, and look for boats will very nicely fitted canvas. Canvas makers usually always include a label on their products announcing who made them. In this way you can discover the names of local canvas artisans that other boats have used and who have produced good work.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 10:07 am
by jimh
Alibertucci wrote:I need a full cover that is easy to put on and easy take off, and a full cover that could be used while trailering the boat.
I had the same requirements for a cover for my boat, and in addition, the cover had to have snaps that fit about 25 pre-existing snaps that were used for other components in the canvas system. There was no possibility of an off-the-shelf made-to-a-pattern cover that would meet my requirements.

You may be in a similar situation.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 9:48 am
by Alibertucci
I recommend you locate a canvas artisan local to you and have the cover you want made to your specifications. Plan to pay about $1,200 or more for a well-made, custom-designed cover made from premium fabric like Glen Raven Mills SUNBRELLA. If the artisan is a good canvas maker, the artisan will probably have a backlog of work that could delay deliver for as long as a year. Plan to leave your boat with the canvas artisan for a week or more to allow the custom designed cover to be made.


I have taken Jim's advice and found a custom canvas shop within reasonable distance from where I do most of my boating. They have given me a price quote based on photos they requested of my boat, dimensions I provided, and my requirements. I requested a cover that is suitable for traveling, does not cover the bow rails and will cover the stern rails and the folded-down Bimini top.

What are your opinions of a price of $2365?

This is for a cover made from top grade and weight marine grade Sunbrella fabric, all 316 stainless steel where needed, PTFE (Teflon) stitching (guaranteed for the life of the fabric) and will require leaving the boat with them so they can do precise measurements and cut the sections of the cover (as predicted by Jim). Lead time is 14-16 weeks which is not a concern to me.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 10:47 am
by jimh
Alibertucci wrote:What are your opinions of a price of $2365?
In my earlier remarks I mentioned a cost of $1,200. Here is some more background. When the canvas shop first gave me a ball park price, it was $800 to $1,000. When I brought the boat to them, they revised the estimate to be “more in the $1,000-range. The final price was $1,100. That was several years ago, pre-pandemic, pre-supply chain problems. Then I added another $100 to get the figure I stated as $1,200.

Reflecting on that, when my cover was made you could get a great hamburger for $11, a beer for $5, and a glass of wine for $6. Now a hamburger is $17, a beer is $8, and a glass of wine is $10. In other words, about 40 to 50-percent inflation in the last three years.

Applying 45-percent inflation to my $1,200 estimate raises the cost to about $1,700 to $1,800. That is still shy of $2,365 by quite a bit. However, my cover did not cover the entire boat; it stopped at the windshield and left the foredeck uncovered. A full cover for a MONTAUK 17 might have more material. Sunbrella fabric is expensive, so material cost could be higher.

Also, location costs could be higher, too.

If you wait, I expect the costs won’t come down, and more likely they will be higher or the shop will have gone out of business.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 10:56 am
by dtmackey
Alibertucci wrote:What are your opinions of a price of $2365?
Depending on where you're located, canvas work can be very expensive. I asked a friend of mine, who owned Canvasback Marine Canvas in Rhode Island, what he'd charge me to make a cover for my 15-foot. He told me to buy an off-the-shelf cover or buy from someone that already has the patterns because it would be too expensive for him to make.

$2,365 doesn't sound too bad for canvas work based on the cost of things in my area.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:04 pm
by Phil T
For that amount of money how does MILLS compare?

Did you call Suzanne and get a quote?

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2022 8:18 am
by Alibertucci
For that amount of money how does MILLS compare?
The quote for $2,635 is about $900 above Mills price, if I include the shipping cost from Mills. No shipping for the custom cover; I would pick it up.

Suzanne told me that their cover would not fit over the folded down Bimini, and that they cannot do a modification to their pattern. She indicated that I could purchase the stock pattern and if it doesn't fit I could sell it. Also, the Mills cover may not be suitable as a travel cover.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2022 9:46 am
by Phil T
I think the custom price is too much to pay. Shop around.

Having the cover fabricated so it is designed for towing is not worth the price.

I tow all the time and make long distance runs (700 miles RT) and I do not use a cover. I do remove the windscreen to help reduce drag and eliminates the need to clean bug guts.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2022 10:08 am
by Jefecinco
We have had several Carver covers over the past 20 plus years. The first was for a Dauntless 16 with a bow rail and bimini top. The fit was virtually perfect and the cover was easy to install, remove and store. I used it for towing. It was a Sunbrella cover. The next covers were for a 190 Montauk without a bow rail or bimini top. They, too, was excellent covers in all respects. I replaced the first cover because the fabric did not breath as well as Sunbrella. The second cover was Sunbrella and served as expected. These covers were also used for towing. We now have a Carver Sunbrella cove for our Sport 13. It is also an excellent cover and is used for towing.

A cover that goes over a bow rail is no more trouble to use than other covers. If a bimini cover is folded to the rear between the side rails it will be easily covered by a Carver cover.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2022 7:02 pm
by Jadoca
I've had three Carver Montauk covers. The fit and finish of the cover is very good, and so is their customer service.

Re: MONTAUK 17 Full Cover--Not Wm. J. Mills & Co

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 7:21 pm
by Flyingpig
In June 2022 I purchased a cover from

https://sealskincovers.com/

I bought this cover:

https://sealskincovers.com/products/sea ... 0-Montauk-

The cover has a ten-year warranty, and the price was very reasonable. The cover nicely fits my 2015 170 MONTAUK.

ASIDE: Hello. I am new to this forum.