CONTINUOUSWAVE

Readers, give me advice about a source for a cover for a 210 MONTAUK with the Tow Bar option.

BACKSTORY

I recently purchased a 2024 Montauk 210 with the optional Tow Bar. I am looking for a cover to purchase, and I communicated with

• BoatCoversDirect.com, and
• SavvyBoater.com

Both websites indicated that their model-specific [i.e. 210 MONTAUK] cover [later clarified to be the CARVER model 10383] would require what they called "local modification" to fully accommodate the Tow Bar.

I want to obtain a photo-image of this [CARVER model 10383] cover installed on a 210 MONTAUK with Tow Bar, either with the "local modification" or without it, but so far cannot find one.

For me, the CARVER [model 10383] cover looks like the one to buy.

Q1: is trusting the "local modification" (to fully accommodate the Tow Bar) OK?

Q2: should I run with it?

Note: the non-refundable cost of $1,500 [for the CARVER model 10383 cover] gives me pause.

[Moderator's note: this post was updated with further clarifications from the poster about the cover.]

Based on the $1,500 price, I think you planning to order the acrylic material, making the cover the CARVER model 10383A.

Q4: why not get the CARVER 10383S with Sun-DURA material for about $500 less?

ASIDE
I initially thought Sun-DURA was a fabric from Glen Raven Mills, the manufacturer of the famous SUNBRELLA material used for boat canvas for many decades and with outstanding qualities. But I see that Sun-DURA is a product of CARVER itself, and perhaps the name they chose is a play on the competitor's product SUNBRELLA

T-Top Covers LaPorte Products Charleston S.C.

Is it difficult to remove the tow bar? If so, that could be your best option.

I first had a Carver Sundura cover on our 190 Montauk but found it's only advantage other than price was that it's lighter weight made it easier to install and remove. After one season I exchanged the cover with Carver for a Sunbrella cover for a reasonable price. I found the Sundura cover apparently did not breath as well as my previous Sunbrella cover. The Sundura cover became moldy although it was well ventilated. The boat was located on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Sundura may fare better in a less warm, humid climate

BUTCH--thanks for your first-hand reports on the differences you found among the various fabrics.

As for Glen Raven Mills SUNBRELLA, it seems to be the gold-standard for boat canvas, but its price--like the price of gold--has been trending steadily upward.

Four years ago I had a custom-made cover for my boat made by a respected shop in the local area. I towed the boat on the trailer to their shop and left the boat with then for three weeks so that they could work on it when they had some slack between other bigger projects. Otherwise I would have been in line for a three or four month wait. That is generally a good sign that the canvas artisan you are working with has a good reputation

I had the cover made with Glen Raven Mills SUNBRELLA fabric in their Pacific Blue color. At the time it cost me $1,100, which I thought was a bit expensive, but looking back on things in 2025 and hearing that an off-the-shelf cover for a 21-footer made with an in-house fabric will cost $1,500 makes me think I got a very good deal on that cover.

ASIDE: Another somewhat famous canvas artisan around here was said to have about a three-year backlog, but he worked on really big boats with owners with really deep pockets, so he was never the guy for my simple boat cover job. But his canvas work was always beautiful, really a work of art, and I first saw in on some exception custom-crafted boats.

Also, a thread from four years ago plows up some of this same ground:

Boat Cover Options
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6417

Another thought on the "local modifications" that might be needed for the cover:

In order for some local artisan to make modifications to a cover, he would probably need to have the same fabric and same color material on-hand. Since the Tow Bar option on the 210 MONTAUK sounds like it will mean the stock cover won't fit over the tow bar, it seems reasonable to infer that the modification will be to add additional material to the cover.

It would be very odd to have a cover made from two different fabrics and with non-matching colors. Before planning on buying a stock cover and having a local guy make it fit correctly, you better find the local guy and ask him about the project. How much is he going to charge to modify the stock cover and does he have the exact same fabric material and color to do it?

By the time you get done modifying a stock cover and hiring a local artisan to do the work, getting a custom-fit cover made locally with premium material might be a better way to go.