Boat Covers

[Steve Brown]

Dave - Just received the rudder cover: basic black, outer material feels like it will wear well and water repellent, well padded, stitching appears like it will hold up, velcro opening at top that will enclose the complete rudder if tiller removed. Love to remove my tiller for traveling but feels mated for life to the rudder since they first met - any suggestions?

[David Oliver]

I managed to get 91's tiller free, using channel locks and McLube and perseverance, and also accepting a few cosmetic scratches.  Much easier to fit in the bag, and the back of the truck.  Needs lube or wax - something slick - to fit back in, with a hard twist, and then fast-pinned (with tether!) into place.  Original set-up as I received the boat was a machine screw, which I found not as reliable. . .

[Drew Harper]

Peter, I haven't had any problems. It does balloon some, though you can strap it down. I travel with both top and bottom covers on. The cover on the yellow boat has about 4,000 miles on it....no issues. The old blue covers USED to tear on the aft corners but Paul had them beefed up with some soft cushiony cloth and there's no issues.

I use a piece of split hose on the transom to run the aft straps over so the sharp transom edge doesn't cut them.

Very happy with my covers and love that I can mast up or mast down them.

[Patrick Daniel]

Drew,
Can you please give me a quote for a bottom cover, mast cover, and rudder cover shipped to Florida?
Thanks,
Patrick Daniel
[email protected]

[Justin Scott]

Patrick,

Call Dan Tucker at Rondar's Peabody MA factory. He is driving down to FL, leaving Weds. If they have any in stock then he can bring them with him in the truck.

If they dont have any in stock then frankly its not worth waiting for a shipment from UK, there are several US suppliers who do a good job.

[Jeff Jones]

Have a set of harken covers on a boat i just purchased.  Highly recomended.

[Matt Sole]

Price Jeff?

The rondar covers aren't very good anyway.

[Dan Tucker]

Price Jeff?

The rondar covers aren't very good anyway.

The current grey Rondar top covers in the photo of the yellow boat above (with the Viper logo on the keel part) are quite nice. Heavily reinforced with the same thick material of the rudder cover shown at chafe points and much more durable than the previous blue covers. The old blue ones weren't really made for road travel. these are.

The current Rondar bottom cover is that same thick, breathable material as the rudder cover. It offers far more protection from rocks and road debris than any other material.

[Jim Sears]

Regarding the Rondar cover ballooning up when on the road, I was going to have my sailmaker add some eye straps underneath to bungee down the cover from the inside.  Has anyone tried this?  I was going to use 2 on each side, adjacent to the keel slot, where it tends to balloon up.  I'm just wondering if I bungee down at these points, is the cover then going to balloon up just aft of where I bungee it down?  If so, then one could end up with a whole array of bungees working all the way to the back of the boat.
-Jimbo

[Garrett Johns]

Jim, Steve and I have never tried using bungies. We have however tried putting tons of different straps, ropes , etc over where it balloons up. Your right, it's a bit like plugging the hole in the dike with your finger. No matter where and how much we tied down, it just ballooned up elsewhere. I don't know, maybe bungies underneath work word different. It almost needs a vent to let the air escape. It seems to me that if the keel part of the cover was taller/deeper, you could suck the cover down lower and that would help some. I definitely NOT an engineer though by any stretch!

[Matt Sole]

Three reasons not to do road trips with a top cover:

1. Fuel Economy, the cover is just more drag.
2. Ads extra wear and tear to the top cover, all that ballooning just looks dumb.
3. It's just not necessary, the cover is there to protect the boat from UV as much as anything, I am sure it can survive a one or two day road trip.

[Justin Scott]

Three reasons not to do road trips with a top cover:

1. Fuel Economy, the cover is just more drag.
2. Ads extra wear and tear to the top cover, all that ballooning just looks dumb.
3. It's just not necessary, the cover is there to protect the boat from UV as much as anything, I am sure it can survive a one or two day road trip.

+ 1.

Rub the topsides with soap and then just hose her down when you get to destination. All the flies come right off.
Bottom cover and mast cover when travelling is nice though.

[Drew Harper]

I've travelled perhaps 20,000 miles with the top cover on. No biggy. The thing balloons up when on the road but I drive typically 70-75 so I don't think anything would stop it from puffing.

I keep all sorts of stuff in the cockpit when travelling and the cover keeps it secure and makes the tie down much easier.

[Jay Harrell]

I've travelled perhaps 20,000 miles with the top cover on. No biggy. The thing balloons up when on the road but I drive typically 70-75 so I don't think anything would stop it from puffing.

I keep all sorts of stuff in the cockpit when travelling and the cover keeps it secure and makes the tie down much easier.

I'm with Drew on this one - I have something like 18,000road miles on my Service Canvas cover.  It keeps the road grim out of the blocks and allows me to safely carry sails and gear in the boat away from prying eyes at hotels and food stops.

[Jim Sears]

I'd like to eliminate the ballooning as it blocks our rear-view look-out for the fuzz...