Spring has arrived and all thoughts tend towards outdoor activities. Whether you are a boating enthusiast or a camping enthusiast or a fishing enthusiast, we are all drawn to the water once the winter breaks. Whe spring finally arrives, t's time to take steps to take off the watercraft covers and get on the water.
My first foray on to the lake is generally a tentative paddle around the lake in the canoe. It's generally too cold to risk the splash of the seadoo and the bigger boats are not in the water yet. I love to see the signs of animals and birds awakening to spring and starting to clean out new homes for themselves. Speaking of cleaning up, I usually take this time to do a quick rake of my lawn and then I turn my entire attention to the spring cleanup or tune up of my boats.
I always questioned the best methods of winter storage of boats. I have found over the years that a good watercraft covers saves hours of cleaning, scrubbing and sweeping out of my boats each spring. There will always be the odd spider to deal with but eliminating a winter's worth of dust and leaves is a godsend.
On my larger boats, such as my pontoon boat and ski boat, I use specially fitted watercraft covers. At my local marina, there is a former tent maker for the army and he will custom design a pwc cover that is durable and easy to put on and take off. You can choose from blue, green, black and red. For not much more money he was arrange to have the name of your boat embroidered at the back the the watercraft cover. The whole thing is a bit of a splurge but every fall when I walk away from my recently cleaned boats and I know they are protected by that custom made cover, I never regret the cost. The peace of mind I get from having a protected boat is worth every penny as it lets me sleep nights and protects the re-sale value of my boat.
If you don't want to splurge on a custom made watercraft cover you could have your local marina shrink wrap your boat for the winter. You may not be familiar with this process but I'm sure you have passed by marinas with fields of boats wrapped in blue plastic wrapping. I used to think new boats came this way to the marina but I have since discovered that those are boats being stored for the winter.
For my seadoo I use a store bought seadoo cover. This is really the most cost effective type of cover for a seadoo. They are reasonably priced and durable and super easy to put on and remove. If you keep your eyes open you can likely pick up a seadoo cover second hand for half of the original price.
For my smaller boats, such as my canoe, peddleboat and kayak I use less official watercraft covers. My canoe and kayak are stored upside down in the rafters of my garage. I generally try to wrap them in a tarp before storing. My peddle boat is wrapped in a large tarp and stoed under the front porch. Needless to say the peddleboat needs the most cleaning in the spring.
Showing posts with label seadoo cover materials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seadoo cover materials. Show all posts
Pwc Cover
A good PWC cover is absolutely essential to maintaining your pwc and hopefully extending the lifespan of your personal watercraft. Constant exposure to the elements, especially the sun, can cause your pwc to deteriorate. The sun can cause havoc with the rubber dash board and seats and can fade the colors of paint on the body.
The sun is made of fire so it is not surprising that it can causes burns and all sorts of other damage to your watercraft. Over time and when exposed to the sun rubber and vinyl can become less durable. The burning rays of the sun cause the vinyl and rubber bits to become more brittle. Once these materials become brittle and lose some of their strength then they are prone to microscopic tears. At first you might not even notice the breakdown in the material and the small tears but over time these tears get bigger and at some point cannot be reversed or fixed.
With the proper use of a pwc cover you can protect your machine from the harmful rays of the sun. Simply slip the cover on whenever you aren't using the machine. Another helpful hint is to try to store it in the shade. This might not always be possible but try to keep "shade" in mind whenever possible.
There might be times that you can't use a pwc cover and you can't park the machine in a shady spot. If you find yourself in this situation, make sure that you towel dry your machine, particularly the rubber dash and the pwc seat covers. The sun is harmful enough on the dry machine. Water droplets magnify the intensity of the suns rays causing even more damage to your pwc.
A seadoo pwc cover is also mandatory when transporting your watercraft. I don't mean that it is legally mandatory to use a pwc cover when transporting your craft. I'm only saying that it is VERY important to use a cover when transporting a pwc. I would hope the reasons for this are self-obvious. While on the high way or any road your uncovered pwc would be vulnerable to little rocks that are kicked up by your own car or other cars. My windshield has been cracked 4 times by little stones so imagine what a little rock could do to your paint job or even some of your dials. A pwc cover will not protect against anything but will provide adequate protection for the little stuff that gets kicked up on the highway.
Many competitive seadoo pwc racers insist on transporting their machines in completely enclosed trailers. Of course these machines are much more expensive than the average machine on the water. Furthermore these guys and gals make their livelihood with these machines so they are very protective when transporting their watercraft. The average rider will not have to go to the effort or expense of transporting their watercraft in an enclosed trailer.
A good pwc cover can come in many forms. Many people ask " can I use a tarp to cover my seadoo pwc"? The answer is yes. If you are simply a recreational rider and the pwc mainly stays at the cottage than you can simply use a tarp. There are two caveats in simply using a tarp. Unless your tarp is breathable, and I wouldn't think it would be, you will need to make sure that your machine is absolutely dry before storing it. Storing a wet pwc under a plastic tarp will cause moisture issues. The other caveat is that a tarp covered pwc must be stored in the shade.
Most people prefer to use a cover specially design for the make and model of their seadoo pwc. These covers are practical because they are breathable allowing moisture and heat to escape. These pwc covers also make for safe transporting of the machine on the highway. They also have a snug fit so if fastened properly there should not be any strap's blowing around in the wind while you are driving. Lose straps blowing wildly while you are driving are hazardous to those on the road including yourself but also can be very damaging to the watercraft.
You can buy fitted covers directly from the pwc manufacturer or from most marine supply stores. In the alternative you can commission custom covers with the name of the water craft stitched right into the cover. These custom cover makes a great birthday present.
Whatever you decide to do or whatever covers your decide to use will depend on your individual circumstances. Remember to think about the money you will save if you consistently use a good pwc cover.
The sun is made of fire so it is not surprising that it can causes burns and all sorts of other damage to your watercraft. Over time and when exposed to the sun rubber and vinyl can become less durable. The burning rays of the sun cause the vinyl and rubber bits to become more brittle. Once these materials become brittle and lose some of their strength then they are prone to microscopic tears. At first you might not even notice the breakdown in the material and the small tears but over time these tears get bigger and at some point cannot be reversed or fixed.
With the proper use of a pwc cover you can protect your machine from the harmful rays of the sun. Simply slip the cover on whenever you aren't using the machine. Another helpful hint is to try to store it in the shade. This might not always be possible but try to keep "shade" in mind whenever possible.
There might be times that you can't use a pwc cover and you can't park the machine in a shady spot. If you find yourself in this situation, make sure that you towel dry your machine, particularly the rubber dash and the pwc seat covers. The sun is harmful enough on the dry machine. Water droplets magnify the intensity of the suns rays causing even more damage to your pwc.
A seadoo pwc cover is also mandatory when transporting your watercraft. I don't mean that it is legally mandatory to use a pwc cover when transporting your craft. I'm only saying that it is VERY important to use a cover when transporting a pwc. I would hope the reasons for this are self-obvious. While on the high way or any road your uncovered pwc would be vulnerable to little rocks that are kicked up by your own car or other cars. My windshield has been cracked 4 times by little stones so imagine what a little rock could do to your paint job or even some of your dials. A pwc cover will not protect against anything but will provide adequate protection for the little stuff that gets kicked up on the highway.
Many competitive seadoo pwc racers insist on transporting their machines in completely enclosed trailers. Of course these machines are much more expensive than the average machine on the water. Furthermore these guys and gals make their livelihood with these machines so they are very protective when transporting their watercraft. The average rider will not have to go to the effort or expense of transporting their watercraft in an enclosed trailer.
A good pwc cover can come in many forms. Many people ask " can I use a tarp to cover my seadoo pwc"? The answer is yes. If you are simply a recreational rider and the pwc mainly stays at the cottage than you can simply use a tarp. There are two caveats in simply using a tarp. Unless your tarp is breathable, and I wouldn't think it would be, you will need to make sure that your machine is absolutely dry before storing it. Storing a wet pwc under a plastic tarp will cause moisture issues. The other caveat is that a tarp covered pwc must be stored in the shade.
Most people prefer to use a cover specially design for the make and model of their seadoo pwc. These covers are practical because they are breathable allowing moisture and heat to escape. These pwc covers also make for safe transporting of the machine on the highway. They also have a snug fit so if fastened properly there should not be any strap's blowing around in the wind while you are driving. Lose straps blowing wildly while you are driving are hazardous to those on the road including yourself but also can be very damaging to the watercraft.
You can buy fitted covers directly from the pwc manufacturer or from most marine supply stores. In the alternative you can commission custom covers with the name of the water craft stitched right into the cover. These custom cover makes a great birthday present.
Whatever you decide to do or whatever covers your decide to use will depend on your individual circumstances. Remember to think about the money you will save if you consistently use a good pwc cover.
Seadoo Covers
Seadoo covers are essential if you own a pwc. They make great gifts too, for your family, or friends who own boats, or have a cottage on a lake. A high quality seadoo cover makes the difference between keeping your lake riding toy in great shape, or having it deteriorate to the point where your watercraft loses value and eventually breaks down because it was exposed to the elements, or damaged by sun rain and wind.If you plan on trailering your seadoo, then your cover is especially important. If you are planning to travel with your seadoo (or waverunner for those of use that have been around for a while), then you need to make sure that the seadoo covers you choose contain some amount of man-made material – ie polyester or some other man-made fabric will add rip and tear resistance. Imagine heading down the highway to the lake cottage, driving 100 kms for an hour – that’s a lot of wind pressure on your seadoo cover.
Just think if it’s raining, rain whipping on your trailer at that speed is just like hail, and can do a lot of damage if not protected properly. Without having a tailor made cover that fits your seadoo properly, you can get a lot of material whip which will eventually end up in wear spots on your pwc, as well as stress on your seadoo cover that will end up in rips and tears.It seems that the general consensus is that a 50% cotton, 50% man-made material is a good combination for a watercraft cover, since you need the man-made material for durability as well as some stretch to get a custom fit. But you also want the 50% cotton content so that you seadoo can “breathe” – the last thing you want is to have moisture build up under your cover – this is a very bad thing, non stainless parts can rust, and rubber parts will eventually mold.
One last concern that you have to think about before choosing a trailering or storage cover for your pwc is the amount of time that your watercraft is going to be in the sun. Sun is a major enemy and causes premature failure of any type of material if it is exposed for too long without protection. It’s way better to let the sun fade your pwc covers, than leave your pwc uncovered and allow the sun to fade your fancy paint job and crack your vinyl seat covers and dash and accessories. Rubber will also fade and crack if over exposed to the sun.
So now that you know a bit more about choosing a good material for your seadoo cover, one last thing we’ll talk about here is the fit. If it is at all possible you should choose a cover that is specifically designed for the make and model of your pwc. Without a tailored fit, your cover will not provide adequate protection for your pwc, and in the case where you are hauling your sea doo to the lake, a cover that doesn’t fit properly, or isn’t properly cinched down and tightly attached, then air will get under the cover creating a parachute effect where your boat can be lifted off the trailer. If this is happening to your cover then your cover will eventually be destroyed and trailering your pwc is simply dangerous. Make sure that you are able to attach your seadoo covers to the trailer itself when trailering in order to help prevent air from creating too much pressure on your cover and pwc. You’ll want to find a cover that has some system of securing the cover to the pwc and/or the trailer.
So the things to remember are 1) choosing a good fabric – part cotton for breathability, part man-made fibres for fit and rip and tear resistance, 2) choosing a material that is resistant to sun exposure, and 3) choosing a cover that fits your boat as perfectly as possible. If you make sure to keep these three points in mind when shopping for your seadoo covers, then I think you’ll be very happy with the one you choose.
