[ShannaEllen]

We just purchased a 1997 180 Shabah and need a boat cover. What kind of cover should we get that will hold up well, and keep the interior of the boat mildew free. Thanks

[mikeyt]

I've found that anything made with 'Sunbrella' holds up very well. I would suggest that you may have
to have this custom made though.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by ShannaEllen

We just purchased a 1997 180 Shabah and need a boat cover. What kind toof cover should we get that will hold up well, and keep the interior of the boat mildew free. Thanks

First question: Do you want a storage/trailering cover or a mooring cover?

A storage/trailering cover will be of one piece, even if you have a bow rider, and will fit over the entire top-side of the boat, down to below the rub rails. They usually come with provisions for straps to tie them down securely to the trailer.

A mooring cover, which is usually two pieces for a bow rider, and may or may not cover all or part of the glass--depending on how you have it made, is usually secured to the boat with snaps well above the rub rail.

A mooring cover is usually custom made to the boat by a canvas maker and generally doesn't keep the weather out as well as a trailering/storage cover.

A trailering/storage cover can be custom-made, but most people find a "semi-custom" cover, that mostly follows the contours of the boat, satisfactory.

A mooring cover can be used for trailering and storage, but, as noted above, won't keep weather out as well as a trailering/storage cover.

A trailering/storage cover usually doesn't make a very good mooring cover, because part of it will end up in the water and it'll cover the mooring cleats.

For any boat canvas, Sunbrella is hands-down the best fabric, bar none. It's relatively tough. It doesn't stretch. It's breathable. It's also the most expensive.

There is a material called "Sharkskin" that's "okay." But it's entirely non-breathable--which means any cover of it must be vented, it stretches under load and it's no where near as tough as Sunbrella.

We had our Sunbreall mooring cover made by a canvas guy. We bought our Sharkskin trailing cover, a "semi-custom" fit, from iBoats.

The mooring cover is of way better quality, and of way better fit, than the trailering cover.

The mooring cover cost about 2-1/2 to 3 times what the trailering cover cost.

Hope this helped.

Jim

[ShannaEllen]

Thank you for your very detailed answer. It is very helpful in deciding which kind of cover I need to purchase. This helped me tremendously.

ShannaEllen

[indykoch]

Not to disagree with SEMIJim (because he's a wealth of information), but it may be due to geographic terms...

I've always heard a one piece cover that goes over the rubrail is a mooring cover. Trailering covers are mooring covers with provisions for strapping it to the trailer (strap loops). The covers above the rubrail are simply called cockpit and bow covers, in this area anyway.

Here are my findings...
I don't EVER tow any type of cover no matter what it's called. Too much wind, can stretch the fabric, maybe even rip it if old enough.
Bow covers and cockpit covers don't provide as much protection from the rain, and also allow the sun to beat on the areas uncovered topside. Can cause quite a difference in gel coat gloss over time, but usually a little easier to put on the boat if in a hurry.
Mooring covers can have issues with staying in place - most are just a shock cord that you tighten below the rubrail. But if you have a heavy rain and windy conditions they can pool or blow off if not secured properly.

I think my tired cover is the best of both worlds. It's a factory mooring cover that goes over the rubrail, but has snaps all around the boat (no shock cord). It's easy to put on, and provides the best protection. Too bad it's 11 years old and may turn to dust if we get a strong enough wind! I'm looking around for a guy to do duplicate this cover soon. Problem is I think it'll be $700-$800. Here's an older picture of it...

[95gts]

I guess my factory original cover is a hybrid of sorts? My cover with the Mariah logos on the sides goes all the way down below the rub rail, has tied down locations, a cinch rope at the rear, open rubber flaps for access to the cleats, and a front and rear post that snap to the underside of the cover. I use it to trailer, for storage the boat is in the garage so I just put a cheapo walmart cover on it to keep the bugs and dirt out.