# Sweet (Cheap!) Boat Cover Supports!



## SVOMike86

I know I've read about these somewhere, but can't remember where. They were super simple to make, and cost less than $18 and about an hour to make. I used 3/4" PVC "T's" for the bow ends. The bows are made from PVC that was in a 25ft roll. Had to use rolled PVC so it would make the bow on its own. The motor cover for the trailer is a little large for my 9.5, but covers down to the cavitation plate without looking too stupid.


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## crazymanme2

What kind of paint is on your boat? 

Looks nice.


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## redbug

crazymanme2 said:


> What kind of paint is on your boat?
> 
> Looks nice.


It's blue 
hahaha lol


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## SVOMike86

Yep, its definitely blue. Its an epoxy paint, can't remember exactly which can't off the top of my head, but its in my build thread in conversions. I painted the inside to help with any leakage there may be, but didn't notice any when we took it out before paint. It won't look so monochrome with the gray carpeted decks and decals on the sides. I'm leaving for Afghanistan on the 23rd of this month, so the rest will have to wait til after I get back...


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## poolie

Awesome. I thought someone here had mentioned something like this a while back but I couldn't find the thread. This is exactly what I need. How did you cut the 'Tee'? with a hacksaw?


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## Ictalurus

I think Bobberboy did this on his 12' Lowe.


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## SVOMike86

You could definitely use a hacksaw, but I used a 4" grinder with a cutoff wheel. WAY faster and cleaner cut. I think it was Bobberboys thread I read, but can't remember, thought it might have even been an old Field and stream. I don't have straps on it yet, and it was really windy here yesterday and it didn't blow off, so I think it'll be perfect for the long haul.


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## 00 mod

Thanks for your service! Also what kind of cover is that? I would love to make this exact setup for mine!
jeff


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## Butthead

Thanks for posting this, even if it's a repost from somewhere else.
I made 5 supports for myself and they work great! No more dealing with water pooling on the cover and getting in my boat.

I used a Dremel with the reinforced metal cutoff disc and it sliced through pretty quickly.


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## The Outdoorsman

Thats a solid idea!!!! I love stuff like this, simple, inexpensive, and easy to use.


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## Encoreman

Mike thank you for your service to our country. Be safe and Godspeed!!


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## mcdonl

SVOMike86 said:


> I'm leaving for Afghanistan on the 23rd of this month, so the rest will have to wait til after I get back...



Good luck, be safe and thank you! =D>


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## Jim

added this to the homepage! :beer:
:USA1:


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## libertyday

great idea! Is the cover snug enough to stay on while towing the boat?


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## cornbread

Is the cover snug enough to stay on while towing the boat?

+1


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## susky river runner

Thanks a lot for your service to our country!! Be safe. It is people like you to put yourself in danger to ensure our freedom. Thanks again!


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## kwerdal

Where did you get the PVC in a roll?


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## jamesgrogers

if you cant find rolled pvc you can use a propane torch and gently heat strait pvc and get the bend you desire.

james


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## 00 mod

If you don't want to heat the pvc, you can do what I am gonna do and use cpvc! It is more flexible and should be easier to use!
Jeff


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## dougdad

Dude I have been beating myself up on how to do mine, DUH all I got to do is add a few inches to the t's, then a couple of 90's to go over the edge to the inside of the gunwales. I have a old Grumman that has 6 inch wide gunwales all the way around the boat. Now I know how I am going to do it Thanks !!!!!!

Stay safe over there man!!


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## SVOMike86

Hey guys, I just saw this was on the homepage! AWESOME! wow, I think I blushed a little bit when i saw it. Haha. The cover was a link that I found HERE for an Odd-lot cover sale from IBoats. I paid $50 for it, its around $150 from Basspro, so it was a good deal. I'm pretty sure the supports were Bobberboy's idea, with all the cool stuff he does, I wouldn't doubt it, so I'm giving him the credit Have fun soakin up all the bedding season while I'm gone


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## Hanr3

Nice job.

That boat is really, really blue. :mrgreen:


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## 00 mod

Did this today! Works like a charm!
Jeff


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## batman

SVOMike86 ,where did you find pvc on a roll,local stores only seem to have straight lengths.
DanD


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## RivRunR

batman said:


> SVOMike86 ,where did you find pvc on a roll,local stores only seem to have straight lengths.
> DanD



I just did mine this weekend with 1/2" and it was plenty flexible enough even tho' it wasn't on a roll.


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## oldmandan

Thankx MIke for ur post.Tried so many things and ideas but always got some puddles or water in boat.Whoevers idea it was,great one.Bought parts yesterday for four braces and all was less than $6 bucks at Lowes.Can't wait to build them.


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## Oldgeek

Thanks for the post, I've been using a lawn chair in the middle of the boat to keep some slope on the cover for drainage. Great idea at a low price!


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## clarego

hey guys i got a heads up Dont use pex i dont think the fittings work with it. i had some laying around and got half inch fittings and tried to glue them and didnt work. now i have to find the rolled pvc :wink:


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## bobberboy

If you get very heavy rains you'll find that the PVC bows will creep apart as the weight of the water being captured in the boat cover push them apart. Eventually they will collapse and you'll have a lot of water in the cover or in the boat. What I found I had to do was to connect a cable from front to back that went through the PVC and with stops that kept them in place. Once I did this, the cover would even support a snow load. This is a really cheap and effective way to support the boat cover and I wish the gunnels on my new boat would work like my Lowe did. The PVC T's work best on tubular gunnels as they are able to center themselves on the arc of the bow. I tried on my Tracker and it didn't work. I'm on my 4th attempt to make something work for the Tracker.








Cable with a stop on both sides of each bow keeps them from moving under the cover when rain or snow loads pressure them apart.





A bungee on each end of the cable ties the cable to the boat and tensions the cable. The bungee also gives some spring to the cable and flex to the entire cover system to avoid over-tightening and possibly ripping the cover.


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## clarego

bobberboy cool idea! i ended up getting cpvc and gluing them on work good. i wonder if i stick t's in the center of each bows and make a straight piece all the way to the end ill get the same support

btw i had them collapse on me without gluing them with the pex


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## bobberboy

clarego said:


> bobberboy cool idea! i ended up getting cpvc and gluing them on work good. i wonder if i stick t's in the center of each bows and make a straight piece all the way to the end ill get the same support
> 
> btw i had them collapse on me without gluing them with the pex



I tried using T's on my Tracker and it was kind of a disaster. Depending on how many bows you create, once you glue the thing together with the T's in place, you either get a spider or an insect that's about 12' long and impossible to handle. 











So...you get the idea. Imagine wrestling one of these guys at 12 feel or longer.

It also doesn't store well when you're not using it and without being connected to the boat at both ends it will still collapse if enough water collects on it. The system I made for the 1236 with the cable worked perfectly. With opposing tension at the ends, the frame didn't collapse and the cover stayed taut. The key to success is to keep the cover taut. When it's tight the rain sheds off and none collects. Once the rain starts to collect it makes larger and larger puddles until the weight of the water collapses the whole thing. However you make it, the support frame for your boat cover needs to act like a self-supporting tent. The tension in both directions keeps the thing (mostly) rigid and that allows the cover to stay tight.

I wish someone would invent a tent-like thing that would have sleeves to hold fiberglass poles like a tent, open on the bottom and with some kind of ties to hold it to the boat. If the poles were inside the cover fabric they would stay in place. I should copyright this idea because someone might actually do it! You guys wouldn't believe the contraptions I made out behind the garage before I hit on the cable system. I tried hardwood slats, fiberglass tent poles, the crummy stands that come with the cover and all kinds of variations. I know the neighbors laugh at me but I get the last laugh when I pull out of the alley on my way to the lake.

...this gives me an idea! If you look at the spider and imagine a center-line going from left to right, the structure would be perfect to keep the cover up. Hmmmmm


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## clarego

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: 
bobberboy

thanks for the advice i was lmao hahhahaha


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## clarego

to that end i might at the most get a daddy long legger what kind of spider is that ?


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## Oldgeek

This is a great and cheap way to make supports. For my Lowe, I needed one for every 4' of boat to give it good support. I used 1" x 3/4" T's and a roll of the blue pvc type pipe from Menards. The T's were 62 cents and the 25' roll of pipe was $10.50. I put screws in the base of the pipe through the T to secure it. The total cost was less than $20 and now I don't have to worry about rain and wind at all. With our recent weather it has been tested. My boat sits in my driveway all year so I needed something strong. I used a hacksaw to cut everything and the 1" T's clamp tight to the top rail on the Lowe. Great project! =D>


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## BassNBob

Very nice job guys.


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## Mojo^

I suppose it works well in some areas but in the southeast where summer daytime temps. can reach into the triple digits it simply didn't hold-up. I put five rows onto my 1542 using 1/2" PVC with 1" Tee's. Looked great and allowed the cover to pull down tight. One full day in the August heat under the tarp and the PVC turned into a distorted and twisted mess. I may try it again with 3/4" PVC but I'm just not sure it it'll hold-up in this heat. Perhaps I shouldn't have stretched the tarp tight and just let it hang loosely.


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## nomowork

Wow, what a neat idea! I think I'll copy that for winter storage. Thanks for the idea and be safe!


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## nomowork

bobberboy said:


> I wish someone would invent a tent-like thing that would have sleeves to hold fiberglass poles like a tent, open on the bottom and with some kind of ties to hold it to the boat. If the poles were inside the cover fabric they would stay in place. I should copyright this idea because someone might actually do it! You guys wouldn't believe the contraptions I made out behind the garage before I hit on the cable system. I tried hardwood slats, fiberglass tent poles, the crummy stands that come with the cover and all kinds of variations. I know the neighbors laugh at me but I get the last laugh when I pull out of the alley on my way to the lake.
> 
> ...this gives me an idea! If you look at the spider and imagine a center-line going from left to right, the structure would be perfect to keep the cover up. Hmmmmm



My fiberglass boat came with a boat cover similar to what you described. It has a telescoping pole with a soft pad on the top and has four adjustable straps that you position on the boat then drape the cover over it. It looks like a tee pee. I use this on my aluminum boat as it is quick to put up and sheds the water well but the PVC idea looks like it'll work better for the winter storage because of the multiple supports.


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## nomowork

I finally got around to trying this setup yesterday, although only did two ribs due to the heat.

I bought the black 1" pvc in a roll and used the regular 1" pvc T's. The roll pvc uses it's own type of connectors so had to wrap some duct tape on the ends so it would sit snugly inside of the T's. I made two ribs and spaced them about a foot and a half apart and it seems sturdy enough, even while applying some downward pressure on the tarp. I think I'll make about 5 ribs or more for the whole boat.

I used a table top vise and a regular hand saw to cut the slot in the T's. I find that a regular wood hand saw cuts the larger pvc pipes the best and fastest. 

Thanks for the idea!


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## nomowork

Finally got around to finishing the boat cover. I used 6 ribs to try and keep water from puddling up. The front two ribs used Ts as well as 45 degree elbows to line up the side due to the curvature of the bow. Thanks again for the idea!


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## Alumacat

I know this post is super old, but it is still helping people including me!! Thanx!!!


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