Boat Cover

bagaskin

We did not receive our instruction book on putting the boat cover on..its a 2015 Hurricane 217 SD and we apparently are not smart enough to figure it out.  Is there an online manual or video instruction?

cjjjdeck

Unfortunately, the Hurricane Owners Manual is a very generic publication and doesn't give specific instruction on this subject.

I assume you have a two piece cover since you have a SunDeck model with a full windshield.  One cover should be bigger than the other.  The smaller of the two should be the front (playpen) cover and the larger one will cover the windshield and rear section of the boat.  Most covers I've seen have a seam down the middle that goes from the front of the cover section to the rear.  Now you just need to match the snap pattern at the front of the boat and work your way to the rear.  You should also have adjustable poles that locate in the middle of the covers.  These need to be adjusted to a height that tensions the cover so water and debris will run off of it.  We usually adjust them when we are 3/4 the way through attaching the snaps on each section, then finish them up the rest of the way.  After you finish the playpen cover, close and lock down your windshield and proceed to install the rear cover section starting by matching the snap pattern at the base of the windshield (sometimes you may be attaching the snaps on top of some of the playpen cover snaps by the windshield walk-through area, these will have a different design in order for them to do this) and move backwards following the same procedure as the playpen cover.

Once you're successful installing the covers, the procedure I have been using to remove them is: starting from the rear, I roll the cover up as I un-snap the cover.  This way the front edge of each cover are the snaps that are exposed when I go to re-install the cover.  I then un-roll the cover as I snap it in place.  It prevents trying to figure out what edge of each of the covers I should be starting from when it is just thrown into the storage compartment willy-nilly.

Hope this helps, this is my first time in trying to describe this procedure in writing, I wish I had a video to show you instead!

Let us know how you make out! Maybe post some pictures!

HydroCanis

Good description. Crawling around under the bow section with the poles is part of our drill. Rolling it sounds much better than the willy-nilly I've been doing. Also, I didn't see any evidence of support poles the former owner might have had and bought a couple at a KMart store closing sale (mounted a snap on one of them to match the cover). Cheap black plastic choose-how-many-sections-you-need for once worked just fine. Other tip I learned last year was to dab a tad of Chapstick (or Vaseline) on the inside of the cover snaps. Once a year seems often enough.

bshippjr

cjjjdeck, good description, but you take the frustration out of the installation by rolling up the cover when you take it off.  You mentioned snaps on top of snaps, but with my covers the front cover snaps for the windshield walk thru opening are on the underside of the windshield, and the snaps for the rear section are on top of the windshield base.  When installing the front section, I can easily see that the snaps for the windshield opening are on the top of the cover and arrange the cover accordingly.  On the rear section, the underside of the cover is reinforced over the windshield so I use that to line up the snaps.

Like David, I bought cheap black plastic sectional poles to support the center of the cover.  The chapstick trick is great.  I stumbled on that a couple of years ago (maybe on this forum), although I put it on the male snap base on the boat. 

cjjjdeck

+2 on putting chapstik on the snaps!  Easy on, easy off!

Not sure why you didn't get poles with your covers????

Bshippjr, interesting mounting of the snaps on the walk-through!  Definitely different than mine.  Three snaps from the front cover snap to the bottom of the windshield section that opens, then the rear cover snaps on top of them (stacked).

bshippjr

I could see how on my cover setup, if the boat was being trailered with the cover on, that air could easily get underneath the rear cover and probably blow it off, so maybe the design was changed.  As to poles, I am third owner and they may have been with the boat originally.

HydroCanis

What do the factory poles look like/what are they made of, just out of curiosity?

Ernest_T

Here are a couple of photos of my 217 with the cover on to give you an idea.  Don't feel bad.  We've owned our boat for 5 years, and every time we get to the marina, we go through what I call the "cover shuffle":  "which way does this go?",  "is this the front or the back?".  You basically start at the front and work your way back.  It helps if you mark the front middle of each cover with something.



We are lazy and typically don't use the poles, since our boat is stored under a partially covered marina.  The factory poles are aluminum about 3/4" in diameter, and consist of 2 parts that slide inside of each other with a set screw.  You loosen the screw and extend or collapse the pole to fit.  There is a snap on the inside of each cover for the poles to attach to.

cjjjdeck

HydroCanis said:

What do the factory poles look like/what are they made of, just out of curiosity?

This what came with my boat originally (two poles).  They are made by Westland covers (sorry for the small pic, best I could find):




Here's their website:
http://www.westlandcovers.com/index.php?tplaction=acc_cat_list&sid=32&pid=24921

I have since replaced one of the original poles because one wouldn't stay extended any longer with this one from Taylor Made products:





I definitely prefer the Taylor made design and recommend it over the Westland.

Here's Taylor Made's website:

 http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/catalog/

HydroCanis

Thanks for all the info. In lieu of a pole, and because there's no snap on the stern cover, I've been using an old (not usable) towable tube on end in the rear. Works well, except for stashing it when not in use. Light-to-medium rain runs off the rear, but heavy rains cause enough sag to get a puddle started, then the sag just gets worse.

I actually have some kind of aluminum pole that didn't seem to have a purpose... I'll take a close look and see if it is or was whole or part of a support pole. Like you, the former owner kept the boat in a covered building and didn't use a support pole.