Thursday, 20 November 2008
Horrible - useless
This was a horrible buy. I wish I could give it zero stars. I also wish it was worth something to send it back. The support cords where frayed in a couple of places. The rubber tube that is supposed to go over the bow was slide over completely to one side of the cords.... making for a good 30 mins of sliding it into the middle so I could use it. the pole is poorly made, one of the pole button clips was broken and rattles inside the pole. I ended up drilling another hole and placing a screw in it. The supports put some stress on your windshields so make sure you have those small support legs on them or you could damage your windshield. Even after playing with it day after day I never could get it tight enough to get rid of my puddles in the back of the boat.
It was usless in the end and I ended up making my own support system out of plywood and PVC pipe. Cannot recommend this product. Cheaper to buy some things, be creative, and make your own support system. Cover Up Boat Cover Support
where do I start ??
First ... no instructions just the picture on the front of the box... not to helpful.
Middle... The aluminum support pole doesnt support so well.
Last... straps, straps, and even more straps. Without any instructions my assembly ability was limited.
After carefully reading most of reviews, I knew I need this product. In California the rainy season started several weeks ago. I store my boat in open area. Like many of us I am trying to save my boat from elements using decent cover, but am refusing to use expensive under the roof storage options. Regular, well fitting universal cover for my 20 foot Bayliner cuddy boat is doing its job very well, but after every rain i needed to visit my boat in storage facility and take care of about one from the front and three buckets of the water from back of the boat
Reading complains that this support is having way too long webbing and two triangular plates instead of expected one only???, I knew I will find a good use of them. Every model of boat is different and in my opinion it's virtually impossible to build cheaply anti-rain support fitting perfectly all of them without a need for adjustments. In this kind of installation, invention and open mind is very welcome, so I used them to get it working right. One thing I found unsatisfactory in this set was too short mast. It might work on bass boat but in my Bayliner the windshield is about 4.5- 5 ft from the floor, the fully extended mast supplied was at least six inches too short. This should be corrected by maker of this support. All the rest is just fine. Second triangular plate (the one with slots not cut open) is for supporting the mast from the bottom. My floor is carpeted and strong, so I do not need plate on the floor and saved it as eventual replacement of the upper one, in case it brakes after years of use.
My first installation was a copy of their suggestion. So I put mast about 1 foot behind the windshield and 2-3 inches above it. (To achieve this I cut the piece of metal broom stick of very similar diameter, nicely extending the length of supplied one. Source: Albertson's - cost about S4.00). The webbing was installed from the high rail on the bow to the mast and splitting there. From mast two webbings were going to clevises installed in my boat at two rear corners of the hull. After that I was left with extra triangular board and about 30 ft of extra webbing. I went home happy with the look of the boat and waited for the next rain. It came three days later. Results? Perfectly dry back of the boat and about one bucket of water trapped between high rail on both sides of boat and two narrowly spaced webbings, going from mast to the bow. To correct the problem, using left-over webbing, I added two more webbings on each side, going from mast to the rail about half way between windshield and bow. About week later another rain hit hard. Next morning I visited the boat. No drop of water found, problem solved. If maker of this support reads these reviews, PLEASE SUPPLY LONGER MAST AND EXPLAIN THE NEED TO BE CREATIVE, giving a few more hints how to protect the boat from accumulation of water. Covers when dry, might look pretty tight, but after wind and rain water starts working on them, they develop first pockets which become deeper as heavy water fills them. The trick is to make a shape of cover this way, that even when wet, it will not start collecting the water, even in small amount. Boat shapes differ greatly. My boat is happy with the purchased support. I give four starts only as the piece of broom stick deserves the remaining fifth. - Useless'
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