Bridge cover 400DB

[Matt]

I am looking for a bridge cover for a 400DB. the boat came with only the bimini and enclosure but I think that it at one time had a bridge cover because we found support poles in the floor storage in the galley.
Does anyone know where I can get a bridge cover?

 

[Michael and Jeanne V2]

Matt,

We have the same boat... '97 400DB that over the winter is on the hard at Brewer's in Portmouth, RI. Depending on the color you desire, you can find the part number on page 23 of the Sea Ray 400 DB Parts Catolog. If you know a canvas maker, you can probably do much better.

I know an excellent canvas maker in Bristol RI. Her work is the very best quality and she is very reasonable. I would highly recommend her... she does all our work.

If you'd like her to sew a bridge cover for you, I would even be willing to let her use my cover as a pattern.

Do you by chance have a canvas windshield cover? I would like to get ahold of one so we can use it as a pattern for our boat.

Let us know...

 

[dgrumm]

I have the same boat, and I do have the factory bridge cover. Unfortunately, when I tried to install it, there were no snaps on the boat. The snaps that it requires are not the traditional 3/8" dome style, they require the skinny post type on the boat, and the cover has the mating stainless hole.
Does your boat have the original post style snaps? I didn't spend enough time to see if they lined up with the current dome snaps. There is no evidense of removed snaps.

 

[Michael and Jeanne V2]

Hummm. We will need to look it over this evening.

Jeanne and I just purchased this boat in December and we have spent hours looking over manuals and equipage. We have identifed and inspected the bridge cover... it clearly has been used... so I didn't pay any attention to the type of snaps... assuming it all marries-up correctly with the boat fasteners.

I'll post another note in the morning.

 

[Michael and Jeanne V2]

Dave, Et Al,

Jeanne and I looked at our Bridge Cover again last night. The snaps along the front and sides of the canvas are the type that accept a heavy duty tapered brass post (like those used on older British sports cars) Along the back are traditional 3/8" snaps.

Hope that helps...

MV2

 

[dgrumm]

That sounds like what my cover has.... but the question is, does your boat have the mating posts? Mine doesn't. The only thing that I can figure is that they were installed on the same track that the regular style 3/8" domes are currently, and someone removed them.
MV2- does your boat have both style snaps on the sides and front?

 

[rondds]

My boat didn't come with a bridge cover but I had one made by a place here in NJ (they do OEM work for Silverton, Ovation and Maxum). They put female snaps in the new cover where the males were mounted on the boat to hold the enclosure in place. I believe the number they used for pricing it out was $50/linear foot. Mine was about 11 linear feet (fore to aft). Sunbrella and two poles, installed, $550. Yours will be a fair amount longer but if you measure from the top of your windshield to the point aft where the snaps are, you can probably get an idea of what it would/should cost.

I wanted the cover so that I could give the enclosure a break in the early spring and late fall, when we really arent using the boat as much. Also great to put up when they're expecting a nasty nor'easter, or worse yet, a hurricane. It's almost "sacrificial" since it's so much less expensive than a new enclosure and I'll do whatever I can to prolong the service life of the enclosure.

 

[Michael and Jeanne V2]

Dave,

Sorry for the delay in responding to your questions... The snaps that I identified in the earlier email are the same for plastic windows that enclose the Bridge and for the Bridge "mooring" cover on our boat.

Come to think of it... that was the same way that our last boat was set up too. The brass type snap forward protion of the mooring cover and regular snaps aft. I guess that the brass type hold better in the wind coming over the deck.