Best top covers for outside storage in the winter

This winter across upper midwest all the way to nuevo york is going to be especially cold due to the "triple dip' La Nina.
I'd find indoor storage preferably heated and winterize the boat to be safest.
 
Well…I posted earlier that winterization only running $125…not even close, and I stand corrected. The last time I had someone do it several years ago it was that price, now you’d be lucky to have it done for a little more than $300 per engine. Just doing it myself was around $150, but that included doing oil and fuel filter changes. Took my time after reading the manual and watching a lot of YouTube videos and it’s all done. The good thing about doing it yourself is you also get to know and inspect other stuff - one manifold hose is due for replacement and I can clean off some of the rust on the fittings. Still haven’t decided on the cover - the $170 Harbor Freight special is looking kinda good right now.
 
This is my bil's
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Well, I finally ordered a cover from an online company and unfortunately it was a huge disappointment. I didn’t expect the best given the cost of what I ordered but I expected it to be better than the stuff Harbor Freight sells. It ripped in several places just pulling it into place and it felt paper thin. I ended up pulling it off and just got the 12 mil “extreme duty” tarp from HF at less than half the cost of the other tarp. Hopefully I can get a refund. In short, if you’re not ordering a good custom or semi custom CANVAS cover, just save your money and get the HF stuff, making sure you make a frame, put cushioning on the corners, and snug it down tight.

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Cheap Guy said:
That’s identical to my mooring cover. No way would it survive winter plus it doesn’t cover most of the boat.

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What you have for support under the tarp? I've seen some guys tarp their boat similar to what yours looks like. If they don't keep the snow off it the weight little by little pulls the slack and they ended up with it sagging over the cockpit area. By spring when it warms up the sagging is holding lots of water/ice, lots of weight. Same thing happens between the bowrails and the center support...don't use the windshield to hold up anything.
 
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Woody said:
What you have for support under the tarp? I've seen some guys tarp their boat similar to what yours looks like. If they don't keep the snow off it the weight little by little pulls the slack and they ended up with it sagging over the cockpit area. By spring when it warms up the sagging is holding lots of water/ice, lots of weight. Same thing happens between the bowrails and the center support...don't use the windshield to hold up anything.
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I made a frame from 2x4s to have a slope for the snow to slide off and also to protect the windshield from the weight of heavy snow. The pics are before I rounded off and padded the edges. I have year round access to the boatyard so I’ll definitely check it after a heavy snow.
 
It’s funny. I love my 250DA, evident by the fact I’ve had it around 25 years, but I prefer the green or blue over the red. If something unfortunately happened to it, I’d search high and low to find the same boat in green.
 
Just a quick update on the cover I bought online from National Covers. I was trying not to use their name in the event they handled the matter appropriately (refund) but I received a very short and terse response today saying they're not responsible for any "installation" issues and would not refund my money - refunds are only given for products returned in "new, resaleable" condition.

Update: Well looks like I’m going to be out of my $250 from National Covers. I did file a complaint with BBB but not sure it’s going to go anywhere. They had other complaints regarding quality and return policies - some they resolved but they basically are saying we should read the policy before ordering, which has all sorts of conditions and reductions. Another boating lesson learned.
 
Final update on my boat cover (tarp) fiasco. After raking the retailer (National Boat Covers) over the coals and contacting various consumer agencies and leaving bad reviews on various sites, I got an email from the wholesale company (Eevelle) inquiring how I liked my cover, which is actually just tarp. After telling them that they had to be joking and it was an overpriced piece of garbage, a few days later I received a full refund from Eevelle, without having to send the old tarp back. National Boat Covers never responded to my last email requesting a refund. Some how the two companies are connected but I really don't care anymore, so long as I got a refund. Had I know I could have ordered directly through Amazon, I would have gone that route instead of dealing with National. Again, lesson learned. I actually hate dealing with Amazon and prefer to go through companies directly but this is the reason why I tend to deal with them - no nonsense return policies. Btw, the Harbor Freight tarps are holding up fine so far - if/when I decide to get a true cover, I think I'll go with a custom made from a local company.
 
That will be expensive. Let me try describe what I used to do before global warming. All wood was 2x4. From top of bow rail at the point to top off windshield, with a support pole mid way up front deck. Another rail joined to front rail with bolt and wing nut from top of windshield back to transom with a support pole in front of seat and another on engine hatch. Then strung 1/4” lines from the rails to both sides of bow rails up front.
Whole frame covered with a 40’x25’ blue tarp.
Over cockpit the tarp was tied from grommets on port to grommets on starboard going under boat.
Never failed me thru some horrible 3’ blizzards.
Got 2 winters out of a $30 tarp.
Thank god those days are over around here.
 
Cheap Guy said:
...a few days later I received a full refund from Eevelle, without having to send the old tarp back.
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So glad to hear they refunded your money! I covered mine with the Harbor Freight tarp the first year, and was going to use it a second when I decided to go the wrap route. Seeing the price difference, I'll probably go back with the HF tarp next year.
 
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