Cover choices for Grady 265 Express

[grady_22]

Trying to order a decent boat cover for the 265 I will be bringing home this Saturday. I have been looking around at boatcoversdirect.com and some of the other online retail outlets. I have found that many do not have the 265 listed for their semi-custom or custom boat covers. When redirected to the more generic covers that will work, I end up at the link below, which does not sound right at all aside from the general dimensions of the cover. Anyone have any suggestions? I am looking for a Sundura/Sunbrella equivalent cover that will last a while.

30'6" by 120" Boat Covers for V-Hull Center Console Shallow Draft w/ T-Top by Carver

Carver Boat cover materials fit to V-hull Center Console Shallow Draft Fishing Boat with T-Top with a Outboard motor, and 30'6" long and 120" wide.

www.boatcoversdirect.com

Thanks!

 

[teaklejr]

Just got my Fisher cover delivered last saturday for our 305 Express its still wrapped up and wont use it for another month or so I can tell its going to last. The thing is super heavy and looks very nice. Might be on the expressive side but from what I have been told they will last a long time. Call these guys Darren Fitzgerald was great to deal with.

PM Winter Boat Covers |

pmwinterboatcovers.com

 

[eppem]

Check out Boatcovers direct. Its a production cover and they can sell you something that best suits your 265X. I just sold mine (the boat) and kept the cover for my cousin to try on his smaller boat. If it doesn't work out for him I will sell the cover as used. It doesn't fit perfectly and we made some modifications with PVC pipe but for the 3 months our boat is on the hard, it worked out well. Very durable too, had the cover for 12 years. Much less expensive than shrink wrap and no waste.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I went the cheap route. Harbor Freight tarp and schedule 40 conduit.
I lash the tarp to the hardtop, gallon jug weights on sides, bungee wrap around motors.
Opens and closes easy.
Makes a nice tent with headroom to work and drink a coffe and daydream....

Keeps water out of bilge. Keeps leaves, rain and snow out of cockpit.

Yes, I leave the canvas enclosure up...its old and needs replacing. If I get a new enclosure I'll make a "winter enclosure" out of the old one.

 

[drbatts]

I used an off the shelf carver cover for 9 seasons on my 265, and now have another off the shelf cover for my 305. They are not a perfect fit, as the Grady express have a wide beam and big hardtop. There ends up being a little exposed gunnel on both sides midship, otherwise the cover fits well. You will need some sort of framing in the front the support he cover. I made mine out of wood, and reuse it every year. On the back side it will hang over the motors with a steep enough angle. The covers have survived heavy wet snow falls in the NE without a problem. I use bungee cords for the stern to get in and out easy. The cover will breath better then shrink wrap and keeps the inside clean.

 

[grady_22]

Thanks guys for the info. I have some PVC supports for supporting snow weight that I used on my 244 Explorer. I was doing the Harbor Freight tarp thing for 6 years on that boat, and frankly got a bit tired of replacing it every 6-8 months even though they were cheap. I have found some tarp options on Amazon, however due to the increased size of the 265, the tarps I would need are like 40 x 20 and are close to 100 bucks. Figured based on the life I was getting out of the old tarps, that I will quickly be in it for the cost of a quality cover after several seasons with nothing to show for it. Would rather pony up the dough now for something quality.

@eppem - do you recall what style of boat your cover was setup for? The websites have recommended all sorts of things that sound like they are not the right thing. I was thinking if I picked a cover for a sailfish with hardtop (seem to be easier to delineate) I should be good with my 265 with pulpit and hardtop.