Motor Cover - Simple and Cheap Solution

[Jeff_R]

Unfortunately I am not able to have the Grady White I own and keep down here at my house and stored indoors. It sits outside in a storage yard all summer with the stern getting baked by the UV rays of the sun. I have a universal cover on the boat that comes a good ways down past the rub rails protecting the interior and hull sides for the sun. The motor however is always exposed. I plan to get a new full mooring cover made in the coming years so, I did not want to spend the money to invest in a Yamaha motor cover at $75-$100 if I am just going to build one into my new cover.

Last weekend I was in Meijer (a Michigan based store that has a variety of products much like a Wal-Mart) and walking through the outdoor BBq section, when a light bulb went off. There in front of me was a simple plastic coated canvas cover for a charcoal Weber like round grill for $6. It was 30" in Dia and 25" tall with an elastic band at the bottom. So, in wanting to protect the motor cowling I thought I would take a shot and what do I have to lose…

$6 later the cover for perfectly and after spending a week outside in rain and storms, it was still there when I picked up the boat this week. Here are some pics.

When I go back to Meijer I will take a picture of the packaging too.

For those in the southern parts of where UV is a much bigger problem that up here in the Great Lakes, this is simple and cheap protection.

Just thought I would share….even it is more "Redneck-engineered" than I usually like to be.

 

[dstarok]

BRILLIANT !!!! Thanks for sharing that idea!
:goodjob

 

[DennisG01]

I gotta admit, as I was reading through the write-up, I was thinking to myself "Eeek". But you know what? It doesn't look all that bad! Great idea!

 

[ahill]

Please provide a SKU# for that cover. Couldn't find it on Meijer site.
Great idea.

 

[ROBERTH]

Not bad at all! I had found that a universal 115 hp outboard motor cover for about $20 would fit over my Radar radome when I was travelling to help protect from the tree branches. It works, but when it wears out, I might try this one instead for a lot less price!

 

[Firenailer]

That really looks a lot better than I was expecting, great idea!

 

[wahoo33417]

Jeff: If you hadn't told us the story, we'd be buying them from you for $12! But thanks for sharing a great idea!

Rob

 

[mboyatt]

This is truly ghetto. I love it. I have been thinking of a cover since repainting my cowling, but didn't want to spend the money and pay for shipping. Perfect solution. Definitely going to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing.