Wondering what the biggest pros & cons are to putting a cover on an outboard. Mine is garage kept and wiped down after every trip to lake so wondering if a cover is worth it.
Also curious how many of you have to still wipe the cowling down even with a cover to keep water spots from building up
Cover would be to keep it looking new and a big help is if one fishes areas that have bushes, trees,etc. It would keep cowling from getting scratched....
YOU are not entitled to what I have earned!!!!!
2014 Phoenix 619 Pro / 2014 Mercury 200 Pro XS
Mine is garage kept and I rarely use my cover. I did use it a few times the first winter I had the cover but since then I rarely use it. I will put in on when they are harvesting crops because I surrounded by corn and there is a lot of dust involved when harvesting corn. Other than that mine stays uncovered in the garage. In the event of an over night trip away from my garage I will use it every-time. Other than that I could get by without one.
I live in an area where there are several quarries and cement plants. 18 wheelers and large gravel trucks are a normal thing here. Of course they drop rock on the roadway. My last boat took a rock on the cowling while going down the highway. Made a nice spiderweb crack in it like you’d get in your windshield. I also fish some areas with brush and dead trees. Mine stays on all year. Kind of a pain to take on and off. But we’ll worth the money around here!
Last edited by TX721; 11-24-2018 at 11:50 AM.
Also helps if you have a fishing partner like me that gets snagged up a lot, he has jigs and lures always flying back at the boat bouncing off of something. I don’t have a cover but wish I did.
Great point!Originally Posted by fishon396
I bought the Mercury factory cover for my O/B.
Shorty after I towed 2 hours one way to a tourney with the cover on, and had it strapped down tight. I ended up with scuff marks on the lower cowling from the slight movement of the cover.
I don't tow with the cover on it now due to this, but if I was to take it on more long trips, I would do the Saran wrap trick on the motor before putting the cover on.
Thanks for the info guys. I bought one of these motor covers from Mercury when I got my boat but based on what I do sounds like I don't really need it so will be post it up on the for sale boards shortly
I am not a fan of running a motor with a cover or towing a motor with a cover. I know they are vented and suppose to breathe but its just not enough for me. I rarely use one but when I do it's when the motor is off and after it has cooled down from running. I might be totally wrong and I am okay with that. A warm motor with a cover is a recipe for condensation. Here is how I form that opinion. A guy I know bought a brand new boat but did not have anywhere to store it but his blacktop driveway. He bought a nice high $ custom fit cover from the boat manufacture. It fit his boat perfect and had multiple vents. If the weather was just a slight bit warm his boat would sweat under the cover, even though it had multiple vents. Many times he would uncover it and the gauges would be full of sweat. He also had several electrical gremlins. After about 2 years he built a garage and stored his boat in it uncovered. His sweat issues went away as well as his condensation problems... I don't think that was just a coincidence.
I bought a vented cover for my Mercury from Hawg (board sponsor), and it rarely comes off. I fish around a lot of standing timber, low hanging trees, and brush. I take it off occasionally to wipe the engine down, and add a coat of NuFinish police, but it’s always clean with no water spots. My engine cowling still looks brand new.
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Mercury 150 Optimax
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