Boat Cover Fasteners

There are many ways to secure your boat cover to your boat or trailer. The important thing to consider is in what ways are you going to be using the cover and how often you will be removing and recovering your boat. You can then ask the manufacturer for their recommendations.

If you will be towing your boat on a trailer with the cover on, make sure that you use the grommet holes to tie down the cover. Most trailers have U shaped tie down spots in strategic areas, so take some strong rope or bungee cords, go through the grommets and tie to trailer securely.

If you are going to have custom canvas covers made that will need to be attached to the boat surface itself, there are several options.

Snaps are an easy and usually reliable way to make this connection. The male end of the snap assembly is attached to the boat. The sit fairly flush to the surface, so you do not usually have the problem with them snagging clothes or carried items as you walk around the boat. The snaps typically last a reasonable amount of time, especially if they are lubed occasionally. (Ask the manufacturer for their advice.)

Another advantage of the snap is that there is a very useful item that can be used with it if you have problems with shrinkage of your covers. It is called "extend a snap." This extends the area of the snap and you can gain ¾ of an inch per side of the cover.

Another way to fasten either a part of the cover to another part of the cover or to the boat itself is with a twist stud fastener. With this you have a rounded head that gets pushed through a metal grommet hole. The head is then twisted and locks in place. It is our experience that these seem very durable and easy to use.

The "lift the dot" fasteners are also used extensively in the boating world. A straight "I" shaped piece is screwed to the boat. The metal fastener is embedded in the boat cover. There is a place on the fastener that actually says, "lift the dot" with a dot above it. When you lift this side of the fastener it comes off easily. They are pretty secure; a bit more than snaps in our opinion, but it is easier to get snagged on the screw part of this assembly. This may also be the reason we have noticed these come loose more often than snaps.

With full boat covers, in particular mooring boat covers, there is a design that utilizes weighted bags near the bottom edges to hold the cover in place and resist any wind currents. These work quite well, but we have heard complaints of those who have had these weighted bags attached with the "twist stud fastener." There are times when these come loose and fall into the water. It might be best to stick with the bags being stitched directly to the cover without any extra fasteners.

Small lines to tie down the edges of the cover are simple, easy to replace, and generally work well. Knowledge of knot tying is useful here so that you will be able to remove the ties easily when needed.

Velcro works fine for many boat cover applications but you should know that as they become dirty they have a tendency to stick together less and less.

With the above information you should be able to talk to the manufacturer or custom canvas maker and make a decision as to the best way to secure those valuable boat covers.