New cover for a 1986 MC 19 foot

[Tom Wortham]

I know there a some good threads out there about covers.... but wanted to get the latest and greatest. I have the old canvas org. draw string cover for my MC. I plan on trying to power wash it... but, feel that it is soo roten.... that it will shread. :eek:
I'm about to put new skins and carpent in my boat... I figured I should up grade to a new cover as well. I keep the boat in the garage and do not trailer with a cover. I would like it to be long enought to extend past the swim platform. Any recommendations? Maybe a cheep 21' Wal Mart cover with elastic? I welcome input. Looking for options. Thanks.

[east tx skier]

I don't know about platform covers, but there are currently more OEM MC covers on ebay than I've ever seen. They're running around $150. I'll bet you could find one to suit you.

[jayderwin1]

i got a cheap Walmart cover for my 86 and it fit great i got the 17-19 foot cover but i do not put it over my swim platform. i have to put a rod in the middle of the boat to keep the middle of the cover from collecting water. it will not leak unless a puddle forms in the boat on top of the cover.

[Tom Wortham]

i got a cheap Walmart cover for my 86 and it fit great i got the 17-19 foot cover but i do not put it over my swim platform. i have to put a rod in the middle of the boat to keep the middle of the cover from collecting water. it will not leak unless a puddle forms in the boat on top of the cover.
Jayderwin1,
Excellent! Is there a particular brand? Do you remember the price?
I will check today. Not worried about water... since it is inside...
Just want something to keep the dust out. Have you tried trailering with it? Just curious. Also, I have a separate thread going discussing "skins". Your skins look pretty new. To confirm the color of your boat.. Is it white with the three black shaded stripes? I just ordered new skins and they sent me white ones. My boat is gray. Going back to Bennetts to see what they are going to do. Thanks for the response.

[jayderwin1]

i forgot what brand it is, the color of the cover is silver, it costed about $50.00. i have trailered it but i have not gone that far, it has plenty of tie downs to keep it on the boat. when i do trailer it, it stays on very well, i've never had it going over 55mph though. you are right about the colors. do you have a pic of the skins you ordered i would like to see what they look like?

[jayderwin1]

How is that tinted windshield working for you? did you do the restoration on you boat yourself. it does not look like you need new skins to me thats a really clean looking boat. do you have a stereo in it, if so where did you put it? also did you sand down you deck before you oilled it? the reason i ask is i just refinished mine and it does not look that good, i did not sand it.

[milkmania]

i got a cheap Walmart cover for my 86 and it fit great i got the 17-19 foot cover but i do not put it over my swim platform. i have to put a rod in the middle of the boat to keep the middle of the cover from collecting water. it will not leak unless a puddle forms in the boat on top of the cover.

worked wonderful for my 91 prostar as well......I am somewhat impressed

[milkmania]

also did you sand down you deck before you oilled it? the reason i ask is i just refinished mine and it does not look that good, i did not sand it.

I am currently doing mine....
(fact is, I just came in here for a break from it)

I am sanding and routering the edges as well.
my 91 platform has open slats in it, and I didn't want to sand between all those 1 inch gaps, so I went to the hardware store and picked up a 1/4 grinding bit, that protruded VERY little from the shank, put it on my Router, and 5 minutes later, all my slats were done!!! picked up a 1/4 inch shank grinding stone as well.
I'll see if I can find a pic of the bit I used, right now, I am using a small round over bit to soften the edges.
Another tip, my platform was very black, to get in the grooves, I keep the platform wet with water, and scrape the grooves out with the edge of a pair of scissors......when the platform is wet I can even scrap the black off with a fingernail.

just taking my time, because now that I see that rich golden color I get goosebumps and realize the more I work at it, the better it will get!

true transformation!!!

[milkmania]

took a few pics
THEY ARE LARGE FILES 1.5 mb each

dry http://www.writeonrice.com/img/1.jpg
wet http://www.writeonrice.com/img/2.jpg
wet with bits http://www.writeonrice.com/img/3.jpg
wet/dry http://www.writeonrice.com/img/4.jpg
wet http://www.writeonrice.com/img/5.jpg
scraping http://www.writeonrice.com/img/7.jpg


notice the routering?
gonna soften that up some more

[jayderwin1]

Brian
can you sand the deck after you put teak oil on it? i refinished my about 3 weeks ago and i left it in side so it would not get weathered after seeing yours and Toms i think i need to redo it. what grit sand paper do you use? is the bottom of your deck kind of black from the carbon of the exhaust, if so what do you use to remove that?

[milkmania]

Brian
can you sand the deck after you put teak oil on it? i refinished my about 3 weeks ago and i left it in side so it would not get weathered after seeing yours and Toms i think i need to redo it. what grit sand paper do you use? is the bottom of your deck kind of black from the carbon of the exhaust, if so what do you use to remove that?


not sure about sanding after oiling....this is my first one
starting out, I used 80 grit on a "jitterbug" palm sander and 80 grit on a belf sander on the straight runs.
then I went to 100 grit on each grit to get the scratches out
the bottom of my deck was EXTREMELY black, I used both sanders on it also, and when I got it to where I wanted it, I routered the edges, and used the grinding wheel on the inside edges of the slat frames....kinda hard to explain, but there are teak boards under the top platform that hold it all together, and I needed to sand those inside edges.

I've got a lot of back problems, so I used my saw horses without much problem.

[east tx skier]

You can sand lightly in between coats of oil. Just keep going finer with the grit and make sure you let it completely dry in the sun before sanding and reapplying. Sanding in between coats is how you get the good appearance of depth in your finish.

George is the expert on the subject.

[milkmania]

oops, forgot to mention I've still got the 220 grit in the package for later:steering:

[Tom Wortham]

Brian
can you sand the deck after you put teak oil on it? i refinished my about 3 weeks ago and i left it in side so it would not get weathered after seeing yours and Toms i think i need to redo it. what grit sand paper do you use? is the bottom of your deck kind of black from the carbon of the exhaust, if so what do you use to remove that?
jayderwin1,
Gray seats don't show much.... but, when you get close there are quite a few tears. Also, It is the org. set of skins. I'll try and take a pick of the new skins. I'm working with Estaban @ Bennetts (great guy). He knows I want a Gray set, will be mailing back the white ones, just don't know if they will go to him or MC. I think they are going to take care of me... From what I have seen so far... they look great.
No Stereo (yet). Can decide what I want to do. Hole in dash?, mount undert control panel on right side of driver?, location of speakers?, type of speakers and how many?, sub?.. too many options/questions....then there is also Cost :eek:.
I thought I would get the new skins on and new carpet...then move on to the tunes, If any. My boat is usually one of many when we go out... we are not short of tunes... My boat is usually running with someone behind it... like most... I like to hear what is going on... and enjoy the sound of my 351.
Regarding my teak.... I have to say... it was in pretty bad shape. (shame on me). :uglyhamme . I bought a product called "Teak Guard". Worked great! It come with a "clear cleaner" and brass wool (NOT STEEL WOOL). Brush the cleaner on... and start scrubbing with the steel wool... keep water on it as you "clean"... you can visably see the gray coming off. Do this until all the gray is gone... then put the teak guard on. I thought it looked pretty good before I put the "guard" on. The same can be done for underneath the platform.... but I did not hit it as hard. NO SANDING was done. I put this stuff on last June... put new trailer tires on in Decmeber... still looks great... No change from June.... Very curious how it will hold up when I get it in the water for a whole season.
On a side note... I found a local guy (Lewisville, TX) Lonestar Upholstry to take my old skins off, put the new ones on replace any wood and foam that is needed and pull up the old and install new carpet for $800. Reasonable? :confused: