Preventing a pool in my cover?

Well the last few days it has been pouring in dry AZ and I have probably bailed out about 500 gallons of H2o out of my boat cover. Thank goodness I just bought a new one that doesn't leak. Problem is I have a tower and I bought a cover that wasn't specific for my boat or tower. it works, but its baggy. What do some of you guys recommend to try and prop it up so I don't get huge pools of water? I heed to be careful so I don't put a hole in it. I was thinking of trying to make something out of PVC. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated by my back.

1" webbing straps from the bow to the stern over the windshield, under the cover ought to do it. Maybe something like a loop over the nose, Y just past the windshield or just behind the drivers seat, and then go to the outboard cleats or to the rear lifting eyes (just be careful going over the swim platform so as to not cause indentions in the foam). you may have to put a little pvc pole at the Y or in there somewhere depending on how it hangs. g'luck

we used to set a 2by four from the window down alonrg the engine cover and back on our old 2001 sn

Also Steve, make sure you leave the plug out, and crank the jack wheel all the way up.
...just in case the cover should fail in any way

Tent poles work great for this and are cheap, I struggled for years to keep water out, now she stays dry all winter with 2 old tent poles and the webbing strap from the cover prop up kit you can get at most marine stores

If there is not much point in building a permanent structure under the cover (because your in typically dry AZ), then maybe put some other things under the cover, ie; inflate a tube or two, empty boxes, etc.

I used to use PVC on my MC. Cheap & easy.

I used 3/4 inch PVC and made a spine for my first boat. Worked great and was cheap. The next one I made a better one. just 2 Ts 2 Ls and 1 1/4" pipe. Made it about the height of the windshield a foot back from it and had a slight down grade to the back meeting up with the back seat. Made it look like a tent but I had nothing get ine ever and I didnt glue it so I could take it all appart and store the whole thing in a ski bag or in the belly locker.

Just toss a ballast pump in it before you go out.

Steve, it is done raining for the year. Don't sweat it. I am in Gilbert, AZ so I know what I am talking about. All kidding aside, I have the same problem. Best bet is to shell out some serious cash and get your cover modified to go over your tower. I am just about to suck it up and do the same.

Trdon- can you give a little more detail?
266crown- my cover may be big enough to do that. I may try it tomorrow. I have lived here 37 years and was cracking up at the news in how big a deal the news casts made out if the weather.

imagine a primative tent. Just a stick on each end vertically and a pole between the 2. Conform it to the cover for height and use the Ts at the feet and put a pipe spanning enough at the foot to stabilize it from falling over. I dont have a picture unfortunately, but I think that can help you imagine it.

I use a piece of 3" pvc pipe with a a cap over my ski pylon. It just slides over and works great. I think it's roughly 2.5 feet and I have some foam taped to the bottom so that it doesn't hurt my sun pad.

Steve - I had family members calling me to see if we were ok. The weather reports were all crazy. I didn't think it was that bad. I remember when I moved here in 2000. That was a rainy season.

My fix to my problem has been to put my rain gear bimini up and attach the cover over that. My cover is not big enough to get over my tower, but it is big enough to get over the bimini. I store it at a guys house near Queen Creek and Val Vista. I should probably go take a look at it this week.

I guess everyone forgot when 3 bridges over the salt river washed away back in the day.
Anyway, I like the Bimini idea, but unfortunately mine no longer is useable because of my tower. So I am in the process of trying to get one. Hopefully soon. I think I am gonna try and take mine over the tower firs since mine is supposed to fit a 24 ft boat and mine is 20 and I have the long trailering straps. So we will see.

I have done the 2x4 from windshield to pylon and a homemade PVC 'tent' pole and like the PVC better. Both work, but the PVC wins out on lightweight, size, and is less likely to scratch your windshield frame.

If you are looking for a place to do some work on bimini's or covers, I highly recommend Southwest Marine Canvas in Tempe. They added a bimini to the front of my boat. So now I have a 17' long bimini over my 27 foot boat - you can never have enough shade in the Arizona sun. I think I am going to have them do the cover for me too. They did great work the last time.

My boat lived outdoors for many years. Since the cover was water proof, I used a 2 3" pvc pipes cut down, then cut a V slot in the top for a rope that ran from the bow to the stern, over the windshield. This never put a hole in the cover. Since I had the ability to make the cover as tight as a drum, there was never a water puddle and the cover did not leak inside.