Winter Storage

[ontrider]

Alright, usually I store my boat at the local marina but I haven't been happy with the job they've done, not to mention my bum hurts from the bill.

So here is my plan and let me know if this is a good/bad/okay thing to do. I want to just store the boat on my property so I was going to build a shelter with 2x4's and a big tarp overtop of it and possibly around the sides if that's better too. Boat would be winterized and stored underneath the housing with the cover on and strapped down. Trailer up on blocks. If I did something like this should I be worried about moisture, mildew... anything else that I'm not thinking of?

[bradb]

Ontrider,
I live on the west coast of canada, and I had a few problems with storing it outside.
1) First year, I stored it outside in a "portable garage" type thing from canadian tire. I had problems with heavy water/snow pooling on top of the tarp. I always went outside and knocked the snow off the top with a broom stick, but still had it collapse on me overnight with some heavy wet snow. Ripped my boat top, but lucky no boat dammage..
2) Next year, I just wrapped an extra tarp around the boat itself, and I had problems with water pooling on the boat top. I had deer trying to get up into my boat to drink the water pooled on the canvas... They ripped the canvas again!

I also had lots of mildew problems. I found the quickest thing to do was take out all the uphostery (about a half hour job once you have done it before) and store it inside in the basement or somthing. I've also heard of people buying a container of desiccant (sp?) and leaving that in the boat for the winter. Never tried it but it might also do the trick.

Also make sure the straps on your boat cover don't rub against the gel coat. It can make quite a mess on a windy night.

I'm lucky enough to have a garage now, but I managed to survive with my boat outside for about 5 years.

good luck.
B

[ontrider]

Yeah, I planned on taking the seating home and store it inside.
As for the snow, that's why I want to make a solid roof with a good angle on it, so it will support the snow load and most likely it will slide right off.

Now the deer and other animals... hmmm.... I guess we could always coat the cover with a mild poison.

[Brit Rider]

All depends on the trade off between how much it costs to make a decent shelter and how much it costs to store it i guess..

Maybe run an inventory list of what you'd need to build your shelter.. plus time.

and how much it costs to store.

Also, look around, are there any garages available for rent in your area?

[ontrider]

Brit Rider, that cost is one time incurred though, storage will be X $$$'s, times every year. All I really need it a tarp for the roof, I have lots of scrap wood from my deck and stairs. I wish I could keep it in my garage, but there's no way in hell it'll fit.

[Broccoli B]

If you are going to go through the trouble of building a structure, it isn't THAT much more for some OSB and shingles.

[biglouie]

My wife would frown on me if I suggested building a shelter for the boat unless it was done very nice to match the house or if it was hidden out of sight. I've seen a lot of shabby half-a$$ boat/car shelters that really look like crap. Check any ordinances in your area too if applicable.

[Wakebrad]

ontrider, have you looked into getting your boat shrink wrapped? Should cost you a lot less. I don't know if that keeps out the elements enough though. We barely have to winterize our boats around here.

[newbiestratos]

Damp-rid. Can't say enough. Put two containers of this in the well covered boat and it will do wounders for keeping the moisture down. You may have to replace them after two months or so but they are worth the trouble. We have had several campers and we always place two or more before we close them up for the season. You'll be amazed at how much moisture they pull out of the air.

[Xanadu]

what we do is put up a 2x4 in the middle of the boat then wrap the whole thing in the heavy shrink-wrap plastic stuff. the water drains off, and if you do it right, the snow doesnt even pile up. this is of course after properly winterizing it.

[Bambamski]

ontrider,

How much are you paying for storage?

What I've done in the past is find a hobby farmer type guy and store my boat in a quancet over the winter. It's sheltered, but not heated which is fine with me. I pay about 180 bucks for 6 months or so. If you know anyone that has a friend of a friend that owns something like that I think that's the way to go. That way you don't have some structure in your yard taking up space.

[lcap]

Build it and you will fill it. Build it bigger than you think you need, you will fill it. Building a shop is not that expensive. And you'll increase the value of your house.

Didn't you just get a bunch of tools from your mom? Get em out and start building. 40' X 40' with one high bay door in the middle 12' tall for the tower and someday an RV is a good start.

You can go with T-111 for the siding on the sides and back (not much more than standard CDX plywood) and lap siding to dress it up on the front. You can buy garage plans at most local hardware stores for cheap.

[jjaszkow]

I would definately put some damp-rid in the boat (as previously mentioned) and shrinkwrap it if I was storing it outside, which of course is a recurring cost. Shrink wrapping around here is $11 / ft. We were going to do that and store it in a shelter outside until we found a warehouse that would store it for less than the cost to shrinkwrap.

[ontrider]

bam, we pay around $800 for winterization/storage and everything. I imagine it may be a bit more since the new boat is bigger.

lcap, I'd like to build a garage but right now am short on time/money to do it I think. That would be the best solution, but for now I was just thinking of a temporary structure. So if it's ugly, nobody's gonna see it in the winter anyway.