Boat storage during the off season?

[Navman]

Just thought I'd put it out there to the group.

We bought a smaller boat with a trailer years back so we could pull it out of moorage to save the fees in the off season and just park it next to the house under tarp.

Problem is no matter how much ventilation etc we have, it just gets gunky, took me 3 days to clean it up last spring

The boat is 10 feet wide, 12' 4" high and with trailer 38 feet long and would be fully winterized so no need for any heat.

Willing to pay from late Oct to June 2014

Guess I'm getting older

Mel

Read More

 

[hikepat]

Use air driers they are your freind. Run one in the cabin and another under the canvas. This will keep the mold spores in check on the canvas, seating and even the covered deck areas. Remove all food sources possible including cleaning every thing before storing. Lastley buy a electic pressure washer to clean it before the season it will save lots of elbow grease come spring.

 

[Both Eyes Open]

+1 on everything mentioned by hikepat. The only thing I would add is make sure that the boat is DRY before covering. That means the carpet and upholstery as well as removing any damp lifejackets or ski ropes etc. Anything that can hold moisture needs to either be dry or removed and stored elsewhere. For the air drier, Damp Rid brand makes one that is attached to a one gallon bucket. Use two. that's your best bet. If you are willing to pay a little money look into shrink wrapping your boat with Dr. Shrink. Most small boat repair shops do that for you. Again, clean and DRY and you should be good. Good luck. Any questions PM me. Boat repair and maintenance is what I do.

 

[cookie]

Being an ex boat owneI bought my first boat in 1972 and slod tha last on in 2003 or 4 ? I can't remember A boat is a hole in the water you throw money in !!! You have to maintain them like they are aircraft !!!

 

[BVB]

you might try a product called Eva-dry. works like a champ in our boat and motorhome.

Eva-Dry 2200 Electric Dehumidifier

 

[hikepat]

Boating is really not that expensive if you do not go to big for your skill level to maintain yourself as much as possible and keep small enough to keep it on trailer instead of at a dock all the time. Besides the skills in maintaining them mean you have skills to do a lot of other things such as doing much of your own car repairs. Also you need to use your boat rather then letting it sit. Boats seem to have more go wrong when they are not used enough as compared to ones that are used at lest monthly. Our 26 cabin cruiser cost $9000 to buy 5 or so years ago and betwen $800-$1400 per year to keep running and safe to use. This is less that then many spend on their cars.

 

[Navman]

Thanks for all the helpful ideas guys

We keep the heat on in the cabin all winter so the interior stays nice and dry.

I bought a de-humidifier a few years back at home depot, pulled a lot of water out of the air in the house but couldn't get any in the cockpit area when temps dropped to around 50F

Now we're thinking about looking into one of those aluminum covered enclosures next to the house.

Wouldn't take long for it to pay for itself vs renting an enclosed space, just need to check with the city of Canby to see what's permitted and get the neighbors to sign off on it.

I've been doing my own maintenance so far, but this summer began getting water in the boat only when the Bravo 2 outdrive is up.

Pretty sure that points to the shift cable bellows?

The drive line bellows was dry when I pulled it this spring to lube the u-joints.

 

[Modeler]

Depends on how much work you want to do, but there's always the shrink-wrap option.