Seasonal cushion storage?

alexco38 · Aug 11, 2016

Your car has the seat in it all year. Why not the boat. Just store it sideways to help ventilation.
My sails are cleaned, rolled up in a bag and store on board.
Leave the hatch open a crack for ventilation but make sure no animals gets in.
Tools, booze, fire-extinguishers and removable expansive items (such as GPS, VHF, Binoculas) all go home. Everything else stays.
Been doing that for 10 years.

Gunni · Aug 11, 2016

Cushions on edge aboard, Sails bagged and brought home. I have seen rodents make a mess of storage units so sails live with me, rodent free. In a condo I would be tempted to use them as comfortable seating.

berner73 · Aug 11, 2016

We had new cushions made, so they come home with us for off season storage. Same thing with the sails.

Hadn't thought about bringing the fire extinguishers home. I assumed the ABC versions were dry chemical and not prone to freezing?

Scott · Aug 11, 2016

Like most said, on edge. A vent in the companion way hatch and a solar fan in midships hatch have always prevented any mildew. Also, I use 2 desiccant pouches.

whatfiero · Aug 11, 2016

I fold the sails up over box spring then throw matress on top so I can sleep with my larges investment every night in winter. Helps the sailn dreams be more realistic

CloudDiver · Aug 11, 2016

You'd be amazed what a few boxes of baking soda with the fabric sides can do, even in cold climates.

alexco38 · Aug 11, 2016

berner73 said:
We had new cushions made, so they come home with us for off season storage. Same thing with the sails.

Hadn't thought about bringing the fire extinguishers home. I assumed the ABC versions were dry chemical and not prone to freezing?

Not because the fire extinguisher will freeze. There was a breakin at our club. The jerk discharged them all for all the boat that they broke into.

shemandr · Aug 11, 2016

Sails come home and winter in the attic. Very dry up there in winter. Bags are cinched tight to keep critters out. Cushions for boat when we had a big attic came home and were hung on plywood sheets off the floor. That was the wife's idea. I never did understand it. Later when we didn't have as much attic, sails came home but cushions stayed on boat and were tilted up to encourage air circulation. That boat was covered so stayed pretty dry. Three or four dry bags.
In general I would take almost everything off the boat every fall. Besides getting all that crap away from the maritime air, removing the crap gave me the chance to leave it off the boat in the spring - thereby lightening up the boat. And getting rid of clutter which I don't like. Also getting rid of clutter allows air to circulate better especially in compartments. I always kept my rubber mallet, one fishing pole and lure, snorkel and mask, some tools and a few other items dear to me on board.

Dalliance · Aug 12, 2016

The cushions stay on the boat for the winter, stood up on edge for air circulation. The boat is shrink-wrapped and well ventilated, but I keep Damp-Rid desicant buckets in the cabin. The sails spend the winter in a storage locker in my condo building.

All U Get · Aug 13, 2016

Tim22 said:
This question is for all the northern sailors who haul their boats in the winter and spend the next 5 or 6 months waiting for spring. Where do you store your boat cushions, sails etc. during the winter. Do you store some or all on the boat, or do you remove them? If you leave them on the boat has it caused any problems?

I ask because I live in a condo so have limited storage space. In the past I have rented a storage locker, but at $1000.00 per year this is an expensive option.

Thanks
Tim

Tim you must get lonely when everyone from Ottawa sails to the Bahamas. We've met so many there that I've even began speaking Canadian, eh. We did both at the same time when we stayed north. Leaving them aboard worked OK for us there.

All U Get

fred1diver · Aug 13, 2016

I second the winter being too long up here

catalanc · Aug 13, 2016

It is WAY too early to be talking about winter lay up, IMHO ..... :{

Monterey385 · Aug 13, 2016

Very dry basement for all reasons above

DougM · Aug 13, 2016

I have left the cushions on the boat, on edge, for the last 10 winters. No problems.
Sails are stored in their own closet, hanging in their bags so,air can circulate around them.
Electronics, freeze prone things, tools, anchors, halyards, winch handles, etc. off the boat. Inflatable hangs in the garage fully inflated.
Unfortunately, the boat never made it into the water this year, so I won't have to do all this in the fall.

Head Sail · Aug 13, 2016

I left cushions aboard stowed on their sides or with something to prop them up for air circulation. Also put a dehumidifier (3qt?) in and drained to the bilge. I was able to check on things periodically but no musty smell. I leave the jib on the furler all year long since we do occsionally sail in the winter.

MitchM · Aug 14, 2016

here on the great cold lakes, for 40 years we have stored boat cushions inside, on the boat. we stand them up on their sides after wiping down the berth areas really well with a lysol spray. we then put a 12 oz jar of DampRid into each cabin, next to the cushions which are standing on their side to give maximum air exposure to the seating area. this system has worked faultlessly on all sorts of cushions -throwables, life preservers, sunbrella outside cockpit fusion set, sunbrella inside berth, and alcantara suede in the settee area. we' ve had no mildew, and no damage. we use no solar panels and have no heat from october to may. the only ventilation is what ever wind comes through the dorade vents under the Boat top winter cover.

DaveJ · Aug 24, 2016

Cushions stay on board and on their sides, sails come home, like most here. But I use a bag of kitty litter, in several containers, in several locations around the boat. Almost everything else comes home, in the spring it is much easier to clean the boat when you don't have to move stuff. We don't get mold but everything is thoroughly cleaned before the car loads of 'stuff' are brought back.

Cheers