To Haul or not to Haul

[Boat Babe]

I'm new to this as I got a Cal 28 last November. I'm just outside Annapolis and I had it hauled so the bottom could be repainted this spring, new zincs put on the shaft and I did a lot of work on it over the winter and spring. So the question is... is there a need to haul every year except for the painting and the zinc? If I'm paying for a slip, why pay the hauling fee and the land storage as well? Is it just better for the boat? Thanks for your advise.

 

[Terry Cox]

Steph, I haul our boat every three years...

whether it needs it or not. Usually in that time the three coats of ablative bottom paint have sluffed off and the hull is due for another three. We keep the boat in the water all the time because we cruise year around. Each year I hire a diver to install new zincs and scrape the marine life off of the keel, prop shaft and prop. Pretty routine. Of course we do not have the severe cold temps that you have.Terry

 

[tom]

Do You Sail???

When we had a trailerable sailboat we hauled it home and put it in a barn for the winter. But later we left it in all year when we discovered how nice winter sailing can be. We now have a 32' boat and don't haul except for bottom paint. But we sail year round. The boat is probably safer ashore. There were some boats sank by heavy snow at one of our old marinas. I even had the same heavy snow flatten my trailer springs and bulge the hull. I had brought the boat home for a vacation trip that was canceled by the blizzard.

 

[Bill]

Wintering in the water...

Hi Steph,We usually pull every other year (this year being one) to do the bottom and just to let things dry out. If you are going to stay in the water, you have to be willing to go down and check on the boat periodically, especially after snow (as previously suggested). Also, check to see if your marina will drop a bubbler near your boat or see if they will let you put one in. Ice and hulls are a BAD combination.A diver is a good choice just to get everything clean and do zincs now that the water is cooling off and there won't be much more growth. You could also do a "short-haul" where the marina pulls your boat on the lift and washes the bottom down, does a vis inspection and puts on new zincs- then right back in the water you go.Otherwise, make sure your batteries are topped up or removed and stored in a warm-ish dry place, do all your winterizing, and no worriesB

 

[droopy]

Lots of people in your neck of the woods

don't hual out in the winter. I keep my boat in NJ and almost everyone huals out. BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR BAOT IN THE WATER check with your insurance company. You might have to add protections coverage for this. That said, it is better for the boat to be in the water structural but the chances it sinks or is damaged from ice go way up!If you keep your boat in the water be prepared to check it twice a week instead of once a month! You'll still have to replace the zinc, clean the bottom, paint or touch up bottom paint etc etc etc. So you should short hual the boat anyway.

 

[Warren Milberg]

Reasons to haul

I believe that if you keep your boat in an area subject to freezing/snow/ice it may be a false economy to keep the boat in the water over the winter -- and one that could potentially cost you more than what you may have "saved" by staying in the water. Having your boat hauled allows you to inspect stuff you haven't seen in a long time: through-hulls, keel-hull joint, zincs, rudder and its fittings, prop/shaft/cutlass bearing, and the hull itself. None of these things improve over time in the water. It also allows an aging fiberglass boat to sort of dry out over the winter. The one (and only) winter I left a previous boat in the water -- in the same marina where Steph is -- it got cold early and the entire brackish water around the boats froze solid. I didn't have a bubbler. The alternate freeze/thaw/freeze pattern continued and I saw scratches forming at the waterline that took a lot of wet/dry sanding the next spring to remove. But then we had a larger than normal snow storm. I found that I had to park my car on the road at the marina gate and trudge through about 8-10 inches of snow to get to the docks -- which were treacherous to walk down. And then trying to get onto my boat was very dangerous. Although I had tarps on the boat, there was a lot of snow on the side decks and about 3 inches of ice had formed in the cockpit as leaves had somewhow gotten into the scuppers where they froze and clogged them. I could see how a boat could actually sink in it's slip from the weight. And how does one remove snow/ice from a fiberglass boat without doing yet more damage? Finally, my docklines were frozen solid, like steel rods, and had no give. I feared the sharp edges around the pilings would chafe them through.In the end, the only damage to the boat were the aforementioned waterline scratches. But the boat did better than I did, as I worried about it all winter whenever we had nasty weather. Keep my boat in the water over winter again? Never........! To me, leaving your boat in the water in this climate is a crap shoot where you are betting your boat against whatever Mother Nature decides to serve up. And, at most marinas like ours, once the ice forms there is no emergency haul out -- you are in for the duration.

 

[tom]

How Far South to Avoid Snow and Ice???

It might be worth while to sail south to avoid the snow and ice. Maybe North Carolina???? Then you can sail all winter!!!!!!!! But if you can sail to where the chance of snow is very low and ice-overs don't happen that's what I'd do.I agree that if the boat is going to be where there is snow and ice it is better to haul. Even in Tennessee the lake didn't freeze except rarely way back up in coves. If you don't sail in winter haul-out.  Sailing up in East Tennessee in winter is some of my favorite memories. Seeing the great Smoky mountains coverd in snow in the background is cool. And best of all the water is usually deserted. NO jetskis.

 

[Bill]

Hi Warren...

It's just for that reason that I'd ask about and/or get a bubbler- it will keep the water clear of ice in the annapolis area. I agree that I wouldn't leave a boat in without one at all. Ice and gelcoat/fiberglass = big bills and bubblers are cheapGood point, well taken!B

 

[Boat Babe]

thanks everyone.... I'll haul

Looks like the overwhelming concensus is to haul. Thanks for all the good advice. I'll be hauling. Steph

 

[Warren Milberg]

For Bill re Bubblers

While bubblers would seem to add the needed level of protection against a boat being frozen in it's slip, the kicker here is that when we have that infrequent ice storm, or a snow fall much larger than the normal few inches, the marina may turn off the electricity, as a safety factor, just exactly when you really need it. And, if the marina has not turned off the power, sometimes Mother Nature does it for them....when the weight of ice storms take down the power lines.

 

[Shippy]

Peace of Mind

I pull the boat every year...there have been times when the weather will get nice nd I wish she was still in the water, but in Maryland you just never know about the blizzard that sneaks up the coast or ice storm that causes all kinds of problems. For me, the piece of mind knowing she is safelt tucked away on land is worth it.

 

[Rob]

we Haul every 3 years

We haul every 3 years to paint replace zincs exc,,,since we are in the Sassafrass which is almost all fresh and havent found much stray current in our marina, the bottom paint and zincs last pretty good. We have been through many ice and snow storms and I have no problem staying in the water,,,However if you do stay in I highly recomend you cover your boat...either with a poly tarp, shrink wrap, what have you ,,,just make sure the under frame is strong and will not allow your cover to sag.... The worst is a cover that sags on deck then fills with water, the water cannot drain then freezes,,, it can be a lot of weight pulling on your boat.rigging and equipment,,,at the utmost the cockpit scuppers must remain clear all winter.Other than that with normal winterizing , bubbler or de icers have worked just fine...sometimes the ice will get close and the river tides will send a larger section of ice touching your bottom paint,,,but like I said not bad.its not like we live in Maine, Washington or Alaska.....but with dilligence and a every other week visit to the boat and a good marnia manager,,,wintering on the Chesapeake is a fun experience...we often find we are the only ones in our marina,,,and many times have blazed through the virgin snow covered dock to our toasty cabin heater and solituide.

 

[Boat Babe]

thanks

I'm convinced.... I'm hauling. Pretty convincing arguements for hauling. Thanks

 

[Dan Johnson]

Good decision...

Steph. Check Boat/US Insurance statistics: More boats have been sunk by snow/ice than by striking an object. If you have a thru-hull that's left open, like a cockpit scupper that drains below the water line, and it freezes and ruptures the drain line or the fitting itself, you'll have a sunk boat when it thaws!

 

[Don]

anyone still reading this thread?

Having some experience both hauling and not, and having read the previos post, I guess I'm still on the fence and would appreciate knowing folks experience rather than their pessimism (with in-water storage) in cold climates.We've done both over the years and inevitably have suffered FAR more damage and two break-ins while out of the water. Never had any bad experences or any damage leaving her in despite being located where the bay often freezes.Notwithstanding the issue of insurance which is a valid concern unless one has the proper coverage, what, if any, actual bad experiences have you had in winter in-water storage?It would appears from just looking around our marina in January each year that about half the folks stay in so I can only infer it's an even split-decision??thanks Donps for those fortunate to live where it's nice all year, I'm already jealous so please don't rub it in.

 

[droopy]

anyone still reading this thread? No

ok yes,It is a chance boths ways! It is better structural to be in the water. I is safer to be onland unless there is a strom surge.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Don, salty water...

where you are may be better to winter over in, but at the top of the Chesapeake it's mainly fresh, which freezes earlier and more often. With no guarentee of a mild winter, it's a risk to stay in the water here. A number of years ago down around Baltimore the boat I crewed on picked the wrong winter to stay in, the year the Bay froze solid! We had significant ice damage along the water line to repair in the spring. The marina's ice eater failed when power went out on the docks. Several power boats sunk when ice cracked their outdrive bellows. One outboard went down when the weight of wet snow put the motor-well below the water line and it flooded.Several Springs ago the boat next to the one I was working on fell over on a very windy day because the marina crew used rope not chains to tie the stands together. It got through all Winter without them remembering or anyone, owner included, noticing. When it was repaired, the marina ate the owner's insurance deductable and then some for its negligence. Another marina nearby was infamous for at least one fall-over a season from its shoddy work with wooden supports.All in all, I'd rather be on steel stands in the Winter than on pins and needles worrying! I'm on the hard now and Spring seems a long way off!

 

[Ross]

Just to add to what Dan J. said in the

winter of 1989-90 the temperature dropped below freezing at Thanksgiving and didn't get above twenty -five degrees until January. Travel on the upper bay was restricted to steel hull vessels with at least 800 shaft horsepower. Even in Maryland winter must be respected.

 

[Warren Milberg]

No One Has Yet

to state any credible reasons to leave your boat in the water over the winter in an area that may freeze and or have significant ice or snow storms. The poster below who indicated your boat is structurally supported better in the water may be technically right, but if you are in a competent marina, that knows how to haul and block a boat, where the weight is on the keel and the right amount of "real" jackstands are correctly placed and chained, is certainly supported pretty well. If your marina uses cinder blocks, tree branches, and drift wood to block your boat, I agree that you are in for trouble. If your marina is subject to thievery, I'm not quite sure how a boat standing 8 or so feet off the ground and with no ladder attached is more susceptible to being robbed than one sitting in a slip that anyone can walk down to and climb aboard. Money may be the only issue. Getting hauled and blocked, and dry storage, may cost more than just sitting it out in your slip. But as Warren and others have indicated, you may only save a few hundred bucks if Mother Nature decides to have a warm winter. If she's feeling pissy, she could easily damage or sink your beloved boat. To those who think being on land is more dangerous than being in the water, all I can say is look at the boat claim statistics from the recent hurricanes. To those who stay in the water, just what are your reasons for doing so?

 

[Dan Johnson]

Ross...

you didn't mention all the bergy bits from ice dam break-ups in the Spring that come down rivers like where you are and become waterline grinders that seem to be drawn to boats like some kind of fiberglass magnet. And that doesn't include all the other debris that gets flushed from the shorelines in the Spring. Pete may have answered the question "Why?" already!