Winter Storage, 40ft Boat

[Capn Grumpy]

:cry: Here we go again. Just had a long conversation with our marina's boat yard manager and he feels that NO cover, tarp, or wrap is ANY better than leaving the boat uncovered. Problem here, in northern Wisconsin at the Apostle Islands, where temps drop below freezing and the winter winds regularly exceed 50 mph and occasionally hit much more, tarps get shredded, or at least get torn loose and flap and let in moisture. All of which has happened to me in the 5 years we've been there.
I live 220 miles from my boat. I can't get to it regularly.
He recommended using shrink-wrap tape over the hatch and port light seams to keep water out and ice from forming in them. I gotta say, I'm seriously considering this. Any thoughts, personal experience out there?

 

[Ross]

The tarp will keep if it is properly secured. Truckers run all the time in excess of 70 mph and in winter weather that includes rain and sleet and snow. If you sand bag it every 3 or 4 feet it will stay where you put it.

 

[higgs]

Snow fences

Buy a good quality tarp and then plastic snow fences over the tarp. this will stop the tarps from filling with air in a blow.

 

[Jim]

I like a custom cover

Sure they cost 2 - 4 grand but it is for a boat. I like the zippers, velcro and durabiity. I have seen a lot of traps ripped apart by high winds scraching gelcoat or filling with water, but by the same token I have seen a lot that last all winter long.

I think the key is going do to check your boat!

 

[Tim R.]

Good info Ross but not all tarps are created equal. Cheaper ones will degrade from UV and it will give out on the high wear areas. Pad the high wear areas from underneath and use a good quality tarp that is fairly thick and UV resistant. For a 40 ft. boat, this will cost a few hundred dollars. You may want to consider a custom cover which will not have these issue.

See the related Black Tarp thread.

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=102358

Please do not leave your boat uncovered. Capilary action will pull the water into small areas that would normally dry out. Instead it will freeze with the freeze thaw cycles. Ever walk through the woods and see large boulders split in half? We have these all over Maine. In 30 years I have seen a boulder on my property that was whole now has a 1ft gap in the middle where it split years ago. Every year it gets wider.

I am sure this will open the debate amoungst readers that it is ok to leave a boat uncoverd but the evidence is all over northern boatyards in the form of rotting boats that have been neglected this way. I would even do this in southern climates but more for the reason of UV damage. I just don't get why a boat owner would not spend a day in labor and a couple hundred dollars on parts to at least construct a simple cover. It really baffles me.

Here is What Don Casey says:

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/Casey/38.htm

And I did read this after typing my post.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

It would seem to me to not be worth the time and effort to use tape to cover every nook and cranny compared with simply laying a properly designed cover over the boat. If you are looking at alternatives, you might consider a boom tent cover which is easy to attach to our toe rails, covers the integral parts effectively and has easily withstood our winter snow and wind.

 

[Capn Grumpy]

Re: Winter Cover

Thanks to all who replied. I am re-thinking this.

 

[pogo2]

I had a custom cover made last year for my Newport 30, I should have had it done 6 years ago when I bought the boat. It has survived 70+ winds, hail ,snow & rain just fine. The cost was $2300, but if you figure the cost of shrink wrap at around $400 a season, and the cover will last 10+ years. Yester day a friend and myself installed the cover in less than one hour, and now its protected from 6" above the boom to 1 foot below the water line.