Winter Storage: Mast Up or Down?

[catalanc]

I'm considering a boat cover vs. shrink wrap for the long winter sleep (I know, I know ... way too early to be talking about winter).

I am looking at one made by ShipShape products, which has been recommended by folks on this forum. The issue is that they are designed for covering with the mast up; I would de-mast for shrink wrap storage. What are the collective thoughts about leaving your mast and rigging exposed over the winter?

I live in Dillon Colorado. Average lows are 0˚F-ish, though can get much colder. Ski country so we get lots of snow.

Thanks for the thoughts ...
carlos

 

[Dswinnick]

Good Question!

I live on Cape Cod and this is our first year with an 18ft. Catalina Capris...same question....does mast come down? do we shrink wrap? any other winter storage suggestions? Should I wash the sails after they come down? If yes, in what?

I'm considering a boat cover vs. shrink wrap for the long winter sleep (I know, I know ... way too early to be talking about winter).

I am looking at one made by ShipShape products, which has been recommended by folks on this forum. The issue is that they are designed for covering with the mast up; I would de-mast for shrink wrap storage. What are the collective thoughts about leaving your mast and rigging exposed over the winter?

I live in Dillon Colorado. Average lows are 0˚F-ish, though can get much colder. Ski country so we get lots of snow.

Thanks for the thoughts ...
carlos

 

[Loubert]

I am now on my second winter cover from ShipShape and highly recommend their product. We sail on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin and masts on all boats are left up for years. About the only time anyone takes their mast down is for major work.

I think a lot of it depends on where the boats get stored. Ours are all stored pretty close to the water and there are no power lines or other obstructions, so the masts can stay up.

 

[MitchM]

for 30 years we have stored mast up under a custom winter cover. i made the first cover for our 30 ft seafarer out of $500 of Boattop , using a Sailrite heavy-duty sewing machine. when we sold the boat 18 years later, the cover was still in fine shape. we now have a custom cover for our 33 ft boat, stored mast up, which cover is supported by a metal frame that bolts together. we've saved a fair amount of money over the years by having a custom cover (and not filling landfills with that hideous blue plastic each year. )

 

[quadrille38]

Have stored mast up for over 20 years and 3 different boats.
It takes less space and the yard prefers that. Mast removal and re stepping can add several hundred dollars to the haul out fees.

That and added potential for damage to the mast and rigging the more you handle it makes leaving it up make sense.

Have a custom canvas winter cover. It's fitted around the mast has zippers and can be put on in approximately 1 hour working alone.

I'd never use shrink wrap. Had a bad experience with the Catalina 34 we bought where previous owners had it shrink wrapped. When we bought the boat and removed the wrap there was mildew all over the inside of the cabin. The wrap held heat and humidity in.

Shrink wrap isn't cheap and it's a one time use. My first custom canvas cover made by White Lake Canvas lasted 12 years and cost under $1,000 so less than $100 a year. Shrink wrap will easily exceed that.

17 years later we bought the Hunter 38 and one of the first things we placed an order for was a custom winter cover. Inflation and bigger boat obviously ran price higher but still cheaper than annual shrink wrap.


You will want to secure halyards so they don't beat themselves to pieces over the winter. I actually attach a messenger line and pull them all the way up so that lines are inside the mast. That way they don't slap and are out of the sun.

 

[Claygr]

When we first bought our boat, I was persuaded by another boat owner to store with the mast down. The arguments in favor were two-fold - 1) you have the opportunity every year to inspect your rigging, change lights, re-tape pins, etc., and 2) he thought it was better for the boat because the impact of wind on the mast - unlike the water, a boat cannot move in the cradle in response to wind forces. We had our winter cover made with the mast down so we were committed.

I think the primary argument against is cost - you need to pay the yard each year to unstep and restep the mast. A secondary argument is the damage that can happen to the mast and to a lesser extent the boom and the boat during the unstepping process. You need to make sure your yard knows what they are doing. Another secondary argument is the hassle factor - unrigging and re-rigging the boat adds several hours to the storage and commissioning process.

With our second boat, we had our winter cover made for the mast up. Our second boat is bigger than our first but the storage cost actually is less. It now is a much simpler process to put the boat away and get her launched in the Spring. We took the mast down this past Spring to install radar so we had the opportunity to inspect everything. My plan is to do so every three or four years.

I personally think shrink wrap is awful - bad for the boat, bad for the environment, bad for you in terms of cost. I can't think of a thing in its favor other than its short term cost, but even there I would save myself real money and wrap a boat in tarps if I only intended to keep it for less than the return on investment from a winter cover. We have a winter cover from the Canvas Store that we love. No internal frame and the cover material is light enough in color that we can easily see underneath in the winter. It has made it through two tough Wisconsin winters without any evidence of damage.