Winter wet storage

KD3PC · Nov 13, 2010

would be a no brainer for me...leave the boat in the water and be ready to sail if there is a good weather window...

bonus of saving $1000 on storage/fees

dscribner · Nov 13, 2010

Buy a trailer and keep her in your yard. A Cat 25 on a trailer is about 9000 lbs so a buddy with an F250 can get her home.

dscribner · Nov 13, 2010

Oops! I was thinking Cat 27! Probably more like 6000 lbs on the trailer. Maybe even less. My F105 tows my Lancer 25 no problem. Boat and trailer are about 5000 lbs.

shemandr · Nov 13, 2010

We're neighbors in terms of climate and freezing issues. Does your creek freeze? In colder winters many do. The bubblizers work well but I would have a concern if the power fails in a storm.
I do know someone who keeps a Seafarer 23 in the water every year. No bubblizer or anything. He has done this for many years. His boat has round bliges and he claims when ice forms around it, the ice merely lifts it up and when the ice melts its lets it back down. His boat doesn't have a high monetary value but I do enjoy those early season sails on it.
You are in the city during the week? Is there someone who can check on your boat? My friend lives in walking distance of his and checks it frequently for problems. Your situation may be different.
Brick Cove Marina in Greenport offers in water storage which is another option. Management lives on the premises and can offer some degree of supervision.
Had a great sail today - love those late season bonuses.

shemandr · Nov 13, 2010

Oh, and in regard to the power boat, there are many mobile services who will come to your driveway and winterize, shrinkwrap or provide whatever other service you need. You can look in LI Boating magazine or seek referrals.

tommays · Nov 13, 2010

Well we are back to having REAL winters with REAL snow

I think its a bad idea and a really bad idea if your not near the boat

petersea · Nov 14, 2010

As far as your outboard goes they are pretty simple to winterize, read the manual, they self drain as far as the water system is concerned and some, not sure about the e tech, will even self fog the carbs and cylinders. If you can winterize the outboard for the sailboat you can winterize the e tech engine. As far as the sail boat removing the motor and storing it at home is a good option. Bubble-rs are pretty common in this area but depending on how extreme cold and tides may not even be needed. Only suggestion is to make sure the bilge pump is winterized and all thru hulls are drained so they don't freeze. Cockpit drains will need to be keep free of dirt and leaves etc so maybe covering the cockpit with a tarp would be a good idea as it will help keep snow and rain out. Another concern is where are you with the bottom paint on the sailboat is it going to need redone this spring ?? most of the time there is very little cost advantage to leaving a boat in the water over the winter only to do a short haul in the spring ,check your local cost. All that said I would store both boats on trailers in my back yard or driveway (lowest cost)if that was an option. Only other thought............ I have never seen a boat sink in the driveway ! !

Alan · Nov 14, 2010

I wet store every other winter. I haul out only for bottom job and any other below waterline maintenance. I've never used a bubbler but I know plenty of folks who do, they seem to do the job just fine. I'm thinking about buying a trailer for the winter layup. At around $8K it's a big nut but it will end those yard bills and I do have a site I own to store for the winter. When winter storage was under $1K it really didn't pay but now that the rates are jumping up and approaching $2K the trailer is starting to be a reasonable option.

Warren Milberg · Nov 14, 2010

Lots of stuff in the archives about this topic. Here is one I posted a few years ago on this recurring subject:
Re: In-water winter storage?
Top

I wouldn't keep my boat in the water over the winter if it were free. Last winter -- admittedly an "unusual" winter here -- we had around 4 ft of snow. If my boat was in the water, that would have been 4 ft of snow on the boat. That's a lot of weight, all of it pushing downward. Yikes. Bubblers do work great in keeping ice from forming around your boat's waterline -- until they don't work at all. And, they tend to not work when you most need them, like duirng a heavy snow or ice storm and the power goes out. The one year I did leave my boat in the water, it also snowed a lot. I had a hard time getting to the marina with the intent of cleaning off the snow. When I got to the marina, it was not plowed. I trudged in knee deep snow to the piers. Getting down the piers covered with ice and snow was dangerous. When I got to the boat, I realized I could not get the frozen snow off the boat.

Whether it is less expensive to keep a boat in the water over a cold winter than having it hauled is not dissimilar to how one thinks about hauling before a hurricane hits. Its only cheaper if you have no damage. Yet I know lots of other boaters who do winter over in the water here and have never had any damage. The prime difference between what they do, and what I do (get hauled) is that I constantly worried about the boat when it was in the water over the winter. So, at least for me, sitting out the winter on the hard is worth it.

shemandr · Nov 14, 2010

Not to be argumentative but I have seen boats, not sink in a driveway, but fall off their boat stands that sank in the mud, and trailer wheels sink in mud requiring a professional boat mover to recover. Those problems weren't a cheap to fix. My only point is that home storage is not always problem free. Not to mention the landscaping issues.
For the record I store my boat on the hard, in a boatyard, with a canvas cover on it. I just think there are other options for others who have different expectations. Winter storage is getting expensive, mine rivals my summer dockage. And I'm increasingly fustrated with rules that are DYI unfriendly or shorten my sailing season. And don't even get me started about launch dates.

dscribner · Nov 14, 2010

I still say trailer her yourself. Is it possible that she'll fall over? I guess, but I've never had a problem in my gravel driveway with my 25 footer. I think it would be best to consider the size of the boat. We're not talking about a 13000 lb boat. This boat is basically trailerable except for the keel. Even at that, I've seen a 23 footer with a deep keel (had to be 5 feet) launched and retrieved at a public launch. My baby is snug in her blanket for the long winter's nap, right next to my F150. I can watch her, work on her or sleep in her (better that the dog house). All it cost me is a new tarp to tailor for the cover and a few PVC fittings because I did such a lousy job of it last year. Now, if I had a 30 footer, that's a whole different ball of wax, fraught with problems and graced with benefits that I can't presently enjoy.

RAD · Nov 14, 2010

My previous boat a Bristol 24 stayed in the the water for three years then short hauled for a two coat paint job and zincs were replaced every July while anchored at the beach,the new owner followed the same plan and the bottom didn't look too bad after all that time in the water.
My 32 ODay lived two winters in the water and I can say one season after a power failure during a storm and another very heavy snow storm it was very nerve racking.....had to bust up ice with a long heavy metal bar and the second storm filled the cockpit up and then froze to a block of ice and I had to leave a heater on underneath to defrost it so for an extra 600 dollars it's worth the piece of mind plus getting more hull work done while on the hard
I do miss those winter sails on nice days...it would take one gallon of antifreeze to re winterize my raw water system on those days

estopa · Nov 14, 2010

Have you ever seen anyone trailler a 30+ size boat? Just wondering if people do that. I've seen people get them delivered to there property and put on boat stands but wondering if people trailer that size boat like a 22-25 sized boat.

petersea · Nov 15, 2010

estopa said:
Have you ever seen anyone trailler a 30+ size boat? Just wondering if people do that. I've seen people get them delivered to there property and put on boat stands but wondering if people trailer that size boat like a 22-25 sized boat.

Most owners of 30 foot plus boats do not trailer them, most don't have the capability to do so even if they wanted to do it. Professional boat movers can move them almost anywhere you want for a cost.

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Nov 15, 2010

Not only that...

Special "oversized load" permits are required to trailer anything longer than 25' or wider than 8'. I've known people who've gotten away with trailering 26-27' x 9-10' boats without ever getting permits, but only because the boat/trailer didn't LOOK big enough to need one, but that's about the biggest you can get away with.

And then there's all that has to be done to take down and restep the masts on a 30' + boat...'cuz no sailboat can be trailered with the mast up unless it's a short route with no overpasses.

So it really isn't practical to trailer a boat bigger than about 26' except to move it and set it somewhere...and hiring a hauler to do that might be less expensive than winter dry storage in a boatyard.

wrbeglin · Nov 15, 2010

I keep my Beneteau 323 in every winter in a marina in Indiana. I bought a custom cover from 'The Canvas Store' that completely covers it. The marina puts bubblers under the boats and I've never had a problem and enjoyed a much longer sailing season. I follow the same winterizing procedures for the water system and engine as when it's pulled. I only re-paint the bottom about every 2-3 years. http://www.thecanvasstore.com/Wintercover.html

catsailor · Nov 15, 2010

shemandr said:
Not to be argumentative but I have seen boats, not sink in a driveway, but fall off their boat stands that sank in the mud, and trailer wheels sink in mud requiring a professional boat mover to recover. Those problems weren't a cheap to fix. My only point is that home storage is not always problem free. Not to mention the landscaping issues.
For the record I store my boat on the hard, in a boatyard, with a canvas cover on it. I just think there are other options for others who have different expectations. Winter storage is getting expensive, mine rivals my summer dockage. And I'm increasingly fustrated with rules that are DYI unfriendly or shorten my sailing season. And don't even get me started about launch dates.

In 25 years of boating, the only insurance claim I ever had was for hull damage from poor blocking (heavy snow followed by rain, about 15 years ago). The other 24 years were in the water without ill effect. I do live about 1 hour from my boat, but I do check on her about every 2 weeks, which seems about right. Sometimes I can go sailing, if it's nice, other times I just mess about and check on things. Maybe a small interior project. It's theropy.

This past winter? A poorly maintained power boat sank next to me; he did not have a proper sump pump. Everyone else was fine. Yes, walking on the docks was a bit sporty at times. Shoveling snow? Not really needed, but a very small plastic shovel is best. A frozen drain? Some warm (not hot) water will fix that in a jiffy. What about the tender, on davits? Trice up under it and fit a cover to keep most of the snow off. I missed 3 weeks of sailing, when the water was a bit too hard to get out.

I would really miss not being able to sail on so many good days. Such a waste.

This is regarding the mid-Chesapeake of course; I won't speak for any other area.