Winterin gover

[Carl]

As the soon-to-be new owner of a Catalina 310, I was intially planning to store my boat over the winter on a rotating basis; one year in the water (NJ Marina), next year hauled out and stored on dry land. But now I'm starting to have second thoughts due mostly to wear and tear on the boat kept in water all winter.Obvioulsy, a 310 is not trailerable so I can't just take it home at the end of the season.Can you share your opinions and experience with winter storage? What are the pros and cons of winter storage on dry land every year vs every other year? What do you do and why?Thanks!Carl

 

[Ernie A]

Hauling may reduce chance of blisters

Hey, Carl--One of the advantages of hauling out is that the bottom gets to dry out over a few months. Some feel that this lowers the chance of osmotic blistering. Bottom line is that it's far cheaper to haul out annually that to have to deal with a bad case of blisters.A good canvas cover also helps by allowing the boat to breath. They can last well over ten years so are rather cost effective. I've had terrific experience on two boats with covers by Fairclough Sailmakers of West Haven, CT. <a href="http://www.fairclough.com/">Fariclough Sailmakers></a>Cheers--Ernie April

 

[Ernie A]

Sorry, url messed up

www.fairclough.com<a href="http://www.fairclough.com">www.fairclough.com</a>

 

[Dick of the Sylvan]

Winter Storage in the Rockies

My Cat 22 is stored on land near Fremont Lake, Wyoming. The lake is at 7400 ft elev. and freezes about 2 ft plus every winter. Our only choice is to store on dry land. We lay the mast down on top of the cabin, and cover everything well as it is exposed to something like 3 feet of snow, plus some strong wind. Also orient the boat so the cockpit drains well when snow melts. Only problem we've had is a little damage to spreaders from weight of snow/ice on the cover. This winter am trying with the mast on top of the cover. Dick