Outdoor winter storage

[mikebu]

Any tips for outdoor winter storage here in rainy seattle? I have a evolution cover and a container of that moisture absorbing stuff. This weekend I'll be doing my best to make sure it is dried out.

Do people rollup their ballast bags?

Should I leave the seat cushions in place, popped open, or take them out?

Is 1 container of the moisture absorbing stuff enough, should I have more then 1?

Should I be pulling the cover off periodically when the weather turns sunny?

Should I pull the batteries out and then remove the drain plug?


Thanks,
Mike

[RobertJ]

Mike,

I store mine outdoors in rainy Salem. I purchased a Costco portable garage, 10' x 20' about $200. This keeps the rain and sun off the boat. Be sure to anchor it down because the blow away like big kites, trust me. I do bring as much viynl as possible into the garage and I disconnect the battery with my battery switch.

I use an stay-dry product in the boat as well. Good luck and get one of those Costco garages and anchor it down well. The other cool thing about the Costco cover is that you can work on winter boat projects and stay dry. I made the legs 4 feet taller on my cover so I can back in with the tower upright.

No mold in my boat since I got the went to storing it this way.

[kaneboats]

Sounds pretty smart to me. I saw an ad for a portable garage today in the Harbor Freight Tools flyer. I think it's also online at harborfreightusa.com.

[jester]

Mike,

I store mine outdoors in rainy Salem. I purchased a Costco portable garage, 10' x 20' about $200. This keeps the rain and sun off the boat. Be sure to anchor it down because the blow away like big kites, trust me. I do bring as much viynl as possible into the garage and I disconnect the battery with my battery switch.

I use an stay-dry product in the boat as well. Good luck and get one of those Costco garages and anchor it down well. The other cool thing about the Costco cover is that you can work on winter boat projects and stay dry. I made the legs 4 feet taller on my cover so I can back in with the tower upright.

No mold in my boat since I got the went to storing it this way.


Robert,

What did you use to make it 4 feet taller? Do you have an Pic's?

[Razzman]

I also have the costco garage, but at almost 24' with the toungue folded it doesn't fit. I made an "addition" to the garage by using chain link fence top rail and added on to the garage in a semi leanto fashion by 5'. Covered it with a temp tarp and now it's 25'! I'm having a permanent canvas cover fitted with a 'D' door in the rear for access. FYI: the costco garage is well made for $200, you can't go wrong as it has front rear doors and side curtains w/ windows in case you wanna let the sun in!

[RobertJ]

Jester,

I was able to slip galvined pipe inside the existing legs. I don't rember the exact size but it was a super tight fit and I pushed the leg extension 4 feet into the existing legs. I then drilled a hole through both pipes and put a stainless bolt with a nylock. Works great and no wobble. The vinyl panels are now 4 feet of the ground. This works great for air flow, you could add some lower panels if you need to.

By the way this extra height makes the shelter even that much more of a kite. I have it anchored very well and it has survived some ugly wind (60+ mph) rain and even a little snow. My first one flew away before I anchored and lifted it. 4:00am in the morning and up, up away over my fence on to the top of my car in the driveway.

I would love to post pictures but I need to go to posting school because I have not been able to figure it out.

[zegm]

Hey that portable garage sounds great but I can not locate it on the Costco site. Do you have the correct name or brand?

[RobertJ]

Zegm,

Costco item number 240681. It is not available at Costco.com but it should be something in you local Costco.

P.S. They are really cool just don't forget to anchor it. I am sure in Florida the winds might get a little stronger then the Northwest.

[maxpower220]

I have shrink wrapped a boat for the winter a few times. I did the regular winterize to the boat and engine. Then prop up the seats, put in a moisture absorber, and wrap it. You can usually find a company to do one big sheet or I got a roll of wrap from a packing company and made several passes with it. It took about 30-45 mins. the first time and 10 the second time I did it. I left the plug in the bottom the second time and out the first time. After it was wrapped, I put a cheap ($60) cover from Walmart on the boat. It covered the wrap and the sides of the boat. The boat smelled brand new 4 months later when I opened it (it was a new boat that year). Total cost for the wrap was about $15.
This is a little different than a tent.

[Sled491]

I have one of those portable garages out at my lake property. I use it as a regular garage out there, but they make great shelters, mine is going on 4 yrs old and is still in like 85% condition. This past winter I had almost 3 ft of snow up the sides with no failure. My boat is probably going in the garage at home this winter so it's accesible for projects (new graphics hint hint), but if I put if over at our warehouse I will buy another one of those shelters to help protect her from the elements, for sure.

[Garn]

Two questions.

First, how do you anchor the portable garage into the ground? I like that idea but it would be going up on an asphalt driveway.

Second, what is "that moisture absorbing stuff?"

Garn

[RobertJ]

The moisture absorbing stuff is called Stay-Dri or something similar. It is a desicant similar to the small packets you find in a new shoe box. It is a mineral that attracts moisture out of the air.

Also, I was able to anchor my portable garage by using concrete pier blocks from Lowe's. I did not want to drill into my RV pad so I bought the pier blocks and mounted the feet that come with the garage to the blocks. To do this I used some 1/4" x 3" redhead concrete bolts. You first drill the correct size hole in the pier block and then insert the redhead into the hole and tighten it up.

If you live in a real windy area and you don't think the pier blocks will be heavy enough you can make some larger flower pots and fill them with concrete and anchor the same way. You could even put a little soil on top plant some flowers and make it pretty.

After my first one blew away I was a little skittish and straped the framework of the garage to my boat trailer. This works great for the winter, just dont forget to unstrap it.

[Razzman]

Dry stuff: Save your money and buy an ultra absorbant kitty litter and a litter pan, plan in center of boat on a towel and cover boat. Or, take a bunch of old white socks and fill with kitty litter and tie off the ends, place around boat and in lockers. Works like a charm

Garage anchoring: I drilled into the concrete pavers of the side yard patio with a hammer drill at each leg. I then took 24" rebar i bought at home depot and bent over one end in the vise, hammered into the ground through the leg holes. Hasn't moved yet.

[Sled491]

Kitty litter, if it works what a great idea. As for the anchors as mine is on soil I used the big screw in wind anchors. They screw into the ground about 20" then have a big eye at the top which you use to fasten the shelter to. But I see no reason why you couldn't ratchet strap the frome work to your trailer for the winter, that would be a great idea.

[jester]

Now Kitty litter sounds like a great idea. Does the kitty litter leave a smell at the end of winter or can i keep my new boat smell?

[pmoomba]

Older thread but I had some questions. I may be keeping an Outback V outside this year. I'm going to see what I can do about either finding something indoor or at a temporary shelter (costco or other style) but in the event that it's just outdoors I had some questions.

- Shrink wrapping. I assume there are no problems doing this with a tower? Someone above mentioned getting wrap from a shipping company and applying the wrap DIY. Anyone else do this? Is it just the fact of wrapping the boat with it or is there anything more to it? (heat, vacuum, etc?). If you just wrapped it yourself how do you make sure it's properly ventilated?

- After it's shrink wrapped is it fine to just throw a cover/tarp on it for another layer of protection? Do I need to do anything in terms of ventilation between the two layers? After that is there anything to do other then make sure I get the snow off it after it snows (and no water settling)?

- Keeping it dry - anyone have more feedback on either kitty litter or other options?

- How about any trailer protection? I suppose a bigger tarp over the wrapping could also cover the trailer. Are there any other trailer preventative measures?

Anything else I should do if keeping the boat outside for the winter? (apart from traditional winteraztion).

Thanks

[WaterBullDawg1980]

Shrink wrap huh? Hadnt heard this one before. Be interested to see if anyone has any comments.

[Razzman]

A few answers here;

Kitty Litter; Works amazingly well and doesn't leave an odor. Another great use is to use it to dry out electronics. Dropped my blackberry in the pool a few years back so i took the back off and placed it on a paper towel in a small box of litter and closed the lid. Next morning the phone worked as new and no moisture was present.

Shrink wrapping is very, very expensive. I checked into it once and was quoted around $500 to do a previous boat. Uh I don't think so.

Costo Shelter; works very well but you have to anchor deep at all poles for wind. Here's a couple of pics showing the extension. Right side curtain not on in this pic.

[RobertJ]

Razz, I like your back extension. I extended my legs 3' 6" and I can keep the tower up while the boat is in it. I also used pier blocks to achor the foot pads. I took the factory feet and used concrete wedge anchors to attach the feet to the pier block.

[pmoomba]

I've seen shrink wrapping quotes from 12-13$/foot, or say maybe $270 for a 20-21 ft Outback V. Would definitely vary by size of boat and maybe more expensive in other places. I've seen a few places to get the material/tools online but not sure if there are any major disadvantages to doing it yourself. That's still not "cheap" but depending on options may be a lot cheaper than indoor storage (I was quoted at one local place at $75/month for outdoor, if that was my only option I'd be wrapped in the backyard anyway).

I got a few leads on a few local places with barns/garages that might have room and be pretty cheap, and hope to get lucky there. One marina about an hour from me is maybe $18/ft for the season of winter storage indoors. That's more expensive than getting it wrapped near me but not by much. If the local places don't work out I might just do that instead of getting it wrapped and sitting out in the backyard.

[brenpire]

I used to get my LSV "shrink wrapped". Shrink wrap and winterization cost me about $300. A guy who used to work at the marina did it for me. After the first year i felt bad about all plastic that went to waste. the second year my boat was full of black mold and leaves. 2 days to clean. i still cant get all the spots off the seats.

Last year i erected a Costo shelter. ShelterLogic - you may be able to buy direct - shelterlogic.com. I got a 12ft x 24ft x 10ft. item # 143927 (not sure if that's costco's number of shelterlogic) . Cost me $800 cdn, deliverd to my house. Best invstment so far. Boat fits in with the tower up. (I take it down to get in). Nice, Dry and warm. All I need to do in the spring is tow the boat to the lake.

If you have the space for it. Get a Shelter! mold sucks. apparently shrink wraping is a great way to rush engine components as well.

Good luck.