Winter storage again

[BandB]

Now, from some of the comments, it seems like the winter storage might consume more time than I expected. I hear "be there by November", and "you can be out by April or May". After doing a bit more digging on weather, once you get up into the great lakes area, the winter time frame gets pretty long, so the boat could be tied up 5 months. Besides, getting out too early, like mid to late March could be freezing cold. I don't want to tie the boat up for 5 months.

I'm rethinking this a bit... and considering a 1 year plan, and perhaps going back to closer areas like the east coast for a summer run. And I'd spend more time on the boat and skip a few travels that I had that would take 6 weeks or longer. Just a thought.

The extended boating season on the Great Lakes is May 1-Oct 15. Most boat a shorter time. What we did on the Loop was ran up the East Coast just in time to leave NYC when the Erie Canal opened. Last year that was May 1. We then used from May 1 to Sept 30 to boat on the lakes and left Chicago on October 15 to head south. Even on that schedule we hit some cold temperatures for brief periods on both the Erie and on the Illinois.

 

[Seevee]

The extended boating season on the Great Lakes is May 1-Oct 15. Most boat a shorter time. What we did on the Loop was ran up the East Coast just in time to leave NYC when the Erie Canal opened. Last year that was May 1. We then used from May 1 to Sept 30 to boat on the lakes and left Chicago on October 15 to head south. Even on that schedule we hit some cold temperatures for brief periods on both the Erie and on the Illinois.

Band,

Makes a lot of sense, and that would be easy to do for us, leaving in early March.

Did you continue all the way back to FL or did you tie it up for the winter somewhere south of Chicago?

I had a place in Kenosha, WI for about 25 years and spent a fair amount of time there. I did boating and water sports from April thru Nov 1 (when boats had to be off the lake... this was lake boating).

Occasionally it would freeze before Thanksgiving, which would make boating hard. However, other than a few weeks a year it was cool enough for a long sleeved shirt, and a shorty when windsurfing.

I wouldn't mind departing Chicago area Oct 15 and I know there will be cole. However, once down to the souther part of the state, it gets a LOT warmer.

Good info.... hate cold... think I'll hop in the jacuzzi.....

 

[BandB]

We continued down to the TN River and left the boat there for a while. Then cruised the TN River. Now going to cruise the Cumberland. Still wanting to cruise the Missouri, the Arkansas, the Ohio, the upper Mississippi, the TN Tom and the lower Mississippi. We have cruised the coastal areas several times. Not certain our plans after the Cumberland. May leave the boat on the TN so we can cruise more rivers next year or might bring it home then get more the next time we Loop. On the TN River you pick up more months of boating.

In NC we boated year round on the lake although the chances in January were slim. We've never stored a boat on land or winterized one.

 

[Libertexan]

As a newbie I really enjoyed reading this thread. Thank y'all for posting to it!!

 

[ssobol]

A lot of indoor storage places won't let you work on your boat when it is stored. Usually they cram them in, and if you're working on your boat and something goes wrong (e.g. fire), you could destroy a building full of boats. If your intention is to work on the boat over the winter, better make sure the place you choose allows it.

For me, that pretty much negates the benefit of storing it inside during the winter in the first place.

 

[Comodave]

The only thing my storage facility does not allow is sanding bottom paint indoors. Last winter I added a hardtop to the flybridge, fabricated flybridge enclosure, did many fiberglass repairs, sanded all non skid off decks, painted flybridge and cabin with 2 part poly paint, painted decks with Kiwigrip, sanded teak toe rail and finished it, added a stern thruster, did a lot of electrical work and some through hulls. This winter I am doing some fiberglass work on the hull and 2 part poly paint on hull, more teak sanding and refinishing, replacing 11 portholes with S/S ports, replacing the main AC/DC electrical panel and whatever else pops up. I couldn't get by without my indoor storage. Even when it is cold, I use a large propane heater and keep on working.

 

[Bigal6030]

This is the first year I had to pay for haul out, winterizing, shrink wrap. Outside storage has run me $2200. Not bad. Inside heated would have been $4000. 34' flybridge
Lake Michigan ar St. joe mich.

 

[Addie Kat]

We keep our boat at Winter Harbor Marina, Brewerton NY just past Oneida Lake. They have 2 state of the art massive buildings including sprinklers and Back up generators. Power or no power your boat will always be warm. The staff at this marina is incredible, and I would not store my boat anywhere else. There is something to be said for just needing to empty your fridge, remove your perishibles and your good to go for the winter months. Indoor heated is by far the way to go.

 

[Pgitug]

We keep our boat at Winter Harbor Marina, Brewerton NY just past Oneida Lake. They have 2 state of the art massive buildings including sprinklers and Back up generators. Power or no power your boat will always be warm. The staff at this marina is incredible, and I would not store my boat anywhere else. There is something to be said for just needing to empty your fridge, remove your perishibles and your good to go for the winter months. Indoor heated is by far the way to go.

️️️️️
[emoji106] Great organization

 

[Seevee]

A heated building sure seems like a convenient way to go, IF you have to store the boat for the winter.

After examining all of the storage options, I've decided against it for two major reasons:

One, it's costly..... enough money to motor to warmer locations.

Two, it's time consuming, tying the boat up for 5 or 6 months, about HALF of the usable time of the year.

I was smart enough to move out of ND really soon ( 6 weeks old), but made the mistake of stopping in the Chicago area for the next 21 years. But then headed for FL to warm up.

 

[Rufus]

Many large storage operations on Lake Michigan splash boats starting mid April and empty a huge building as fast as possible (Travel Lift dependent). If you don't have a seasonal slip in their associated marina, you have two or three days gratis in one of their transient slips, and then have to either get out of Dodge or pay their transient rate. An alternative if your boat was "last in" (first out) is to have them reposition your boat outside...then launch it later. There's a fee for that. Or if there's a space inside that's not in the way of emptying the building, they will reposition it inside...again, a fee to move and re block it. Basically, you have to plan around their launch schedule. We live in the South and keep the boat up north. I try to get the boat in the building right after Labor Day so that it's parked at the very back. That allows for a late Spring launch (late May) without having to reposition. By the way, there are a number of facilities with unheated indoor storage...a good alternative if you don't need or want to work on the boat over the winter.

 

[Seevee]

Rufus,
That was one of my issues.... little flexibility and a fee for everything. Just got discouraged. But, if one is "stuck" in the north and is a marina resident, they have a bit more choice.

When I had a Wisconsin operation, and did some boating up there, I was fortunate to have an aircraft hangar that would store my boat (heated). Worked well for a few years, but found myself spending more time in FL during the winter months from Aug thru June.

Seriously, there were a few very warm falls and a few times when WI was warmer than FL in Dec.

 

[Donsan]

A heated building sure seems like a convenient way to go, IF you have to store the boat for the winter.

After examining all of the storage options, I've decided against it for two major reasons:

One, it's costly..... enough money to motor to warmer locations.

Seevee, thought you were going to do the Great Loop. If you will be satisfied in doing the loop in a year, well, so be it. My thought is to do the loop in 3-4 years. We would leave the boat at a convenient marina or heated storage area so we could pick up the next zone in the spring. Heated storage costs for a winter won't differ much from the cost of a slip in FL and we avoid the cost or making a return round trip in the boat. There is a big time factor savings involved.

Two, it's time consuming, tying the boat up for 5 or 6 months, about HALF of the usable time of the year.

Certainly, the boat will be tied up in the winter but if we only do the winter storage thing for 2-3 seasons, there will be plenty of other years to enjoy FL in the winter.

 

[BandB]

Seevee, thought you were going to do the Great Loop. If you will be satisfied in doing the loop in a year, well, so be it. My thought is to do the loop in 3-4 years. We would leave the boat at a convenient marina or heated storage area so we could pick up the next zone in the spring. Heated storage costs for a winter won't differ much from the cost of a slip in FL and we avoid the cost or making a return round trip in the boat. There is a big time factor savings involved.

Certainly, the boat will be tied up in the winter but if we only do the winter storage thing for 2-3 seasons, there will be plenty of other years to enjoy FL in the winter.

The idea of sacrificing half the year of boating for multiple years is difficult for me to deal with. I'd rather loop multiple times. The loop doesn't have to be in a year to fit, can take as long as 15 or 18 months. The only restriction is NY to Chicago must be completed in 5 months.

Now, admittedly, we've never winterized a boat and shut one down for months, not when we lived in NC and certainly not in FL. For others, that's a common and easy to deal with approach.

 

[Donsan]

How far north would one have to go to encounter facilities with heated (climate controlled) winter storage for yachts? I know they exist in NY and MI but how about NC or VA?