Winter storage again

I've been beating the winter storage thing over a bit and have some questions.

First, I find it quite expensive, and for a 40 ft trawler in the $4 to $5 thousand range for a heated facility.

If one goes with outside storage, the cost is down in the $2 to $3K range. That means one could accept ~$2 of losses and break even.

How many of you do outside storage for the winter..... issues?

How many do inside unheated storage?

And how many do inside heated storage?


And, for outside, how good is the benefit of shrink-wrapping?

Other thoughts?


This Florida boy needs some good info on winter storage......

Thanks!

I store my boat outside and shrink wrapped. Here the wrap is necessary because of the snow and ice. Benefit of indoor storage is that you can work on your boat if needed and no need to winterized if heated. It is possible to work in the wrapped boat in spring but depends on what you need.
I had no issue with outdoor storage.


L.

Where is your boat?

Last year I put mine on land for about $325 (or so) per month and I believe this included electric hookup so I could keep my dehumidifiers and little heaters running. This was in Anacortes, WA

I shrink wrapped and I think that was roughly $2500.
If you are going to keep the boat long term a whole boat cover would pay for itself relatively quickly.

We did a lot of work on the boat thru the winter, ran the Kabola heater a lot and this kept it quite nice inside.

Issue with boat cover is that, at least here, most marina will tell you that if you use your own, you will need to take care of it, that is to say that if it is damaged by wind they won't care. More if the cover flys in the wind and is subject to touch other boats, they will remove it. I have one cover but will use it only indoor for dust if one day I store indoor

This is what I wrote over on the Mainship Yahoo site on the subject of shrink wrapping:

"There is something of a debate about shrink wrapping. Some say that you have to keep all snow off of the boat so that melting snow won't get in cracks around stanchions, freeze and crack the laminate. I don't do that and only shrink wrap the aft third of my P34 to keep snow out of the cockpit. I also trip the breaker that feeds the aft bilge pump as snow melt can get in the bilge, freeze and when the water level gets high enough to turn on the pump it will either run down the battery or damage the pump.

If I had a flybridge trawler I probably wound shrink wrap the whole boat."

But you must be talking about somewhere north to worry about heated storage and have prices that high. Even so last year I kept my Pilot 34 in a low cost yard in Connecticut for the winter for $1,200 including partial shrink wrap.

David

While it costs more, I found that taking it to FL each winter was a more enjoyable solution.

Ted

Speaking about price it cost me around 1500CAD for outdoor storage, full wrap and winterization included. Indoor heated my marina would bill me a bit more but not so much more as there is no need for winterization nor wrap.

L.

Seevee said:

I've been beating the winter storage thing over a bit and have some questions.

First, I find it quite expensive, and for a 40 ft trawler in the $4 to $5 thousand range for a heated facility.

If one goes with outside storage, the cost is down in the $2 to $3K range. That means one could accept ~$2 of losses and break even.

How many of you do outside storage for the winter..... issues?

How many do inside unheated storage?

And how many do inside heated storage?


And, for outside, how good is the benefit of shrink-wrapping?

Other thoughts?


This Florida boy needs some good info on winter storage......

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Where are you talking about doing this?

ktdtx said:

Where is your boat?

Last year I put mine on land for about $325 (or so) per month and I believe this included electric hookup so I could keep my dehumidifiers and little heaters running. This was in Anacortes, WA

I shrink wrapped and I think that was roughly $2500.
If you are going to keep the boat long term a whole boat cover would pay for itself relatively quickly.

We did a lot of work on the boat thru the winter, ran the Kabola heater a lot and this kept it quite nice inside.

Click to expand...

In FL, but doing the loop 2018/19.
$325 is dirt cheap, but haven't found that, yet... Need to look a bit harder.

Lou_tribal said:

Speaking about price it cost me around 1500CAD for outdoor storage, full wrap and winterization included. Indoor heated my marina would bill me a bit more but not so much more as there is no need for winterization nor wrap.

L.

Click to expand...

Lou,

Where are you located? That sounds pretty reasonable.

BandB said:

Where are you talking about doing this?

Click to expand...

My boat is in FL and planning on the loop over 2 years, leaving it "somewhere up north" in the winter of 2018/19. I don't know where.

The quotes I've been getting are pretty brutal, ranging up over $4K to $6K, but for a heated storage. If outside and wrapped would work in the $2 or $3 range, that would probably work.

I've actually thought of spending the first summer in the Chesapeake area and back tracking to warmer water for the winter where a freeze is unlikely, but not sure about that.

For $6K I'd just consider doing the loop in one year, and perhaps going back up part way to visit the east coast and Chesapeake area later.

Part of the problem is I have some other activities that will take 5 or 6 weeks out of my summer next year, which makes a dent in the loop traveling.

I hate cold. Sold my Wisconsin operation and glad to be rid of it.

Seevee said:

Lou,



Where are you located? That sounds pretty reasonable.

Click to expand...

The boat is in Hawkesbury Ontario. If you plan to do the loop you will pass just in front except if you skip the Rideau and Ottawa part in what case you would really miss something!

L.

Seevee said:

My boat is in FL and planning on the loop over 2 years, leaving it "somewhere up north" in the winter of 2018/19. I don't know where.

The quotes I've been getting are pretty brutal, ranging up over $4K to $6K, but for a heated storage. If outside and wrapped would work in the $2 or $3 range, that would probably work.

I've actually thought of spending the first summer in the Chesapeake area and back tracking to warmer water for the winter where a freeze is unlikely, but not sure about that.

For $6K I'd just consider doing the loop in one year, and perhaps going back up part way to visit the east coast and Chesapeake area later.

Part of the problem is I have some other activities that will take 5 or 6 weeks out of my summer next year, which makes a dent in the loop traveling.

I hate cold. Sold my Wisconsin operation and glad to be rid of it.

Click to expand...

Our decisions had nothing to do with the cost of winter storage. We just had no desire to go through it. We chose to do the East Coast at a different time than the loop. That way you can see the entire coast and enjoy. I'd either do it the year before or year after.

Then the year of the loop, I'd want to start on the Erie when they open it and have from May through August/September to spend between there and Chicago. Then you can come down from there and be fine the rest of the way. We stopped on the TN River and kept the boat there, but the TN Tom and the Gulf Coast could just as easily have been done by us.

You have all the time in the world to explore the east coast and to explore the SE, Bahamas, and Gulf Coast. It's from NYC to Chicago that is time sensitive. We moved from FL to NYC in April.

Worton Creek Marina on the upper Eastern shore of the Chesapeake charges $28.50/ft for outside winter storage, including hauling, blocking and a pressure wash. It's a very good, but not fancy, working marina. I don't recall what I paid Schuman's Cleaning Services on Kent Island for shrink wrap, but it was reasonable and lasted two years while we did a partial refit. Other than a water pipe that burst because I neglected to drain it, there was no damage.

We store in an unheated barn. It costs about $1400 for the haul, power wash and winter storage. I do the winterizing myself.

Seevee said:

My boat is in FL and planning on the loop over 2 years, leaving it "somewhere up north" in the winter of 2018/19. I don't know where.

The quotes I've been getting are pretty brutal, ranging up over $4K to $6K, but for a heated storage. If outside and wrapped would work in the $2 or $3 range, that would probably work.

I've actually thought of spending the first summer in the Chesapeake area and back tracking to warmer water for the winter where a freeze is unlikely, but not sure about that.

For $6K I'd just consider doing the loop in one year, and perhaps going back up part way to visit the east coast and Chesapeake area later.

Click to expand...

If it were me, I would bite the bullet for heated winter storage as a one time cost. If you were wintering year after year in the same area, developing the procedures to winterizing the boat, engines, generator, heads, freshwater system, and everything I've forgotten is worth it in long-term savings. Since you don't live there, if there were to be a problem, you're kind of at the mercy of the local yard. Then there's the issue of the lost time fixing whatever froze /broke. On a trip like this, time is everything. Heated storage, followed by a few days of prep in the spring, is the way to go.

Ted

O C Diver said:

If it were me, I would bite the bullet for heated winter storage as a one time cost. If you were wintering year after year in the same area, developing the procedures to winterizing the boat, engines, generator, heads, freshwater system, and everything I've forgotten is worth it in long-term savings. Since you don't live there, if there were to be a problem, you're kind of at the mercy of the local yard. Then there's the issue of the lost time fixing whatever froze /broke. On a trip like this, time is everything. Heated storage, followed by a few days of prep in the spring, is the way to go.

Ted

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I agree with you and there is heated winter storage available along the way. I'd just be sure to schedule it well in advance to be sure to get it. I think of the Sandusky area as an excellent place to store. Plenty of yards and equipment to handle a decent sized boat. I know HOTY, which owns several of the major marinas there offers it, as does Craft and as does Sandusky Harbor. It's a great area to stop with a lot to do there and easy flying in and out of Cleveland.

Seevee said:

How many of you do outside storage for the winter..... issues?

Click to expand...

Three out of every four years, we winterize the boat and leave it in the water (annual slip), no shrink wrap. No big deal.

OTOH, we're close enough to check it often, and I can go turn on the de-icer when necessary... as for example when the marina freezes in...

The fourth year, we winterize and haul/block/store in the marina yard. Don't remember fees, something $$ per month...

-Chris

If doing the loop, the delta of $2-3k might be hardly noticed.

Some could absorb that in anchoring out more and eating out less.

So I would opt for heated storage knowing that unless something really bad happened to the facility, when I returned to my boat, it would be ready to go (almost).

I go for the heat. What about latent moisture around window/door frames and decks? With the freeze/thaw cycles and the associated expansion and contraction couldn't it cause problems down the line? For one season, I think I spend the $s.

A hint, consider winterizing your vessel even if in a heated "Northern" storage building. A few days of no building power can happen.

I store inside in an unheated building with a dirt floor. It costs me about $2,000 a year for the storage plus an additional $500 for haul/launch and pressure launch. My boat is 33' and I would never store it inside in heated storage. I also store my 36' sailboat outside. I pay about $2,100 for haul/launch, unstep/step spars (ketch) and pressure wash.

Winter storage in the northland

One thing to keep in mind with winter storage is that you are on the yard schedule. Many facilities, both indoor and outdoor, pack boats like sardines. The only space between boats is for travel lift or hydraulic trailer. Boats first in are last out. I looked at a boat in Sandusky, huge converted plywood factory. I was there in March but because of the boat location in the building, it was not scheduled for launch until mid May. You may be able to negotiate an arrival date, "last in", that will get you out on an earlier date. When I lived in Minnesota our launch target was April 15 but was could be subject to river flood levels.

sunchaser said:

A hint, consider winterizing your vessel even if in a heated "Northern" storage building. A few days of no building power can happen.

Click to expand...

The modern storage facilities use well insulated buildings. It might take as much as a week to overcome the heat mass in the building and heat coming out of the ground through the concrete floor. The two buildings I looked at both had multiple heaters and a standby generator.

Ted

O C Diver said:

The modern storage facilities use well insulated buildings. It might take as much as a week to overcome the heat mass in the building and heat coming out of the ground through the concrete floor. The two buildings I looked at both had multiple heaters and a standby generator.

Ted

Click to expand...

Sounds great if you can find them as you describe. As others have mentioned and my experiences show, avoiding the need for heated winter storage in the inland North can be avoided if one so chooses.

Some storage places along the upper Mississippi get flooded with loss of power well before freezing conditions are gone. So storage in a "safe" locale is much prized.

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.

I will assume you are planning to do the loop over an extended period of time and plan to leave the boat "up north" for the winter. I suspect also, it is a one off deal. We kept our boat up on the Great Lakes in heated winter storage. Typically, the boats would be hauled and bottom cleaned in mid October and serviced and launched in mid May. The cost was about $3700 for a 38' Taiwanese Tub and included haul out and launch. Bottom cleaning was a small amount extra as was keeping the batteries charged. We were in a very rural location in NW Michigan and the climate is rather harsh in the winter. Since our boat was older, I wouldn't even think of non heated storage.

Our marina had an unheated barn and most of the boats in it were either gassers or boats for sale (usually for years).

As has been mentioned, boats are packed in either "barn" storage very tight as every square foot represents revenue for the marina. Try to make your reservations as early as possible for as the economy has improved, it seems more boats are looking for heated winter storage. If you let the marina know beforehand when you want the boat launched, they will try to accommodate you.

So yeah, you should go for heated winter storage and you will sleep good on it.

Donsan what was the Michigan yard? I'm looking at my options up here.
BD

BDofMSP said:

what was the Michigan yard?

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The yard was Onekama Marine, a few miles north of Manistee. It really is rural there.

Seevee said:

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.

Click to expand...

It depends where on the great lakes you're talking about, but I'd say that unless you're very hearty and adventurous the traveling season is really only five months max. Mid May through mid October. Even that's pushing it in most areas. In the northern sections it's more like three months. I went through the North Channel at the end of May last year and was the first transient at most of the places I stopped, and most of the local boats were still under cover. So realistically you're tied up for more than five months.