Financial Setback, Need advice on storage....

wahlejim

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
884
Snow does not matter on the lake, the ice does! It expands and contracts and the lift will get bend out of shape. If there is room on the shoreline, store it in the yard. You don't have to pay the fee. Find some old tires and a winch or come along. If there is a beach or stone seawall, make tracks out of the tires for the pontoon. winch it or use a come along to pull it out of the water and store it on the tires for the winter. My family used to do this every year. Less than an hour to get the boat stored properly. To get it back in the water, our neighbors would just hook a tow rope to their boat while we all pushed it back into the water.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
Curious, if you don't pull it out, how do you change your gear lube every year? That has to be a major pain doing that on a lift.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,307
buy a used trailer. at $100 a pop , I should start a business pulling pontoons out in southern MI.
 

64osby

Admiral
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Messages
6,799
buy a used trailer. at $100 a pop , I should start a business pulling pontoons out in southern MI.

There is a local CL adv that does it for $35.00 in SW Michigan.

You are priced out of the market before you started. :lol:
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,307
I figgured as much. I still say, buy a used scissor trailer, pull your parrents out, and pull a few neighbors out to make some additional $ to pay for the trailer.
 

southkogs

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,785
Not to continue beating a dead horse ... I get what you're up against: but we used planks and a come-a-long to pull the 'toon directly out of the water right there at the shore. We have a 3' break wall that we had to hoist her over, and then get her on the blocks.

I think you'll be better off gettin' it all outta' the water even in Wixom. I've got family in Lansing too ... all boats all out.

That said: I would at least get the outboard up in a garage somewhere. 'toon should survive the cold. Lift might make it through the freeze. Outboard is kinda' risky.
 
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