Boat garage ideas

I could use a detached 2 or 3 bay garage and have been thinking about building one. Something to hold project cars and the boat (s), or maybe a two bay garage with attached car port (aka Boat port) to store the boat. Either a garage or a boat port will require at least a full 8" opening to clear my Bayliner with hard top. So I was thinking to build a two bay garage with attached covered area for the boat.

Is storing a boat under a roof without walls worth it in the north east? It will keep snow from building up on the cover, but are there enough advantages over keeping it under a cover in the open to make it worth while?

If I build a garage with a high door to put the boat inside, the garage has to be at least 24 ft deep or the boat will stick out. Then if I get a bigger boat (we all know that will never happen, right ) it won't fit.

I also want the garage to have a high pitch roof so the attic space can be used as storage.

Thinking of something simple like this one.



Any suggestions or experiences you guys have from storing boats in garages is greatly appreciated.

Re: Boat garage ideas

Advantages to inside are less problems with mice, and people wanting to do harm to your boat. Also, am I wrong to think that the garage will have to be 24 ft whether you enclose the boat part or not?

One thing to think about would be to make the garage length longer than you need for the current boat and put a small roll up door on the side to store lawn mowers, etc behind any cars or boats at the back of the garage. I have seen this back area seperated by a wall, curtain, or left open to the main garage.

Re: Boat garage ideas

I built a 24' X 40' garage W storage above.Using 16ft 2X6 rafters w 12" factory edge over hang. 8/12 pitch gives 8' at the ridge.2 X 8 floor joists carrys our extensive load fine.Metal roof sheds snow though you need to be aware it occasionally sheds a real load.
6"concrete pad 8ft walls I would suggest 9 or 10ft.Half in.c/d ex plywood siding with board and batten look.
Originally W 8'X8' doors with home made plywood doors.Too narrow.Picked up 3 used overhead doors 2, 9s and a 10. 7' high.Probably not enough for your boat.1996 cost about $7,000 including professional pad and removal of old falling down 2 car garage.
If your worried about a bigger boat you better do 26 or 28 ft.
Definately go with inside storage My antique boat went over 20 years without refinishing.
It was ready for a fresh coat but no cracking or peeling.A modern boat would benefit as well.

Re: Boat garage ideas

I like dome shelters that are becoming more and more popular for farms. You can have it in green, a warranty of 15 years and is probably cheaper.

Not as nice as the traditional garage like your pic tho.

Re: Boat garage ideas

I'd love to have a garage for my boat(s). I ended up making my current one fit by removing my windshield and outdrive, and folding my trailer tongue. Clearance to the beams above is less than 3 inches, and I have to force the door outwards with my shoulder to get it to close, but it's inside.

A couple design features you'll probably want: length of the boat on the trailer plus enough space to work on the outdrive for your depth, and overhead room enough to remove your motor, plus space to operate a crane or else reinforced beams you can hang a lift from. You'll also want insulation if you ever want to heat the whole place, which is nice for doing work in winter on the boat.

I really would like a garage that's about 30x35 with a 12 foot (min.) ceiling, and a roll up door that's at least 10 feet tall. Plus I want insulation, a gas heater with thermostat, and a powered exhaust fan.

If I couldn't have gotten the garage to work, I'd have gone for one of those portable sheet metal shelters... cheap, plus my local code allows them. I couldn't work on the boat then, however.

Erik

Re: Boat garage ideas

i'm thinking attached boatport and enclose it later if you want to. keeping it dry year round plus out of the sun will make a huge difference. keep the sun off the gelcoat if its exposed on the side. add an overhead light and maybe fan. sign me up.

Re: Boat garage ideas

allways build bigger than you need.
you will use it and on resale there is a big difference between a shop and a garage.

good luck
oops

Re: Boat garage ideas

Attached is the picture of my "shed". Built it last winter for $18K. (materials only, all my own labor except when my father, nephew, and brother-in-law visited to help raise the trusses.

I found the plans online and paid an engineer $100 to modify them form the double door to a single. I have a winding drive and could never back my trailer into a 8' or 9' opening. I would recommend the large door, mine is 8' x 17' and was available form Lowes without a special order.

Make sure 24' is long enough. My boat is 19' but on the trailer measures 28' from prop to coupler. The shed is 24 x 30, and it holds the boat and tow vehicle with plenty of room left for my tools. We put the dormers in to match the house, but they allow for a lot of storage on the 2nd floor.

Re: Boat garage ideas

Do a single story 10 foot high inside truss..(maybe 12?)..double 9 high foot door...and a small if doing a 3 car..
Then run benches all around, and a loft..3 high, 6 deep...( the second will just collect junk anyway)..
I'd do a 24/30 deep at least..(best a 30x40, 12/16 foot high, but if ya want to heat it..aint gonna happen without $)
I'll shoot a pic of my 24x24 in a sec...propane forced, woodstove, Smithy lathe (behind the Plexiglass shield).. and stuff/tools on the left in back, weld/paint booth far right..(barley in the pic) ...my santuary...more than in the pic, but ya get the idea..(yep, homemade Sporty Iron head Dragbike, my 79 Shovelhead Chopper, and my well used Bagger..more in the side 20 x10 shed, and another 12x12 shed off the hot tub deck in front..too many toys, boats in the yard with covers/canopys..

Re: Boat garage ideas

i have had 3 over the years, 30X50, 30X60, and 30x30, all 10ft ceiling, 9x12 doors, they are worth the extra. the 30X30 had a 9x20 door, Dad still took out the side jamb, with the fender of the boat trailer.

Re: Boat garage ideas

Bigger is better! But I will need a variance to put the garage as close to the side property line as I want. Right now there is a 50' clearance requirement, and I want to put it about 20', otherwise it will take up too much of the back yard.

Re: Boat garage ideas

when we build our new house in 3 more years, i told the wife i am getting my shop... want to do it 30x30... but if cost becomes an issue will probably go to 24x30.

Re: Boat garage ideas

you want 30 deep, to be able to get around OB or outdrive.

Re: Boat garage ideas

Wow that is nicer than some peoples houses! Good work.

Re: Boat garage ideas

actually that's all i would need, live up, boat down.

Re: Boat garage ideas

I also want a garage. Ive got a large shed with a leantoo but i cant fit nothing on wheels in there but my mowers. My boat right now is at my parrents house in their garage so i can work on it for the winter. I would love to have a garage here. Sometimes i just get this feeling and i want to work on the boat now! and if its a few miles away that sucks. In the summer when its here i get that feeling and then im out there for hours. Then there is times i go to my parrents house to work on the boat and i just am not feeling it so i dont get anything done. Id love to have a garage that i can see from my back porch. When the wife naggs thats where id be. I wonder if there is any good web sites that give prices and plans?

Re: Boat garage ideas

drewmitch44 said:

.... I wonder if there is any good web sites that give prices and plans?

Click to expand...

This site has loads of detached garage plans. From fancy ones with upstair living area to simple basic garages.

http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/garage-plans.asp

Re: Boat garage ideas

Mark42 said:

Bigger is better! But I will need a variance to put the garage as close to the side property line as I want. Right now there is a 50' clearance requirement, and I want to put it about 20', otherwise it will take up too much of the back yard.

Click to expand...

You gotta love NJ zoning laws, I have a 100 x 90 property and they tell me I have to be 15' off the side line and 20 from the real and 25' from the house to build a garage. The only way I got by with the 24x14' shed I have was to build it as a carport and then slowly close it in.
I've been trying to figure out the best way to replace it with a 24x30 with a usable upstairs for a few years now. They won't budge on zoning issues here. The worst part is that what I want to build is nearly identical to what both neighbors have on each side. My ideal garage would be 24' wide, 30' deep with 12' walls and at least 6'6" of usable height upstairs. But there's a zoning regulation that states that the height of a garage may not exceed the mean height of the house, excluding any chimneys or other add ons, (People were adding to their chimneys and putting up weather vanes to beat the law).
I would add a 'soon to be enclosed' car port with at least 3 sides to both keep my boat and to shield the side entry door from the weather. I need to be able to build within 3' on the sides and 10' on the rear to make anything work.
Part of my problem is that the septic system blocks me on one side and the property line on the other. The house sets 1/3 forward and off to the right, so I have a wide driveway area, but the septic system goes out to the left some and the drain bed encompasses nearly the entire right half of the back yard.

Re: Boat garage ideas

When I built a shop at my last house I started with a plan for a 24'X24' with a 10' ceiling. By the time I was done planning it grew into a 42'X42' building and 16' ceiling, the doors were 20'w 16'h on each end and it had a 2 story office on the side. It also had heat and an exhaust fan with filter.
It was a great shop and it was the only thing I missed when we moved. I ended up with almost double that shop space in the place we ended up getting though.

Re: Boat garage ideas

I'm thinking a 24 x32 with two 9' high doors on the 24' side. That way a fairly big boat will fit in that 32 foot length, and while the boats are smaller, the back 10' or so of the garage will be work shop/storage with a staircase to the attic for additional storage.