Reverse B.O.A.T

I wish I could get the pictures off my cell phone but my 18' Larson I/O fit in one side of my garage by literally a half of an inch! I was able to pull of the prop and fold in the trailer tongue and the garage door didnt hit it. This saved me about $500 to store my boat over the winter. I also winterized my boat including, oil change, lube change, draining block, stabil and fog saving me another $300. So not quite the magic $1,000 but I will take it! Our 6 year old Trailblzer will sit out in driveway for the winter.

After years of boating I can see why a lot of guys just start going DIY. The costs never stop. But once you start trying stuff on your own it feels good to save a couple of bucks. Havent told the wife but I think next summer I am going to store the boat in storage vs putting it at marina. In out service = $1600 vs 5 months of storage at $57 per month totalling $285. Total savings = $1290!

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

I hear ya! Had to fabricate a hitch reciever on the front so I'm able to position the boat in the garage, no way could I maneuver it that tight in reverse, it just barely fits.

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

The only problem (or trade-off I should say) is that you loose your garage. I need mine--not for cars, but for projects. Your garage is not free; you pay the rent on it with each mortgage payment.
Think of it this way: would you rent out your garage (or a big chunk of it) for the winter for $500? Because that's what you do when you store your boat there.

The real problem is that storage units aren't made long enough, so you have to rent way too much floor space to accomodate your length. I think the self storage industry could rent a lot of boxes at 24 or 22 x 10, maybe even 22 x 8, especially in a boating area with cold winters.
And an open system--warehouse or shed roof--doesn't give you the security for the stuff on the boat. I pay to store my trailer in a fenced yard b/c no one will likely mess with trailer parts, but my boat would be stripped in a couple of days if I put it there--so says the manager!
A friend bought about 20 shipping containers, put them on a fenced lot, and rents them as storage units. Sailboats are very popular in them--long and skinny.

The other day on CL I saw boat dollies for sale-from a defunct boat dealer--which would be a good storage system for a home garage; eliminate the trailer tongue and be able to angle it in or roll it sideways. then put the trailer outside.

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

HomeCookin has a good point about renting your garage space to yourself - for me there was one additional benefit to keeping it at home - I get to see it, think about it, work on it, charge the batteries, kill the mice, etc as I want. I debated long and hard, but in the end I decided that I'd keep it at the house for my own peice of mind. Then again, there's something to be said for out of sight out of mind too!

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

I'm just the opposite. I just found a place off site to store my boat for the winter and I actually can't wait to get it there and get my garage back!

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

When we were shopping for our current house, I absolutely required that it had a barn large enough to be considered 2 additional grage stalls. The house we ended up buying has a 28x40 barn/garage in addition to the 2 stall on the house. Right now I have 2 boats and my truck in the barn with more than enough space to have a wood/metal working area and enough boat parts laying around to choke a horse.

I did the whole storage unit/storage lot thing for enough years that I just couldn't take it anymore.

I absolutely love having all my stuff a short little walk from the house. As far as I can tell in my situation I am money ahead on this too...well over $1000/yr. The barn was built just a couple of years before we bought the place and aside from running 230v out to the barn and some additional lights I have not had to put any money into it. Although, I couldn't get the furnace to kick on the last time I messed with it. Oh, well. That is just a convenience anyways.

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

RotaryRacer said:

Although, I couldn't get the furnace to kick on the last time I messed with it. Oh, well. That is just a convenience anyways.

Click to expand...

A furnace is just a "convenience" in the winter in Grand Rapids Michigan

Gotta love it - must be from there originally

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

I believe the OP started this thread to talk about saving money on boat repairs, maintenance, and other goodies we buy for our boats. B.O.A.T. refers to 'Bring Out Another Thousand', so the reverse would be how do we save $$$ when we can.

I shop on ebay for stuff I want/need, and have gotten some smoking good deals there. And then I do the work myself, and eliminate the labor costs when I can (sweat equity).

I changed out my power steering cooler for a total of <$10. A new one would have cost me $160+, but I got one on ebay for $0.99, used, but in great shape (and not leaking) plus shipping, and the new clamps came to about $10. Savings - $150

Found a new Rule-Mate 1100 gph automatic bilge pump for $48 (including delivery), savings there; at least $50.

We were keeping the boat at a Hi'N Dry for $80, until the marina's ownership changed, and then it went to $200+. No thanks. Found a private dock nearby for $100/month, for any boat up to 25'. Savings annually - $1200+.

Then we just this week took that one step further. Just got a new place on the water with a 10,000 lb. lift. $0 ... savings annually? another $1200, but having it right out my back door ready to cruise is priceless.

So let's hear ways that you've saved $$$

Re: Reverse B.O.A.T

by doing the work yourself and storing the boat on your property seems like the best way to save money. Not having a boat is the only way to save the money you spend onboating though.