A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

[GalaxyIFE]

Greetings All,

After a nice 2 long year wait, I have finally been awarded a wet slip at my local marina at Canyon Lake (near San Antonio, TX.)

I have never kept a boat in "wet storage" and am curious about some things I may want to think about. I do know it will need to be pulled out fairly often to be washed/waxed/remove growth etc. but I am more curious about bilge, leaks, etc.

The boat I have is a '91 Sea Ray bow rider. Is it best to get an automatic bilge or one on a timer (if there is such a thing?)...I really don't notice very much water while out on the lake for the day, but I am not sure what it will do sitting for a week or so!

I have also thought about a battery minder, but I usually disconnect the battery when not in use and I have not had to charge it, so that's not much of an issue right now.

Anything else the fine members here can suggest that I may not be thinking about? Thanks!

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

Automatic bilge pump, battery tender plugged in to shore power.
Some have a ac powered pump plugged into shore power as a back up also with float switch on it.

Make sure your anodes are in tip top shape or you have the merc batery powered system. Mercathode I think its called.

I dont slip mine but do leave it in the water for the weekend sometimes. Anodes always have some crap on them when i pull it out.

I have also thought about a battery minder, but I usually disconnect the battery when not in use and I have not had to charge it, so that's not much of an issue right now.

If you disconnect the battery what is powering the bilge pump?

 

[GalaxyIFE]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

If you disconnect the battery what is powering the bilge pump?

See that's why I ask these questions! I was assuming that I would use an A/C powered one since the boat's pump is not automatic.

 

[JoLin]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

Bilge pump, auto switch and mooring cover!

If you've never noticed any significant water in the bilge, you probably don't have any leaks. However, you don't have a self-bailing hull. Rainy days and storms will make a mess of things. I wet slip my boat and it's always covered when I'm not on it. I never have more than 1/4 inch of water in the bilge.

I've been away from it for as much as 2 weeks at a time and it's always the same. Water in the bilge never comes close to the level that would trip the pump switch.

My .02

 

[GalaxyIFE]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

Nope, the bilge is just about dry after being out all day. Usually if I run the bilge after being out for a few hours, it might spit out 1/2 a cup if even that. When I pull the plug, I might get 1/2 quart out of it. I think I will still get an auto bilge just in case and look into the mooring cover.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

The bilge will only be as good as the batteries unless the slip has electric.

 

[JoLin]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

I think I will still get an auto bilge just in case and look into the mooring cover.

I'll just reiterate my advice and let it go at that. If you don't have a self-bailing hull (and you don't), you should really have both. The goal is to keep water out of the bilge in the first place, instead of relying solely on the boat battery's state of charge to empty it out after the fact.

A cover provides other benefits as well- it keeps the inside of the boat clean and dry; and it forestalls the UV damage that will crack and discolor your upholstery over time. Mine takes less than 5 minutes to snap on.

End of lecture...

Good luck and have fun!

 

[seaboo]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

Actually I'd recommend 2 (automatic) bilge pumps (redundancy is a good thing....Think of it like a gun...Have it and hope you NEVER need it).

If not at least get a big pump (again better safe than sorry). I'd leave the batteries hooked up (if it eases your mind go ahead and get a battery tender). The majority of smaller boats (bowriders, cuddies, pontoons) at my slip do not worry with a battery charger.

If your slip is not covered you want a cover of some sort (sun works on interior fast, Rain happens and even though boats are designed for some water accumulation the more water you can keep out the better off you are,
Birds LOVE to use a sitting boat for target practice (much easier to enjoy the day if the boat doesn't have bird droppings in it), and a cover also keeps prying eyes from casing your boat to see what goodies they could rouge.

I use a (good..not a wal-mart special) trailering cover @ my slip (and so do a couple others). It took some practice to figure out the correct sequence to install it while the boat is on the water and I had to make cutouts where the cleats are, but it works well and was cheaper than having a shop make a snap on cover for me.
I came to the boat one time and there was a racing stripe the length of the cover from a goose with good aim. Glad I had the cover on.

 

[lkbum]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

The worst thing about keeping the boat in the water will be stains, and probably blisters on the hull. Stains can usually be dealt with, but blisters are another story. The growth on the boat will also cause a noticeable decrease in speed and increase in fuel consumption. I would look at buying a used lift. Most marinas in the south east allow them. If you ever leave the marina, they are really easy to re-sell. check craigs list and ask around the marina. Bow rider sized lifts are usually pretty easy to me by in the $2k range.

 

[tswiczko]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

The worst thing about keeping the boat in the water will be stains, and probably blisters on the hull. Stains can usually be dealt with, but blisters are another story. The growth on the boat will also cause a noticeable decrease in speed and increase in fuel consumption. I would look at buying a used lift. Most marinas in the south east allow them. If you ever leave the marina, they are really easy to re-sell. check craigs list and ask around the marina. Bow rider sized lifts are usually pretty easy to me by in the $2k range.

A lift would be a good idea but if you can't afford the lift I would definately invest in bottom paint and an automatic bilge pump. As far as a battery tender goes I would invest in a solar charger with a float mode so it doesn't overcharge your battery They are pretty compact and can stow easily on the boat.

I even carry a set of thirty foot jumpers. I have only used them twice but both times the boaters that needed the jump were very thankfull I had them.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

Actually I'd recommend 2 (automatic) bilge pumps (redundancy is a good thing.

Yep, I have 3 Rule pumps on mine .
A 1500gph and the backup is 1200gph engine bilge & one 800gph in the shower bilge. .

.

.

.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

I don't have A/C power at my slip, and no lifts are allowed. My boat has a float switch on the bilge pump, not sure if it ever activates.
I do keep the boat covered with snap on front and back covers- with those vent cap things where the cover prop rods go. The cover gets dirty during the season including bird poop- so that's definately keeping the boat much cleaner than if it sat out in the elements.
I hit the bilge pump every time before I go out, and when I return after we're done boating. Usually only a pint or two gets ejected. After a heavy rain, maybe a bit more.
I haven't had any problems with my battery going dead, since I use the boat at least weekly, and I live close by if I ever need to bring it home to recharge it. Possibly one of those solar chargers might be handy but I've not needed that ever.

 

[lkbum]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

There are lot's of different types of lifts, some that don't attach to the dock. http://www.airdock.com/frame_1.htm
Some don't require AC, like the linked one. I have a friend who has a solar recharger on his battery powered lift. I can't see why a marina would not allow a more conventional lift (attached to the dock http://www.polylift.com/site/ ), they actually help stabilize the dock. The late 80's early 90's resins were blister proned, and if after one season yoiu are looking at $1k or so to refinish the bottom of your boat, you may wish you had pushed harder for a lift. Warm water (such as that in Texas) adds to the likely hood of blister formation.

 

[rajjneef]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

So how long would it take for blisters to form? Would keeping a boat in the water for say 2 weeks be something to worry about?

 

[lkbum]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storaget lift in one of the slip

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storaget lift in one of the slip

From my experience, it's more like a couple of months or so, depending on water temperature. If you're in a floating dock, the surface water temp between the boat and the dock floats can be trapped, and if it's getting good sun the water can become really hot. That's one of the reasons blisters will often form right at the water line on the aft side of the hull that gets the most sum. I see you've got a 96' Mariah, they use high quality resins and blistering probably would not be a problem. In my years of boating, blistering appeared most frequently in late 80 early 90's boats. I was told this was due to using faster setting resins for a combination of increased production rates and reudced emmissions (EPA compliance issues). With the problems boat builders experienced during this time frame, the resin manufcaturers improved their products. I see you are in Atlanta, if you're on lake lanier, look for me behind the 8TH marker (thompson creek, west of athens boat club, double slip dock with Chaparral 280 SSi on a boat lift in one of the slips.

 

[casey344]

Re: A Few Questions on Wet Slip Storage

We are dealing with boat lifts not being allowed in marina's around here too.

In our case the reason has been because of marina's built in the 80's, when boat lifts were not as popular. Many of the older marinas were not designed to withstand the downward pressure of a floating boat lift. Some marina's around here have 12 inch finger piers and you simply cannot stuff enough flotation under it to handle the lift in the down position when its full of water.

I have to disagree with the comments about boat lifts making the dock stronger. Many marinas have no policy for installing and removing lifts when slip renters come and go. Lifts left behind that were originally installed for a 24' boat end up with 19' boats on them and vice versa. This allows a boat owner to load their boat too far forward/rearward and shifts the center of gravity transferring the weight to the front or rear of the slip. A floating lift must be setup so its center of gravity is directly below that of the boat. When its not some of the stresses of lifting a boat are transferred to the dock. If you live in an area where floating boat lifts are common, you'll see many examples of improper setups. These are usually the docks with finger piers curling inward towards the boat and lift, boats sitting sideways etc etc.

As someone else offered, there are plenty of other options. Shoremaster (www.shoremater.com) makes a vertical lift that sits on the bottom. If you are trying to keep the costs down they have a model with a manual wheel used to raise/lower. No power necessary. Alternatively you could plug a floating lift's powered control unit into an inverter connected to your boat cigarette lighter. Three minutes of airing up your lift shouldn't kill your battery. Especially if you buy a solar charger.