How much to store

[T_Herrod]

I know this is a common sense issue but i was just wondering how much "stuff" do you leave in a boat when it is in storage. I plan to store my boat about 10 miles from my home town. I plan to remove everything that is not bolted in the boat and store those items at my home. Things that i will removing are: Seats,,,,Electronic gear,,,,,Batteries,,,,Fishing gear and anything else i'm not sure about. I'm just wondering if this is overkill and how much stuff do you experienced boaters remove.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: How much to store

This is going to go two ways.
The folks who don't even cover it, and the anal crowd that disassembles everything and store it in individual plastic bags.

Welcome to the anal group!

The boat is on the side of the house and I still remove everything.
It still freezes in the attic but it is bone dry!

I even remove the winch and transom straps.
No sense having them rot all winter wet.

 

[scott8058]

Re: How much to store

This is my first year of having a boat and it sits right next to my house also but ill take all fishing stuff, life jackets, battery, prop, tube, ski's, etc out and lock in my garage for the long winter. I never thought about winch and straps but you can bet ill be at least taping garbage bags around them now lol!

 

[roscoe]

Re: How much to store

Batteries and electronics are out.
Most everything else will be left in.


Of course, this all depends on security of the area, and weather the boat will be exposed to.


If the boat will/could be exposed to rain or snow, I would remove the pfd's, fishing rods, tackle, and tools.

 

[portd]

Re: How much to store

Batteries and electronics are out.
Most everything else will be left in.


Of course, this all depends on security of the area, and weather the boat will be exposed to.


If the boat will/could be exposed to rain or snow, I would remove the pfd's, fishing rods, tackle, and tools.

Also for me last year was first time i forgot to put some moth balls around on deck ,i found a mouse nest on my seats in spring fearing chewed wires i found none

 

[ziggy]

Re: How much to store

guess i'm in the anal group... i remove everything except the registration papers. i do put some decon in the boat too for the mice to eat if they're hungry....
last few years i been removing my drive and storing it inside too.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: How much to store

I'm lucky. My son has a large building and I not only leave everything in the boats, I add other stuff I don't need in the winter. I just put the cover on to keep the dirt out and put some D-con around. There are 4 boats in there but one is a 14' jon and not on a trailer, it hangs in the rafters.

 

[T_Herrod]

Re: How much to store

Thanks for the advice everyone. I neglected to say in my orignal post that the boat will be stored inside (not heated) a Morton style building that has a concrete floor. I have talked to some people who have used this facility and they have had no rodent damage. Just to be sure what could i put in the boat to keep rodents out. I am providing some pictures of how the boat will be covered during storage.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: How much to store

Well..you take everything off the boat that is not bolted down ...

Jackets to fish finders .. candles to skis .. off and into storage if you can..

Some take the drives or props off .. depending =

Super duty insurance will handle things like outdrives missing .. or full coverage for the Wrap Failing and screwing things up..

Talk to your Insurance agent to find out before you sink your boat in a hole somewhere ..

YD.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How much to store

isn't this one of those questions that only you can answer?

No one here knows what stuff you are talking about, what your boat has on it, what your storage place is like.

Some places you leave everything on board and the key in it. Some places a canvas cover is all you need. Some places you strip it and even remove the trailer tires and winch. You are somewhere in that range. Where? beats me in Virginia. Even here: I leave can leave one boat fully rigged; where I store the trailer, less than 4 miles away on the same road, a boat would be stripped in 3 days time.

Unless you can talk to someone reliable who has stored boats there yourself, you just use your judgment. How can anyone else possibly give you informed advice?

Boats aren't any different than anything else when it comes to stealing--some thieves will grab anything not tied down; some will professionally dismantle the whole rig. They might even steal the trailer and leave the boat. The resale value doesn't seem to have much bearing on what they do.

The best anyone could do is remind you that small outboards are a favorite target.

You don't seem to be asking as far as storage itself, as opposed to what might get stolen. In that regard, it is important that everything is dry, and if you have freezing temps, you don;t have anything that will be hurt by it.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: How much to store

Mine sits in a garage at the lake place with no cover, battery disconnected and the ski locker and battery covers open. I take all the stuff out of the boat and put it in a big rubber maid container that sits next to the boat when it is in storage. None of this is for security, just makes it easier to clean and fewer places for mice to find a cozy home.

When I used to store it at a storage place I did the same thing. Never heard of anyone taking seats out of a boat for the winter.

I put dcon around the boat but never in it. Don't want to be encouraging them to come in to eat.

 

[bergoff]

Re: How much to store

I just lost my super cheap storage place. I'm currently looking for one. I'm trying to find a garage I can rent so I can work on it also. I've always hung moth balls under the boat and threw dryer sheets in it. I'm thinking about just renting a storage unit so I can also park my atv in there. My garage is two feet to short to get my boat to fit even sideways.

 

[90stingray]

Re: How much to store

I take everything out including ropes and skis and prop open all compartments. Put on cover to keep out a lot of dirt. And it is stored in a 60x80 building.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: How much to store

Last few years all I did was drain all the fluids, change the lubes, emptied the porta-potty and put in RV anti-freeze, vacuumed everything and hosed out the bilge. hooked a maintenance charger to the batteries and rolled it into storage. I put a few bounty sheets in the interior to keep spiders and mice out, then set a bunch of mouse traps with peanut butter around the boat.

all the electronics, etc in a tote in the boat

skis and fishing gear are lined up along the side of the storage unit.

I trip over enough stuff around the house.

 

[skyking897]

Re: How much to store

My boat is stored in a locked building for the winter (along with several cars, boats and RV's). About the only thing I remove is the batteries and put the storage cover on to keep the boat clean. I have in the past put other items in the boat that I won't need till spring. BTW, it cost me $200.00 to store the boat from Nov. 1st untill May 1st, but I always remove it early.

 

[JEBar]

Re: How much to store

Batteries and electronics are out. Most everything else will be left in.


Of course, this all depends on security of the area, and weather the boat will be exposed to.

that pretty well sums it up for us ..... we store ours under a cover, in a shed between our home and garage .... the life vest left in the boat are the spares, our individual vest do come inside

Jim