Re: Trailer or Slip storage
Mine is on its trailer, garaged. I don't like the idea of it out in the rain under it's cover! But I tolerate it when I go on camping trips with it, etc. Boats are made out of fiberglass and wood. Do you think that will survive longer submerged in water or garaged on a trailer? Some boats are okay to be in the water all the time, most are not IMO.
I think your opinion is limited to a very narrow type of boat. Let's disregard the "submerged" part as that is not reality. Next, are you concerned about the interior, or the outer hull? Because every boat's hull is perfectly fine sitting in water (and no, fiberglass hulls do not soak up water as some will tell you). So hull-wise, I'd say every boat is "OKAY to be in the water all the time."
I would note that old i/o's are at risk in the water all the time due to the chance of the bellows failing, but that's not really a hull issue. Also, any boat left in the water will need the antifouling paint appropriate for its location.
As for the interior, or top-side--as I said, some boats are not made to handle the outdoors, but for some reason they sell. You apparently own one that even a few days in the outdoors worries you. Unless it's a restored antique, I would hardly call that a boat.
Any boat garaged on a trailer for 20 years will look better than one that is not. But the kind of boat that HAS to be garaged or else it falls apart is a different animal than the boats used around here, that sit outside, often in the water, for decades and may not be as shiny, but have no structural or equipment issues from it.
