Covering boat for the Long Winter

[Carl Noble]

I'm getting ready to pull my X out of the water and store it for the winter. I'm thinking of not covering it with a tarp. How many others leave their boats uncovered? I tried to do a search on this site for winter storage but didn't have much luck. I must be doing something wrong as I got mostly irrelavent postings

Thanks, Carl

[jklightner]

Here in the Seattle/Tacoma area, the winters are not all that harsh, compared to say WI or MA. I cover mine in the early fall, mostly because I don't want to clean out those dang leaves. I add Stabil to the gas tank and run it through the engine, and will usually run it once a month during the winter for a bit to keep things happy. Trailer on blocks and tires stored in the garage. Each time I walk by it, I give the hubs a spin with my foot to keep the bearings from sitting in the same place. I put a small electric heater ( looks like an old fashioned radiator) inside that runs off a cord plugged into the garage. It has a thermostat set low. Keeps the inside dry and while not toasty, warm enough. This last Spring, when I went out there, not a bit of condensation, mold or mildew inside. Gave everything a good wipe down inside, some friends came over and helped clean and wax the outside.

Hopefully, if the city paper-pushers will give me a permit, next year there will be a garage big enough to put the Mac in, along with all my other wheeled toys and etc. (those etc. can really add up in a hurry)

[Norm]

Winters are mild here in Ca. Don't have to deal with snow. I left mine uncovered one winter, result; a normal 30 minute spring washing turned into a 4 hour marathon scrubbing off tree sap, oak leaf stains, and bird droppings.

[Mark Prouty]

I left mine uncovered one winter, result; a normal 30 minute spring washing turned into a 4 hour marathon scrubbing off tree sap, oak leaf stains, and bird droppings.

For this reason, I will also be covering mine. I'm going to use the standard silver/brown sided tarps. They last a little longer than the blue ones. I have some flexible PVC pipe to put the tarps over. I'll bend these over the mast. I also plan on supporting the mast in the middle. I'm going to do all this in a way that will enable me to work inside the boat when it is covered. This will be my first winter with the boat.

[Frank C]

... I'm going to do all this in a way that will enable me to work inside the boat when it is covered. This will be my first winter with the boat.

There's a unique "mid-winter cure" that attaches to crawling under a tarp and just sitting in the Mac's cabin. Of course, it's a lot nicer when the tarp is trapping a sunny day's heat. But you'll relish that feeling some Saturday this winter.

"There is nothing- absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." - Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

[Mark Prouty]

"There is nothing- absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." - Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

I love that quote.

[Andy26M]

If you love the quote, maybe you want a T-shirt


http://www.messingabout.com/links.html

- AndyS

[Mark Prouty]

Pretty cool,

But I'm too cheap. I get most of my teeshirts at garage sales.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Susie Q has seen two winters so far. The first winter I bought tarps and covered her. In the spring I had to remove about 4 gallons of water from the bilge. The second winter I did not cover her and in the spring the bilge was dry as a bone. I do not leave her under a tree so I don't have leaves to contend with.

[craiglaforce]

I don't cover mine in the winter. I figure any UV damage will happen in the summer and the winter exposure is small be comparison.

If I had to park near a tree then I would cover it, but since I have an open spot to park it, not covering it works fine. Plus it helps me find any leaks over the winter.

Tarps can rip and rub grit against the hull possibly causing more damage than they prevent if you are not careful and diligent about checking on the tarp over the winter.

[Ken Smith]

Living in Buffalo I coveer the boat late november and uncover March. The rest of the year I keep a few of the blue tarps over the boat. I folded over the tarp and sewed the edges and put small diameter pvc tubing thru. Easy to put on and take off. I'm moving to florida in Jan if I can sell my house. I'll no longer have a need for winter covers.

Ken

[Casey]

When I lived in South Dakota, I covered mine with a large blue tarp from Walmart. The bilge was always dry. The outside always looked pristine.

Now that I am in the south, I usually leave it uncovered in the water. It has oxidized alot more. It also has alot more stains, mold and dings.

Casey

Good Winds Karma

[kenny]

I've left mine for 3 winters now, uncovered, in western Canada near Banff.
NO problem with the snow or cold, but I'm away from tree droppings etc.
I even left my battery in the last two years, hooked up to a 5 watt Solar panel. It held up full charge, even through -40F minimum temperatures.
I'd decided against a tarp, since there's lot of dust /grit blowing in severe winter winds and I was worried about abrasion from the tarp.
I aslo doesn't oxidize at all in the winter (summer's a different case however.
In summary i wish I had an easily removable cover for summer to minimize oxidation,
Ken

[Jim]

I always cover mine . Live in the middle of Canada, so get lots of snow and cold, and it does make cleanup in the spring a lot easier. I built 3 wooden supports for the mast, front, mid ships and at the pedestal to put the mast on. Puts the mast almost flat so makes tarping a lot easier.

[Jesse Days Pacific Star 2]

Tarp it up for winter.