Cover or shrink wrap for storage

Storing outside for the first time. That shrink stuff is spendy 15 bucks a foot is the cheapest I found. I would rather buy a cover but do critters get in if you use a regular cover?
Thanks

You could get critters in there regardless of what kind of cover or skrinkwrap or tarp you put over it. That’s just the nature of the beast when you store it outside. You could get critters in there if its stored indoors too, but the odds are generally lower. My Grandfather stored his in his shed that had a dirt floor every winter and had mice in there for years. Once he got concrete in that shed, the problem went away.

as gimruis said neither is a guarantee to keep mice out. ive stored 2 boats outside with shrinkwrap for 10 years. never had a problem. in my experience the mice are busy trying to get into the warm building in the winter as opposed to in your cold boat in the field.

Where i take my boat to in Richmond outdoor storage is free with a shrinkwrap. Well it was until inflation and now they charge $100 but its still better than having it in my driveway all winter.

BTW i have a custom fit cover made by canvas craft and it wont even keep my cat out of the boat. She likes to sit in it in the summer. it would never keep mice out

The wind will get under plastic and move it causing it to scratch your paint.

Thanks!

Crappie-Google did not find ROS-do you have a phone number? Will send you a PM.
Thanks

Two things I’ve learned from people that store their boats outside:

Have plenty of support under the cover or tarp so it can easily shed snow and rain.

If you use a good cover for storage cover it with a tarp also. It will extend the life of the cover by protecting it from weathering from sunlight.

For mice prevention in all stored boats make sure there is no food, anything that once contained food or anything that resembles food in your boat

$15 a foot?

So for an 18′ boat you are at $270, + another $100 for places that charge for outdoor storage bringing it to $370.

At that point, why wouldn’t you just kick in an extra few hundred bucks and store it inside?

To store my 16′ boat – 21′ with trailer indoors for the season I was quoted about $750 by 2 places. I still cover it and put in peppermint oil and mothballs to keep mice out.

crappie55369 wrote:

…it wont even keep my cat out of the boat. She likes to sit in it in the summer. it would never keep mice out

But doesn’t the cat keep the mice out?

Hodag Hunter wrote:

To store my 16′ boat – 21′ with trailer indoors for the season I was quoted about $750 by 2 places.

You’re getting ripped off. I store my boat in my garage now, but I used to store it indoors just NW of the Twin Cities for 180 bucks/6 months. That comes out to 30 bucks/month. I have a 17 foot, 8 inch boat.

I keep my boat in the third bay of the garage. This leaves room for my wife’s vehicle in one spot and toys/workspace in the other. My daily driver pickup is stuck outside until we build a detached garage. The tritoon goes in an unheated shed with concrete floors for $250 cash. The tritoon itself is 23.5′ and tongue to prop the rig is 30′.

I used to keep it in our buildings but got sick of moving it around as we need the space. When I found out I could have reliable storage for $250, it was an easy choice.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>
…it wont even keep my cat out of the boat. She likes to sit in it in the summer. it would never keep mice out

But doesn’t the cat keep the mice out?

that cat is a killer! birds, squirrels, rabbits, mice…she kills it all. Actually, found a dead bird in my boat under the cover one time. was not happy about that. A few weeks ago i found one and a half rabbits in my garage. looks like a homicide scene. blood splatter all over my garage freezer. never found the head of one of the rabbits. Anyway, never seen a mouse in my boat or house for that matter lol. She serves her purpose

No matter where you store it, put dryer sheets everywhere. Keep all your storage compartments open and throw a dryer sheet in. Any little nooks or corners, throw a dryer sheet in that spot. The only places I get mice issues is where it wasn’t either cleaned out (leaves, old towels) or there wasn’t a dryer sheet there.

Why not keep it at your house next to the garage or back yard . For a few hundred you can keep it in my yard

crappie55369 wrote:

BTW i have a custom fit cover made by canvas craft and it wont even keep my cat out of the boat.

I had the same deal, our giant tomcat made my boat his personal sun lounge. He’d sleep in there for hours in the winter. I always wondered what the attraction was, he’d be sleeping on his cat couch in front of the furnace register and then he’d get up and demand to be let outside so he could go and sleep in the boat for a few hours. Change of scenery? Maybe he loved the smell of minnows mashed into marine carpet?

Never had any mouse issues, that’s for sure. I guess that was worth the big pile of cat hair that was all over the bow casting deck.

Bear I will probably keep it next to the garage-it still needs to be covered right? Thanks for the offer BTW, can I have fire pits and play music for the 2 bills?

tim hurley wrote:

Bear I will probably keep it next to the garage-it still needs to be covered right? Thanks for the offer BTW, can I have fire pits and play music for the 2 bills?

I put a regular cover on my boat and then a heavy tarp from harbor freight. I used to put 2 saw horses in the boat to keep the tarp a framed but now I have long rods with tennis balls on the ends that do the trick. I’ve done this all my life. Some times to dry the boat out I bring it in the garage if I fish on a cold rainy or snowy day