Storing My Boat Outside…What do i need to know?

Some of you may know that my wife and i just bought a new house. With the new purchase the garage is no longer an option for storing my boat. i have plenty of driveway space to store it however. I have concerns about being able to maintain my boat by storing it outside in all of the elements and id just like to hear some suggestions that i should follow. I have a custom cover which is nice. I was told by my mechanic that if i put that custom cover on and then conver that with a cheap boat cover from menards or something i should be good to go for winter. My concern is really less about winter and more about moisture and mold. When i first got the boat, wanting to keep it perfect and pristine i put the cover on when it was about 90 degrees out. Two days later i took the cover off to go fishing and i had mold all over in the compartments of the boat. How can i store the boat outside and avoid that? I would prefer to keep a cover on to avoid UV damage. How do you avoid moisture and mold problems? Any other tips would be helpful. Also, i am considering a shelter. I see lots of them around Mound. Any input on that would be great too for those that have experience with them. From what i have read so far it seems they do not hold up to winter weather so well and the ones that are built for winter weather cost about 5x as much

Here are a few that came recommended on another forum
http://www.mdmshelters.com/barn_style.php
http://www.shelterlogic.com/ProductList.aspx?CategoryName=Garages

There was a very disagreeable time period in my household when my wife told me the boat goes outside, and I said no.

Year and a half later, boats still in garage, they get over it.

Mold prevention = moving air. You need to circulate are through to prevent moisture problems.

Your biggest threat is UV and rodents. No matter what you use, the sun is the worst. Anything that you can do to reduce exposure will help. Do what you can to keep the free-loaders out. Nothing like finding chewed wires and a nest in the spring

Put a small oscillating fan in the boat turned on and just plug in the extension cord when you want to run it. I did this one summer years ago and it definitely helped.
Ever since it’s been indoors.

I’m with nhamm. Make an agreement to park the boat inside the garage when the weather is nice and store it off-site in the winter.

nhamm wrote:

There was a very disagreeable time period in my household when my wife told me the boat goes outside, and I said no.

Year and a half later, boats still in garage, they get over it.

oh this would definately not be a discussion if it was an option. unfortunately my new garage is not large enough to fit the boat, otherwise it would be in there no questions asked.

I think as soon as a guy gets married he should be awarded a 28X50 pole barn. You know, just for stuff.

belletaine wrote:

I think as soon as a guy gets married he should be awarded a 28X50 pole barn. You know, just for stuff.

agreed. that would be nice. thanks for the suggestions fellas. i think ill get a canvas style portable shelter. that will solve the UV problem and as long as i can keep the rodents out and leave the cover off i dont think mold will be a problem either. now ill just have to see if it holds up to the winter elements

All of my boats have been stored outside, both bigger pleasure boats and fishing boats.

You have correctly identified the #1 issue–mold. Bottom line is you just have to get in the habit of drying everything out. Anything that gets wet, must be dried. Compartments are always left open and anything that inhibits ventilation needs to be removed. I always pull out all the life jackets, for example. Left in the compartment, I’m afraid they would start to mold.

Totally agree with the suggestion to get a fan in the boat to circulate air under the cover. Tight covers are great for travel, but the more buttoned down the cover is, the less air circulation you get underneath.

Re shelters, I’d cost out one of the steel carport shelters before buying one of those plastic ones. I’ve yet to see a plastic one that could handle snow load, they just have no pitch to shed anything by themselves. Also, the plastic WILL break down from UV exposure, so I would have to consider them a temporary solution for 2-3 years at most.

Grouse

thank you Grouse that is some good information. i can definately see the life jackets needing to be removed as they soak up that moisture and will be a breading ground for mold. I wonder, assumming that i will likely need to combat mold problems at some point what is the best way to deal with mold once its found? my marina told me to fill up a spray bottle with 90% water 10% bleach and spray down the moldy areas. is this effective? any other suggestions for that? thanks again for all of the replies

I have had no problems keeping one of my boats outside for many years. Looks clean and nice inside. 14 foot Lund. I have a tie down cover on it that keeps out the rain all summer. In the winter I tie a tarp over that so that the sides are also covered. Including outboard. Seems fine. I dont see one weather realted issue with either the boat or the trailer.

belletaine wrote:

I think as soon as a guy gets married he should be awarded a 28X50 pole barn. You know, just for stuff.

As someone in a similar position to Crappie for boat storage, and soon to be married would you please call my fiancé and explain the importance of this!?

crappie55369 wrote:

my marina told me to fill up a spray bottle with 90% water 10% bleach and spray down the moldy areas. is this effective? any other suggestions for that? thanks again for all of the replies

Yikes! I wouldn’t get that mix anywhere near my boat!

If you keep it dry and circulate air, you’ll have no issues with mold anyway. Just make sure that anything that is wet, gets dried, and nothing is sealed with limited air circulation.

If you do happen to be out when it’s raining and get the carpet and the boat really wet, leave the boat uncovered in the driveway in the sun until its dry. A little sun exposure is far better than risking mold and rot by sealing away a damp boat.

Grouse

I’ve stored my 16 foot crestliner tiller outside 9 months out of the year by always tarping it and keeping it dry. If it gets wet inside leave cover off on a warm dry day.

In winter (3 months for me…I fish the river so fish as long as possible) I store it inside in rented storage. I store at a local county fairgrounds. Relatively cheap.

Wish I had a big steel shed. But can’t swing that. I also wish I had a big new warrior or skeeter tiller with sheepshead repellent too. But ain’t happening.

Do what works best within your budget. I’ve never had any mold or rodent issues.

BigWerm wrote:

As someone in a similar position to Crappie for boat storage, and soon to be married would you please call my fiancé and explain the importance of this!?

What’s her number?
DT

shockers wrote:

Wish I had a big steel shed. But can’t swing that. I also wish I had a big new warrior or skeeter tiller with sheepshead repellent too. But ain’t happening.

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>belletaine wrote:</div>
I think as soon as a guy gets married he should be awarded a 28X50 pole barn. You know, just for stuff.

As someone in a similar position to Crappie for boat storage, and soon to be married would you please call my fiancé and explain the importance of this!?

Its a matter of who is training who. I started training my Wife when we were engaged. I told her I was going to get a boat, get a dog & don’t mess with my hunting and fishing. I have had numerous boats several dogs and only one issue in 23 years. Somehow she thought I would be home for our first anniversary when I was out antelope hunting. Now for what she has trained me on…… lets not go there

I always kept a cheap box fan or two in the garage, and when the boat got rained on, I’d open everything and set the fans in to dry it out. A little air movement really speeds the process up.

shockers wrote:

…sheepshead repellent…

Do they make such a thing???

I made the mistake of putting my tight fit cover on the first season I had the boat, and needed it outside for a while… never again, for the same reasons you are concerned. Now when that has to happen, I put the cover on, snapping “just” enough of the snaps to hold it, leave compartments open as there’s always some moisture down in the bottom where even rods will get mold, and run a fan. I plug the charger in, and fan, and prop open a few areas on the cover. If rain is coming, I’ll close it up, then re-open.

You see some covers have vents in the top by the poles…. all about moving air, hot moist air for sure.

I have a buddy that does as I mentioned, but adds a large plastic tarp over it all to act as another layer for sun and such and leaves his out all summer without a problem.

My boat spends it winters indoors with the cover off. But it spends all of the open water season on a lift with a custom cover on it. So far I have been successful at keeping it mold free.

First I try to keep it dry before I put the cover on. But often enough it is not 100% dry and I have to put the cover on and go home. To deal with any moisture that is in the boat with the cover on, I always leave in a few large desiccant bags. I have 4 Pingi brand 450gm dehumidifiers. I bought my via Amazon, but looked today and they no longer have them. You can get them from Camping World. I do not know if you need as many bags as I use, but I am just trying to be on the safe side. You can recharge and reuse the bags by simply baking them in your oven.

These are used frequently in RV storage.

Good luck.

Link to dehumidifiers on Camping World site