TOPIC: Outside Storage Questions

We have not built our garage yet so this year the boat will have to be stored outside.

'68 mfg with a 68 merc 1000.

The PO kept it in a heated garage, poor girl won't know what hit her.

Will covering it with plastic sheeting and using desiccant packs be enough to protect the boat interior?

What about the motor? Anything i need to do other than normal winterization (fogging motor, draining fuel, etc)

Would i be better off putting it in a temporary shelter. One of those canvas "garages"

I have room indoors for the motor on a stand. Would it be worth it to take the motor off the boat to store it inside?

I'm too cheap to rent inside storage!

Thanks,

dan

I cover my MFG well and not so tight as to have a condensation problem. I have no garage anymore. I have very little interior but I have much wood inside. It has never been a problem. I store my outboard inside but maybe not this year since I plan to use it more.

I've been storing my boats outside for years. Just the usual fogging of the motor and a tarp. An inexpensive tent garage introduces additional problems in snow regions...

Drain and refill the lower unit to ensure that there is no water in it, either drain or completely fill the gas tank and add stabilizer. All my boats have spent there winters outside tarped up and have never had a problem, this includes my modern bowrider.
Al

If you decide to tarp it ?
DO NOT get the blue tarp. those pieces of crap are not for outdoor use. A blue tarp will last maybe a week waterproof wise, and will in shreads within 3 weeks in any kind of wind. I use the silver tarps. Waterproof wise you'll get a month or two, shread wise you'll get about 4 months. How do I know this ? EXPERIENCE !

If you get a Harbor Freight temporary garage ? They are impossible for one person to put together. The fittings are so loose you have to duct tape all the connection points. I had to make my own rebar stakes to hold the garage down, because all you get is a bunch of useless 6" stakes. I also tied the garage down at all the crosses up high to keep it on the ground too. Once you get past the assembly and tied down, it works pretty well. But like I said the tarp part only lasts so long, befor you have to replace it.

I have since made my own tarp garages from 1" pvc pipe, fittings, drywall screws and tarps. I can explain how to make one if you'd like ? The problem with the purchased tarp garage, is it only comes in certain lengths. The pvc version you can make as long or short, AND as tall as you like. I only made mine as tall as the boat on the trailer (It was a small boat)

I agree with Al, do some preventive maintenance, like he said but I would addthat if you live in snow country like I do and you decide to tarp it put some sort of bracing inside the boat to keep the tarp from caving in from the weight of the snow. Usually a 2x4 the length with some cross members sitting on the gunwales. I also jack up the trailer and put blocks under the axle to keep the trailer tires off the ground. Put some protection over your tires to keep the sun off them, plastic garbage bags work for me. The UV rays will make short work of the sidewalls.
Cal

Hey Dan, a word to the wise on the cheap 10x20 canopies that HF and Northern sell (Shelter Logic brand I believe) - they state on the box that they are "temporary use" and for fair weather only! The instructions advise they be taken down in any kind of storm, and after buying one last year I understand why. Kinda flimsy tubing for the frame, tie downs provided are insufficient, etc..

If I were going to get another, I'd buy from these folks;
www.tarps.com/
They offer a kit that you source the tubing locally using chain link fence top rail in a size of your choice, which would be much more substantial. It may cost a few dollars more up front, but would be a much better deal in the long run IMHO.

Good points.
I use the Costco 10x20 storage shelters, I seem to get 6 years out of them before the top cracks, but I blue tarp them and just swap the blue tarps. I have the same two shelters up since 2005. They run $180-$200 last I looked, and pay for themselves in one year with reduced water damage etc, in my opinion. You have to anchor them down if in a windy area.
I just checked Mark's link, those kits look like they might be a good way to go.

This temporary garage has been moved twice and is in excess of 20 years old. My F-100 lives in it. Some will last very well. It survived a micro-burst less than 70 foot away from a 55 foot blue spruce broke in half in the middle and about 25 yards from some very substantial oak trees broken off and pulled from the ground. Some will last very well. I think this number belongs to Shelter Logic now and I'm not real impressed with mine. This was taken before it was actually finished and tightened up. I have had some blue tarps last years also. Buy a better one, not the cheap one.

I like this one:

www.tarps.com/Barnstyle.htm

not completely closed, but i could rig tarps on the ends.

We get a lot of wind, looks like it'll hold up to that better. And if we get a lot of snow this year it would shed it OK.

Thanks for all the input! I didn't think it'd generate this kind of response.

cheers

In MI it's popular to have boats shrink wrapped for the winter. Like everything you just need to keep an eye on snow/ice buildup. The orange U-Haul tarps are good they sell at the U-Haul stores.

I did a HF barn-in-a-box www.fiberglassics.com/fiberglassics-forums/home/nbr/my-new-pole-barn We have strong winds and very strong sun in south FL. I had to tighten it a few times over the first couple weeks. After about a year it started to tear at the pole corners on the sunnyest side. It is still standing, it has started to tear now where the poles peaks are, 1 year 10 months later. It came with a large piece of extra cover material. I should have cut it up and doubled up on the pole corners. If I did another I will and attach the patches with some spray contact cement. Tapconing the feet to the 20"x20" patio blocks has kept it in place, so far 2 tropical storms and a lot of heavy thunderstorms. At 10' wide at the base it is tight I would get the 12' wide for sure next time to work the boats sides. The ventilation is poor and it gets very hot and humid inside. Main reason why I'm on the fence about getting another.

If it were me... I would pull the prop off and be sure not to store the engine tilted up... water gets into the L/U through the center exhaust and can freeze and bust your L/U housing. You should re-grease those splines every season anyway.

Dean

My Custom Craft lives in the garage, but the Tomahawk and the Glastron live outside. I buy the folding saw horse fittings and make a large saw horse to use as a frame for the tarp. Relatively cheap and can be folded up and stored. I use the green tarps and get about 4 years out of one.

On warm days over the storage season, trapped moisture from prior rain or snow is a problem. Either have the bottom of the cover open to the air so all moisture can be circulated out and away, or use a breathable cover, or insert air vents towards the top of the cover so it vents there.

I think venting is important. I put something under the tarp at the front so it has air circulation to a degree. Like I said never had a problem and it is bone dry in the spring. I've had my last cover five years and it is looking like it needs replaced. I also do not leave heavy snow lay on it. Since it is not a real tight fit ice can push on it. No problem , just take the snow off.

I work at a marina, central Indiana, we get all weather here, Ive been shrink wraping boats for 3 weeks, I will try to get some pics of what we do, it only cost 100.00 under 18',2 vents, 3 anti mold bags and it will last up to 6 years. Not that we need 6 years but if your storing a "real gem" project.........

Thanks all.

I'll be replacing the floor this fall/winter so unless I get it finished before too long (have not started yet) I'll probably not get it shrink wrapped. I'll have to check the price on that around here. Someone told me they paid $280 for theirs, but it is a 24 foot.

I'm afraid if i get a temporary shelter it will become permanent!

So probably go with a good tarp with desiccant and ventilation.

What about plastic sheeting? We have a bunch of 6 mil plastic left over from landscaping. Thought about the plastic first, then cover it with tarp. I do have the original fitted cover for the boat too, but it leaks water in like a siv.

Also what about the tires? These will on dirt. Should i put them on boards to get them off the ground? or jack them up and put them on stands or block?

I put strips of plywood under my tires. about 12" x 24"
It's more so the wheels dont sink in the dirt. I have a 12 footer in a tarp garage without boards and it has sunk almost to the rim.
I have to pull that boat out and put some boards under the wheels.

The reason I haven't done that to my boat in the temporary tarp garage is : It's pretty much permanent. Ha-Ha-Ha ! and I have alot of stuff piled up arounf the boat... I just keep changing out the tarps

HA!

I'm afraid that if i put up a temporary one the wife will say "Why do you need a pole building?!"

BTW... if you can find a source ? Those billboard vinyl advertisements are huge and will outlast a tarp by tons.
The outdated billboards you can get for cheap or free.

hmm, now that you mention it i may have one.

our daughter was at a birthday party last summer and they had one of those on a hill and were using it as a slip-and-slide! They were using a hose and dish soap.

i'll have to ask if he can get me some.

Well i can't get a billboard tarp for free but i found this page:

www.billboardtarps.com/collections/tarps

I could get a 20 x 25 foot 17 mil 3 ply tarp for $50! I could use it to cover this shed i just bought...

Here is the Chevron in her new home.

The ground is not level, none of our property is. We live on the side of a "mountain"

A buddy of mine bought this a few years ago for his camper. It's 20 x 12 and just fits the boat and trailer. He sold it to me for next to nothing.

Took 45 minutes to tear down and 4 hours to get it put back up! Then i spent an hour another day trying to get the tarp straight. No luck. Don't know if it's because of the cold or the unlevel lot. Can't find an owners manual for it.

Wow very cool idea. Thanks for the website. I think I may just get one to cover up the Clipper while she's outside and I'm working on the Century. Those Grey heavy duty ones I've been using barely make it a year right now!

Bob

The site claims these will last 5 years and that some of their customers have reported 8 years.

I'll wait to see if this one leaks.

Since the billboards are vinyl you can use an adhesive to "weld" it into loops for polls, etc...

dlatshaw wrote:

Well i can't get a billboard tarp for free but i found this page:

www.billboardtarps.com/collections/tarps

I could get a 20 x 25 foot 17 mil 3 ply tarp for $50!

Note that that 20X25 tarp doesn't have the 3" pipe/cable chase along the edges like some do:
These tarps have 3” channel pockets/pipe sleeves that run along all four sides of the tarp. The channels allow you to run pipe, cable or rope through them for even distribution. There are small notches every few feet on the channel so you can feed the cable or pipe through.

These tarps do not have grommets. However, you can easily add them with a grommet kit from a hardware store. Other ideas are to use Grip Clips or other industrial clips found at a hardware store.

The next closest size that does is the $60 20X30 9oz ~ 13mil 38lb tarp, BLACK ONLY.....

But still a good site w/ a great option for 'temp' to semi-permanent shelters.

Thanks

Good catch. I could run some pvc through the pipe sleeves to keep the rope from tearing through. Then tie off the rope to the ground anchors.

Then with the extra 10 feet I could have an awning over the front and back.

Best redneck shed ever! If i'm lucky it'll be a PBR billboard...

If you look in my earlier post, that domed shelter looks almost identical to my one that is over 20 years old. It is the original cover.

This one is not quite that old, probably not made as well as yours.

We finally had some rain to see if it was waterproof. Well i don't see any leaks so i can hold off on the tarp for now.

Cold is drier than warm. Sun adds heat. The alternating of colc and warm days makes solid covers sweat on the inside and all over your rig.

You need vents placed higher up in the cover to rid the underside of the cover of this moisture. These moisture droplets comes/goes on for many hours of many days as the seasons run their course.

another vent.