While choosing the right storage facility for your boat, a major factor to consider is its size. It’s easy to store small boats in a garage, shed or an indoor self-storage space. If your vessel is larger than 20 feet, it’s more difficult to store. And the very large yachts should have to be kept confined to marinas, specially made harbor for accommodating larger pleasure vessel.
Image Courtesy: marineautodepot.com.au
The next factor to consider is the frequency you will use it. In the summer, you might regard ease of access, while in winter, security during long time storage may be more important.
Prior to choosing the right storage facility, keep in mind that all boats need constant maintenance. This is particularly true in case of wooden boats which are more prone to termites or mildew in high humid conditions.
Also used boats need special care; even smaller crafts if they are particularly old may be safer to store indoors, because they already have undergone so much wear and corrosion. Visit Marine Auto Depot, a leading customs bonded and non-bonded storage facility for boats and cars.
Small Boats
Small boats that are 20-foot long include canoes, kayaks and motorised dinghies. Choosing a space to store them can be as simple as hanging them upside down with hooks on a side of your shed. Hanging a vessel upside down has the advantage of water resistant hull, which serves as the roof of the boat.
If the boat is motorised, remove the motor and remove fuel from it and store it separately, indoors as far as possible.
If you have no space, you can consider, a self-storage space is a convenient option. Self-storage spaces intended especially to store boats include racks that are typically stacked on each other to accommodate more vessels. This may present a bit of inconvenience when you want to retrieve your boat, especially from a taller shelf.
Try to find a space that is indoors having a good climate control. Also see a facility that can also store your gear, maintenance supplies and trailers, so that everything will be centralised eliminating the possibility of getting misplaced.
Image Courtesy: marineautodepot.com.au
Medium-sized Boats
Available in a wide range from power cruisers to pursuit boats, medium-sized boats usually measure 20 to 30 feet. Just like smaller vessels, selecting a storage service for your medium-sized boat depends on how frequently you will use it, although choices of indoor storage are quite limited for these more massive crafts.
If you are going to use it regularly, you may want to keep your craft in the water instead of hauling it to be parked on a trailer. Generally these crafts will be kept with others in a special harbour known as a marina.
If you want your boat to be stored away from water, you can get several services that provide rentable parking spaces for boats to be left on a trailer. These vary in size even though they may say it can fit your boat; so, carefully measure your boat to check if it can fit.
For these vessels too, indoor spaces are preferred. However based on where you live, this might be hard to rent and uncommon. Hardly, you might have access to indoor facilities based over the water so that you can ride your boat straight into it. Such spaces normally will be full with previous occupants or booked for use of a private individual or company, but you may be lucky sometimes. After all, there is no harm in asking.
Large Boats
Yachts are nearly always confined to open storage available for boats. Clean your large boat regularly, every component of it from deck to stern, and perform maintenance as given in the instruction manual.
Consider these options and choose the best one to get a peace of mind.
