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Proper boat storage
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=10226		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Dark Sailor [ Fri Aug 01, 2008 4:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Proper boat storage
I recall a post that someone made concerning boat storage and covers, but I can't seem to find it so I'm starting a new thread. I plan on getting large styrofoam blocks and a solid flat surface to store my boat this winter, but I haven't been able to find a decent boat cover for a Hobie yet. Last year I had to make due with what I had since I bought the boat around the end of august, but this year I plan to be prepared.

Does anyone know of any good boat covers for an 18? Also, is there something better than styrofoam blocks that I should be using for long term storage, in other words, should I be looking into other options?
Author:  Adrio [ Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:57 pm ]
Post subject: 
don't make my mistake. I left it on the trailer with four rollers (one at each corner). Then I put a tarp over the whole thing. We had record snow fall (I shoveled the tarp off after each one) but in March we got 52 cm in 24 hours and all that wet snow was enough weight to push the hulls down through the rollers (or should I say the rollers up through the hulls). I am now very good at fiber glass work.

My advice after having gone through this. To repair my boat I took the hulls off and then after the repair put them back on. I have wings as well. All that to say it was no work at all to take the hulls off and to put them back on. I suggest taking the boat apart in the fall and storing the hulls inside some place. They are small (relative to a car) and could be stored on purpose built shelves in a regular garage.The other metal parts can stay outside or on the inside wall of the same garage depending on space.

I plan on building two shelves that will be on top of each other on the wall of the garage where I store my Triumphs for the winter. That way I know my fiber glass Hobie will be safe and out of the elements until the spring. No more outdoor winter storage for my hulls and I don't have access to a space big enough for the fully assembled boat.

Honestly, if you build a jig to hold the hulls at the right spacing before you take it apart, it will take you 15 minutes tops to take them off and an other 15 minutes to put them back on. I am assuming that you plan on removing the tramp anyway and all that work is not part of the 15 minutes I am talking about.

There is a fellow here in town that owns a H14 that his father bought new many moons ago. It has always been taken apart each fall and reassembled in the spring. It still looks like new.
Author:  srm [ Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:20 pm ]
Post subject: 
Anything to spread out the load on the hulls. Cut pieces of PVC pipe with carpet for padding is nice. A 12 to 16" piece of wood with some carpet works too.

The custom fitted hull covers are nice. A big tarp thrown over the whole boat is the old standard. If you go with the tarp over the boat, you have to be sure you pull it tight and/or pop some holes in it, otherwise it will collect water. I didn't do this once and so much water had pooled between the boat and mast that the weight ended up bending the mast considerably (luckily it didn't cause any damage). The water weight can really add up.

sm
Author:  Dark Sailor [ Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:14 pm ]
Post subject: 
Thanks for the replies, I'm not quite sure I'll be able to find room in the garage for the hulls, so I'll probably get a LOT of pvc and rug to use to spread out the weight.

Do you know of any places that will make good quality custom fitted hull covers?
Author:  Adrio [ Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:07 pm ]
Post subject: 
If you are going to store it outside, I would recommend wrapping each hull separately. That is, remove the tramp and leave the space where the tramp is open to the ground for the snow to pass through. You could also wrap the mast and cross beams on their own as well. As has been said the water can add up and so can the snow.

The reason I say this is the area of the tramp (or worse the area of a cover like I used last summer as can be seen here http://ca.geocities.com/[email protected] ... _1079S.jpg)
is way too much. It is not unheard of for there to be 40 pounds of snow per square foot fall in a heavy storm or over a winter. Multiply that by the size of the tarp/tramp and you see what I am trying to avoid. I made the mistake last fall and I hope others can learn from my mistake.

Good luck but for now enjow the summer and the wind.
Author:  srm [ Mon Aug 04, 2008 4:04 pm ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
Do you know of any places that will make good quality custom fitted hull covers?


I've had the Salty Dog marine trailerable hull covers on my boat. They're sunbrella material. Easy to use. So far, the quality has been exellent.

sm
Author:  Dark Sailor [ Mon Aug 04, 2008 4:30 pm ]
Post subject: 
Thanks for the responses. I have some good options now thanks to you guys, at least now I feel like I sorta know what I'm doing when winter comes.

May fair (galeforce) breezes blow your way.
Author:  Winnipesaukee [ Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
Dark Sailor,

Get that stupid ping pong table out of your basement and make room for a real sport.


:D
Author:  brandon [ Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:42 pm ]
Post subject: 
Adrio wrote:
If you are going to store it outside, I would recommend wrapping each hull separately. That is, remove the tramp and leave the space where the tramp is open to the ground for the snow to pass through. You could also wrap the mast and cross beams on their own as well. As has been said the water can add up and so can the snow.

The reason I say this is the area of the tramp (or worse the area of a cover like I used last summer as can be seen here http://ca.geocities.com/[email protected] ... _1079S.jpg)
is way too much. It is not unheard of for there to be 40 pounds of snow per square foot fall in a heavy storm or over a winter. Multiply that by the size of the tarp/tramp and you see what I am trying to avoid. I made the mistake last fall and I hope others can learn from my mistake.

Good luck but for now enjow the summer and the wind.


The snow really collected that much on the tarp even pulled tight and at a steep angle like that? I hadn't decided what I was going to do for sure but I was thinking something just like that but I live in colorado. I was planning on removing the tramp either way.
Author:  Adrio [ Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:48 am ]
Post subject: 
brandon wrote:
The snow really collected that much on the tarp even pulled tight and at a steep angle like that?


Yes the snow collected even at that steep angle. In fact I had removed the snow two times that winter before the storm that "did it". Both times I had removed about 18 to 24 inches of snow. That was the second winter I had stored the boat, the first winter I did not even go see the boat all winter and nothing happened. It is all a question of how much and what type of snow falls in a winter. Since we can't predict what will happen any given winter I am just not storing it that way any more.
Author:  MVD [ Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:43 pm ]
Post subject: 
Back in the 80's I bought a custom H-18 cover from the Hobie dealer in Memphis, Rooke Sails. They make their own custom covers for many types of boats. The cover they made for me was of a canvas type of material and the quality was fantastic. It was trailerable and covered with the mast up or down. At that time, you could choose from a bunch of different colors. Rooke is still in business selling Hobies. Not long ago their website still advertised custom boat covers. They'll be pricey but you won't find a better cover. :)
Author:  H18sailaway [ Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:22 am ]
Post subject:  covers
I bought a cover from Jeremy @ Surf City, made for the h18 by hobie, and it works great. He also carries the sunbrella stuff too. It covers every exposed square inch of my boat, all the way down on each hull, with no slop for snow or rain to collect on.
Unlike a tarp, it is 100% water PROOF, so your precious is safe from the big, bad, mean ol' winter weather.
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