Winter Storage

Matt/John - Regarding the information on winter storage listed under FAQ's, this will be the first time storing my 18 outside this winter.

I have made 2 foot carpeted wooden extensions that straddle all four trailer rollers. Thus the boat does not sit on a single point contact, aka the roller. Would it be better to remove the boat from the trailer and store on the ground? Not sure if the direct contact with the ground / snow will be any better? The tramp is off as all hardware has been removed.

The images of the vents appear to be of two styles. Is one design using dyer vent material? Does one design work better than the other? I assume leaving the drain plugs out does not provide enough air flow?

Last, I assume it's best to cover the hulls during the winter months to avoid the UV, but will it promote condensation in the hulls? I have a roll of black plastic that I could wrap each hull which might be easier than getting a tarp to cover the entire boat. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

T-bone

Not that we are experts....however, for more than 20 winters, we have stored H16's and H18's outside, (in the parking lot of our Sailing Club), and each year, we come up with 'new and improved' methods. Yes, we have over 80" of average annual snowfall here, and temps often drop to minus 25C or around 13 below F, and sporadic drops below that.

1. For H18's, remove the porthole cover, and use $5 worth of ducting or $10 worth of plumbing materials to create a vent tube. The problem comes with warmer days and cooler nights, which creates condensation INSIDE the hulls. The hulls have to be able to breathe. Place some chicken wire or such inside the vent tubes so that critters do not nest in the hulls. Both systems work well.

Also, (check the picture of my snow covered H18) we tape a paper/plastic cup on top of the mast bearing, again for UV protection.
Not all the pictures were mine, Commodore Henry and others contributed.

2. Tarps are generally good, for UV protection, and also to protect against the effects of freezing rain. Not always easy to keep the tarps in place....black plastic wrap might work well, however you do not want moisture collecting in a vulerable spot. So I guess it's more in the wrapping technique.....two winters ago, my tarp tore, which allowed for a pooling of water in one spot. Lucky it was not a critical area.

3. NEVER leave any cat on a trailer on rollers during cold weather.
[Adrio, (if you are out there), can you post pictures of the type of damage we are discussing here?]
We leave our cats on car tires, three at the back (on each side) and four or five at the front. This leaves the H bow high, and allows for run off. Your plan of 24" carpeted bunks sounds very good, as long as there is NO POINT LOADING.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Greetings John and all,

I left mine 18 stored on my Trailex trailer for the winter. The trailer has "V-Bunks" up front and rollers in the back. I still need to build some 2' 2x8 bunks for the rear but I'm there yet. Anyways, to overcome the roller hull damage hazard, I bought a $4 children's swim noodle (fat kind), cut it into roller length pieces and then sliced the pieces open so they would wrap around the roller and provide extra padding. Works great, you can even double them up if so desired. FYI the same type of noodle can be used to wrap around the hull curvature (keels) for boats that are sitting on flat bunks. They're very spongy, moreso than the pipe insulation you find at Home Depot.

To me, perhaps the most important aspect to winterizing a Hobie in snow country is removing the tramp. In the short time I've owned my boat I've probably seen a close to two dozen beach cats blown over from the wind catching under their tramps (lots of unnecessary damage thanks to three big storms). I was on the beach during one storm and the difference between the tramp-stored and trampless-stored boats was remarkable. Suffice it to say, watching 350-400+ pound cats become weightless in the gusts is....well...."interesting". Yeah, it'll cost you an hour or so in the spring re-stringing the doggone thing but there are several benefits to doing so: a. you won't have to worry about snow weight damage to your hulls, b. your boat isn't going to get damaged by blowing over and c. you'll extend the life of your expensive trampoline by not having it freeze/thaw all winter. My $.02. If I didn't have a trailer and storage box, I'd probably just rest the boat on four tires and anchor it into the sand.

As for venting the hulls, I left my covers off and plugs out for the month of October to dry everything out. Now I just have the plugs out so the hulls can breathe. They're bone dry even with the plugs out fulltime.

Just a couple comments...

The pool noodle idea for the trailer rollers is OK, I guess, but pool noodles really aren't up to the task of supporting the entire boat weight for long periods. The foam will likely compress after just a little time. You can make real quick bunks out of a piece of 2x8 or similar lumber. Just cut four lengths about 10" long or so, throw two pieces of carpet on top and sit the bunk on the roller. The idea is to spread out the hull weight over as much area as possible. You can also go one step farther and drill a couple holes in the "bunk" and tie it to the roller so you can trailer with it in place.

On my boats, I typically leave the port hole covers in and just take the drain plugs out. The vent idea is a good one, but I've never gotten around to doing it. I also think its a good idea to prop the tongue of the trailer up high so any water that gets in moves to the back of the hull. Not only will this allow the water to drain, but it will also prevent damage to the bow should any water get in and freeze.

Big tarps work well for covering the boat using the mast as an A-frame. A word of warning though, make sure the tarp has sufficient slope or that you brush any heavy snowfall off right away. A heavy buildup of snow on the tarp can bend your mast like a plastic straw.

sm

Hmmm I hadn't even considered just laying the bunks on top of the rollers to spread the contact area. That's a great idea! Thanks, SM, and happy holidays to all!

By cold weather what kind of temperatures are we talking about? I'm in N Florida where it can get into the 20s for very short periods of time. Otherwise, it's more like mid 30-s and 40s most of the winter. Will those temps be a problem?

We've seen the Weather Maps showing temps below freezing.
What happened to the Sunshine State?

My concern, more than anything, would be moisture in the hulls, no matter the temperature. Especially if you are in an area with a high diurnal range (cool at night, warm around lunchtime). That temperature range sets up condensation in the inside of the hulls, which leads to delam problems later on.....which is why we store our H18's with portholes OUT. Yes, we cover with tarps or install breather tubes. See the section on Winter Storage.

Can't wait for my new Whirlwind 'Offshore Breeze' Sails to arrive...

Best wishes to all for 2011.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I tent my H-18mag, on the trailer w/ 4"H X8"W X14"Lg carpeted bunks permenately bolted to the crossbars, using a poly tarp (12'X18' ?) ... the folded wings help protect the mast. I pad the wings w/ moving blankets/pads to prevent chaffing.

I also have some cradles made from PVC pipe (for double stacking) that I've line w/ 1" styrene and place them between the bunks and the hulls when I remember to do so ....

.... but as soon as it stops snowing I'm out w/ my Echo "Backpack Leaf Blower" ... and I blow all the snow off/away ...... a broom works also ......

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

I don't have the pictures with me to post, but what John is talking about happened to my boat one winter. I kept the boat clear of snow but in one 30 hour period we got a lot of wet snow and the weight of it caused the rollers to punch up through the hulls. Three of them went right into the hull the full depth of the roller. The only reason all four did not do this is the trailer bent at the fourth roller. I now just store my boat indoors. My suggestion would be that if you are going to store it outdoors, then rather then the 24" boards you are talking about would suggest you place a full length board, that can span fromthe front rller to the back roller. The flex in the board is enough that it will conform to the hull shape (I know this because that is how I got my boat home to repair it when the big holes were there from the rollers going up into the hull).

Certiainly there are numerous ways to achieve the same thing- Two long planks, four smaller bunks, PVC pipe sections, or commercially available cradles. The point is, there are some very simple and inexpensive solutions to getting your hulls off the rollers (less than $20 for a couple pieces of wood and some carpet). Anything you can do that increases the hull support area is going to go a long way to preventing damage to the hulls.

sm