Keep boat in water?

Hi, Newbie with a question. Just bought a used 16, I live on a small lake, but the shoreline is really steep, maybe 45 degree angle about 20'. It is a pain to drag up the hill even with the wheels.

So my question is how much damage will it do to leave the boat in the water? It is a fresh water lake in Florida.

Can I coat the hull with something to protect it?

Not a good idea to leave in the water. The gelcoat will absorb water and pit / crack. The rig slaps around and every moving part gets jostled and worn rapidly. The best is to make a float (dock section) you can pull it up on.

You can use lengths of PVC or even a carpet on the shore to pull up on a bit. Maybe a post up the hill and a line to secure on the bank near the waters edge. Winch?

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Or how about burying a land anchor and using a winch/come-along to pull the boat up on the wheels? If it's only 20 feet, it shouldn't be too bad. You could then use that same anchor to tie the boat down so it doesn't get tossed during a storm.

sm

Thanks for the suggestions. I seem to now have another issue. A neighbour doesn't like my "huge" boat in the back yard. I am in a HOA restricted neighborhood that doesn't allow boats over 10hp, but there is no reference to size of a boat. So while I want to keep the boat in as good of shape as possible, I also need to try and hide it too.

I was thinking of a simple system of 4 posts in the water with a cross bar in the front and back that I could slide under the boat and lift it up into notches on the post to get it about a foot out of the water.

This way the hull of the boat would NOT be visible from the houses, only the mast would still be visible.

Thanks again for any feedback.

Boat lift... perfect! You can tie down to it too.

Larger version with hoist:

http://www.theboatlift.com/webpages/photoGallery.html#

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Take him for a sail on a windy day. He'll probably end up buying one for himself....

sm

You have a 0hp motor. You are below the guidelines of the HOA unless there is a specific size listed. You should have a copy of the covenants. If it is not listed. then you are fine.

the hobie will self destruct if left in the water for long periods of time get it up or get it out a jet ski lift works great
former hobie admiral gary

I am in the same situation as OP: steep shoreline. I've read various admonitions against keeping the Hobie in the water but for me the choice was either moor/dock it or no hobie.

I've kept my Hobie in the water for 7 summers. I've had no issues. I do tension the shrouds with bungee cords to reduce the mast rocking back and forth. I will say that yesterday I went out for a sail and noticed my rudder bolt had come loose and was about to fall off. I put a new nut on it (and double checked the other hardware) and went off for a great sail.

I don't understand the whole "gel coat absorbing water" thing, my motor boat has a gel coat and it doesn't absorb water.

The benefit is I can be on the lake in about 5 minutes.

I guess my point is, docking has worked for me. It may not be the best solution but given the other option (no Hobie), I'd choose docking.

Google "gel coat blisters" and see what you get.

If you could build a non-floating dock then you could slide it up some 4 inch PVC pipe with a light duty trailer winch. The pipe will be cut 1 foot wide and placed about 4 inches apart into 3/4 inch plywood. The Hobie will slide right over them with little friction. they are self cleaning too!

This solution keeps the boat above wave energy. But is the most work too. I'm planning to create one of these for myself once I'm assigned a wet slip.

(Deleted due to re-posting).

Here are a couple photos of a dry-dock that I built about a month ago. I use a light weight pulley block & tackle to pull the boat up - its a one-man operation.









My next mod will be to put some kind of cradles between the hulls and the dry dock to eliminate the stress concentrations. The padding is Ok, but I'm thinking of 6-inch diameter PVC pipe cut in half with a foam pool noodle inside, also cut in half. Four pipes, about 1-foot long, placed under the hulls after pulling the boat up should do the trick.

Mike

I like that drydock, but I am not much of a builder I did build my own "lift" today, cost me $115, but I am not sure I like where I went with it.

My goal was to lift it out of the water, which I accomplished, just not sure how sturdy it is and it is allot harder to lift the boat just a few inches out of the water. I am not sure I am allowed to post pictures here as a newbie.

So here is my first attempt at getting my boat out of the water.

I pounded four 3/4" steel pipes into the ground about 3.5 feet (6' long near shore, 7' in deep water) until there was about 4" sticking out of the water. Then I took four 5/8 re-barb L shape (4' x 1'). I wrapped these with a foam noodle and fitted a brass fitting with a washer to set the height. I then put this inside the pipe about half way down. This allows the L shaped end with foam noodle to spin around. It also allows me to adjust the height up and down when the lake goes up and down. I can go down 2' and up maybe another foot.

I take the 2 in the deep water out and pulled the boat over them and up the 2 closer to the shore. Then I put the 2 in the deep water back in. The L shape tops covered with foam spin freely.

Here is the hard part, I then have to lift the boat up about a foot and spin the re-barb under the trampoline and secure them with a tie-down. Then go the back and repeat the process.

I started with the boat of the pontoons being 6 inches out of the water and I just couldn't lift it that high. I now have it about 2-3" out of the water. I will see how it looks in the morning and take some pictures, but I think your solution with a wench might be easier for just one person.

I thought it would be better to attach under the trampoline than the pontoons. With your solution as you stated, there are 2 high pressure points which I don't think would be good.

First attempt. But I have some ideas to put a 4x4 frame on top with some rollers which will give me better support, easier to get the boat out of the water and more stable. The only thing I would have wasted from my first attempt will be the foam noodles

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205010172314608&set=pcb.10205010178194755&type=1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205010172194605&set=pcb.10205010178194755&type=1&theater