"Winter storage"

woodbark

Member
Regretfully! I must put my boat away for the winter. It will have to be outside and we do get our share of snow. My plan is to store it upsidedown on a padded custom built cradle with the support points shaped to match the contact points of the boat, carpet will be the padding material.
How do I plan to get it on the cradle upside down? manpower! I've seen the way the youngsters at the local sailing clubs handle their 420 Albacores, they toss them around quite easily and they're slightly bigger than the 14.2 .....so no problems anticipated!

For coverage I will be covering the centreboard slot with a strip of carpet then stretch a tarp over top of the entire hull. This is the first year for this method of storage and I don't know of anyone else using it. ....Just makes sense to me.

If this is a bad idea, please let me know! Thanks!
 
Winter storage

I am in Central New York and get a fair amount of snow. I purchased a small framed/vinyl canvas storage unit at harbour freight online for $250. It was stable enough last year if I kept the snow pulled off the roof. I did have a few water leaks develop, but just small drips left water marks that cleaned off easily in the spring.
 
jcorliss78, I have been using one of those as well 10'x20' with a fairly strong frame. I used it for several years as my woodworking shop.

It was a nightmare during the winter; because of the wide space between the roof "A" frames the tarp cover would sag under the weight of the snow and trap the snow.

I have not used it for the past 3 yrs but this year I will be using it for one of the motor boats but not without some modifications. My plan is to use rope (blue lines) to add support and create troughs for the snow and melt to run off.
 

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Snow accumulation

I'm fairly consistant in removing the snow buildup from the structure. I use a 'snow rake' purchased at the home improvement store, which is what I also use to pull the snow from the house roof. Basically a telescoping pole with a scoop on the end. You drop the scoop into the snow, and pull back on the pole and there ya go, snow pulls right off without taking your feet off terra firma. Fairly quick and easy and under $20.00 for the gadget.
 
Sliding snow

A method I use on my boats uses the mast, clothesline, and silver tarps. I remove anything large from the mast that will poke through a tarp (spreaders on the 14.2) and then support it HIGH above the boat. I use the mast support on the trailer, then fashion a mast support for close to the cuddy and finally one at the transom. The idea is to get the mast high, level and supported.
After the mast is on its supports I run clothesline in a zig-zag pattern from the boat up to the mast, then down the other side, then back over the mast, etc., until the whole thing looks like a spider web. This is a pain with the 14.2 since there are few attachment points near the gunwales. If you've got lots of clothesline run it under the boat.
Last, drape silver tarp(s) over the whole deal and securely fasten them so the wind won't flap them and mess everything up. When the snow comes it usually slides right off if the mast is up high enough. The clothes line prevents the tarps from sagging and collecting snow.
 
It's interesting how creative we get when it involves something we love. .....Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of being on sight to clear snow; the boat is at our summer cottage, an hour and a half away so I won't be putting my beloved 14.2 under the above mentioned shelter. I think she'll do fine upside down with the tarp over her.
 
Here are some pictures of my boat for now, this is my first winter with this boat. I decided to try the string channels to slide the snow off, the trailer has a mast crutch that made this easy. When I asked my aquatic-mentor if he had any ideas for storage he told me to use sand bags to weight the tarps. The idea here, he explained is that the tarp won't tear because of the weight, rather the bags rise. I used plastic bags from the store and just put a rock behind the tarp, gave it a couple of twists and did a slipknot deal with the loop of the bag around it.
 

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After consulting with a few local dinghy sailors this seems to be the popular winter storage method for a boat this size! .....I have since stretched a tarp over it and all seems well for now.
The horses are made of scrap (pressure treated) 2x4's donated by visiting relatives.
 

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winter storage

I stole your idea, managed to get the boat on the stands by myself. I did this primarily to clean the bottom of the hull from tea staining. I also need to work on my trailer. Been awhile since I compounded and waxed the boat so I think it will be easier upside down. Thanks for the great idea.

Kevin
fair weather sailor.
 
It was'nt really my idea Kevin but thanks just the same! .......The horses/stands however, are my own impulsive design ...seem to be holding up ok! :D

Incidentally, my hull is actually as clean as it looks. It really looked absolutely disgusting when I took it out of the water, thought I'd never get it clean again. Tried pressure washing and all sorts of cleaning stuff but was only able to remove the surface dirt; it still looked stained ...then I found this Simoniz hull cleaner; worked like a miracle, my boat was beautiful again!

Have'nt yet decided on a wax/protector for next season, but definitely open to suggestions!
 
I use Collinite's No. 920 Fiberglass Boat Cleaner -- it really is "easy to use" as folks at various forums say -- removes grime and ugly black marks easily.

I suggest Collinite's No. 885 Special Heavy Duty Fleetwax; also easy to apply and buff.
 
rack

capri-1.jpg


Here is my version of the winter storage rack. I need to work on the hull and did not want to do it on my back.
 
Great job Kevin! rack looks quite durable as well. I also like your idea of parking the trailer under it.

I'm actually excited about getting her all "spit an polished" in the spring, so convenient. In fact, I deliberately set the height of the stand to accommodate this function. I find this boat very manageable IN and OUT of the water which makes maintenance a pleasure as well. Chemprof has suggested a couple of maint products he's had good results with so I'll also be checking into their availability here in Toronto.
 
I suppose you know my know!

Judging from the national news you had a good test of your system this year! Hope everything held up to the load.
 

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