<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="33%">Photos taken in Union City, PA in February 1976. There are two boats. Green and black poles are the 5 foot tall mast supports on the front of the trailers.</TD><TD width="33%">
<img border="0" src="images/Snowcoveredsidewinders.jpg" width="417" height="319">
</TD><TD width="34%">It is important to support your boat properly if it is to hold this load for many months</TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%" colSpan=3>The boats in the photo were stored safely and they sustained no damage whatsoever. The key considerations are proper support and the expansion of water as it turns to ice. I will address the ice concern first. Snow or rain will fall throughout the winter in most of North America. Neither the rain or the snow will damage the gelcoat or boat structure. The damage comes from freezing and thawing and .... worst of all freezing again. There is probably nothing more damaging that ice and water can do to your boat than those damages made by expansion in confined spaces.
If your mast step fills with water and freezes, the expansion may stretch and crack the mast tube. If the ice partially thaws and water gathers between the solid ice chunk and the walls of the step, re- freezing can be disastrous. Considering that in a typical winter your boat could experience freezing and thawing as many as 100 times, you must be careful not to allow water to gather inside any confined space.
We covered the mast steps with a couple fancy plywood devices that looked the roof of a little birdhouse. The underside had a rubber fitting that sealed the top of the mast step tube.
The trailers supported the boats by the gunwales. For winter storage we added a couple extra gunwale supports on each side of the boats. The extras were simply "U" shaped devices made from three pieces of 2 X 6 lumber. They sat on the trailer and helped spread the load.
The cockpit was covered with another piece of plywood that sat on 2 X 4s laid across the boat. We also placed wood blocks under the axles so that the tires would not be sitting stressed in one place for an entire winter.
In 1979 I finally learned that this was a really stupid thing to do with a boat for the entire winter. I moved to Austin and I rarely store my boat for an entire week without using it at least once. I have found lots of time to sail during the "winter" because I can drive my car out of the garage without first spending an hour or more shoveling snow out of the way.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<img border="0" src="images/Snowcoveredsidewinders.jpg" width="417" height="319">
</TD><TD width="34%">It is important to support your boat properly if it is to hold this load for many months</TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%" colSpan=3>The boats in the photo were stored safely and they sustained no damage whatsoever. The key considerations are proper support and the expansion of water as it turns to ice. I will address the ice concern first. Snow or rain will fall throughout the winter in most of North America. Neither the rain or the snow will damage the gelcoat or boat structure. The damage comes from freezing and thawing and .... worst of all freezing again. There is probably nothing more damaging that ice and water can do to your boat than those damages made by expansion in confined spaces.
If your mast step fills with water and freezes, the expansion may stretch and crack the mast tube. If the ice partially thaws and water gathers between the solid ice chunk and the walls of the step, re- freezing can be disastrous. Considering that in a typical winter your boat could experience freezing and thawing as many as 100 times, you must be careful not to allow water to gather inside any confined space.
We covered the mast steps with a couple fancy plywood devices that looked the roof of a little birdhouse. The underside had a rubber fitting that sealed the top of the mast step tube.
The trailers supported the boats by the gunwales. For winter storage we added a couple extra gunwale supports on each side of the boats. The extras were simply "U" shaped devices made from three pieces of 2 X 6 lumber. They sat on the trailer and helped spread the load.
The cockpit was covered with another piece of plywood that sat on 2 X 4s laid across the boat. We also placed wood blocks under the axles so that the tires would not be sitting stressed in one place for an entire winter.
In 1979 I finally learned that this was a really stupid thing to do with a boat for the entire winter. I moved to Austin and I rarely store my boat for an entire week without using it at least once. I have found lots of time to sail during the "winter" because I can drive my car out of the garage without first spending an hour or more shoveling snow out of the way.
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